said, walking behind him with a plate.
Mack ignored him as he hit the power button again, but he got the same empty-battery image.
“I’m not going to tell you again,” Malcolm said.
Mack’s stomach growled again, so he gave in. He sat in a chair along the island, and Malcolm set the plate and a bottle of water in front of him.
Mack leaned forward and stared at his plate. “What is this?”
“Chicken pot pie.”
“You found that in my freezer?”
“No, I brought it.”
Mack lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
“You’re seriously going to complain about the food I brought? You’ve been living on bourbon and Cheez-Its for a week.”
“Whiskey. Not bourbon.”
“Same fucking thing.”
“It’s not, actually,” Gavin said. “All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.”
“Christ,” Malcolm muttered, tugging on his beard. He pointed at Mack’s plate. “My mom used to make me those when I was sick. I thought you could use some comfort food.”
Mack tested a couple of bites. His taste buds rejoiced, but his stomach rebelled at the presence of real food. The pot pie turned to rock as soon as it hit his gut. He guzzled the water instead.
Across from him, the guys stood in a straight line, watching expectantly. “I’m alive,” he muttered. “You can go now.”
Del snorted as if to say, yeah, right. “You think we’d leave you alone right now?”
“I want to be alone.”
“No, you don’t,” Gavin said.
“Yes, I do.”
“Tough,” Malcolm said. “Friends don’t leave friends alone.”
The Russian pointed at the pot pie. “Is there cheese in that?”
Mack shoved the plate across the counter at him. The Russian picked it up and started eating the pot pie with his hand like a sandwich.
Gavin gaped at him. “Dude, how can you be hungry? We stopped at a fucking drive-through on the way here.”
“That was breakfast,” the Russian mumbled with his mouth full. “This is lunch.”
Malcolm pulled out the chair next to Mack’s and sat down. “Tell us what happened.”
“You know what happened.”
“We only know what happened before you left the chamber gala, not after,” Del said.
“And you expect me to believe that he”—Mack nodded at Gavin—“hasn’t filled you in on the rest?”
“Thea told me about your father.” He paused before adding, “I haven’t seen Liv. She’s kind of hiding out like you and avoiding everyone.”
Mack clenched his hands into fists to ward off the sudden urge to drop his forehead to the counter and cry. If Liv’s quiet anger had been painful, Gavin’s quiet sympathy was torture. Part of him wished Gavin would hurt him. Hit him. Scream at him.
“Come on, man,” Del said quietly. “You know how this works. If you don’t tell us what happened, we can’t help you fix it.”
“There’s nothing to fix. It’s over.”
“Spoken like a true romance hero when all seems lost,” Malcolm said.
Mack groaned. “I don’t want to talk about stupid book shit anymore.”
Then guys exchanged a collective eye roll. “Mack,” Malcolm sighed. “You know full well what this is. It’s the low point of your story. You can’t give up.”
“Are you listening to me? This isn’t a story. It’s my real fucking life, and it sucks. She said it’s over, and that’s all there is.”
“Which is basically what every romance heroine says when the hero fucks up,” Del pointed out. “But that’s not the end. Come on, man. You know all this.”
“All I know is that Liv was right all along.” His chest caved in just from saying her name out loud. “I’ve read too many romance novels, and all it got me is a broken fucking heart.”
“Those romance novels have saved all our marriages, man,” Del said. “You did that for us. You kept us going, kept us reading and hanging on even when we felt exactly like you do now. You really think you can scare us off just because you’re finally experiencing the black moment?”
“The black moment?” Mack pointed to the back door. “Out. All of you.”
They ignored him. “What exactly did she say?” Malcolm prodded.
“Christ,” Mack muttered, scrubbing his hands down his face. “What does it matter? It’s over.”
“What. Happened.” Del growled, his frustration evident not only in his voice but in the tense thinness of his lips.
Mack exploded. “Just what I knew would happen! I told her everything! I poured my heart out to her, but the minute she learned the truth about me and my past, she didn’t want me anymore.” Exhaustion and resignation turned his muscles to mush. His shoulders slumped, and his hands fell uselessly into his lap. “I told her everything, and it