Joshua Healy (The Mitchell/Healy Family #10)(37)

“No.” Her head is shaking and she’s pacing around me. “No. You love me. You’ve always loved me.”

“I thought I did. Things change.”

She pushes me hard. “No! Bullshit! It’s always been me and you. You promised.”

“Damn it, Liv. Listen to yourself. You’re the one with the broken promises. You’re sick in the head. I’m done being your puppet. I’ve moved on. I’m happy. Besides, you’re getting married. Why the hell are you even here? What did you think would happen when you got me alone? Did you figure you could show up and have your way with me again after all the time that’s past? You’re a f*cking joke.”

“You can’t blame me for trying.” She shrugs. “It’s always worked before.”

“Not this time. Not with her. You won’t screw this up for me. She’s different. I’m not f*cking it up. You need to back off.”

“Before what? You fall victim to your old ways? You can’t change the cowboy, right Josh? Isn’t that your old line?” She’s laughing. “You’re pathetic, you know that? You always have been.” She steps close again. “Let me tell you something about your sweet little girlfriend.”

I put my hand over her mouth. “I’m going to stop you right there, Liv. Whatever happened in the past stays there. Desperate doesn’t look good on you. Now, take your fake crying somewhere else. Call your fiancé and whine to him. We’re done here.”

I close the door but remain standing on the other side of it. It’s hard. All of it. Everything. She’s my past. She used to be my everything; my little secret love I swore I’d end up with. Seeing her again, being able to reach out and touch her, brings back a ton of pent up emotions I’ve tried to bury. The problem is that they’re unresolved. I may have given it to her straight as far as Tamsyn goes, but I haven’t touched the surface of how she ruined me. She told me to wait for her, only to run off and start a life without me. I can’t forgive that. I’ll never be able to get over it, not completely. Because of her, I turned to drugs and alcohol, not to mention the sex I sought out to get from random strangers. I wanted to feel something without having to care. I never wanted to experience the pain again. She destroyed me, piece by piece until Tamsyn came along and showed me what real love was.





Chapter 16


Olivia


I've been away for a while now working on my career as an artist. I never expected to have a relationship with my curator. Countless hours working together made it easy to fall for him. For a while I thought I could be happy. I've made my bed. I know this is my fault, but it doesn't hurt any less. I left my fiancé to come home to the one man I'll never be able to get over, only to discover he's done a pretty fine job getting over me. When I say I left my fiancé, what I mean is that I caught him screwing his assistant the day after my very first showcase. Devastated and unable to face him, or the fact that I’ve been na?ve, I got in my car and didn’t look back. My heart ached for the only man I knew wouldn’t let me down; the one I figured would drop everything to save me from myself.

But I was wrong, so very wrong.



The news rocked me like a vicious hurricane wreaking havoc on a small coastal town. I'm utterly gutted. In one swift blow he's taken me down and destroyed me, and then I came home to this; my one true hope at happiness taken by another I once cared about.

I thought I was past this. I walked away because it was the right thing to do. Joshua Healy was my first. I love him, but I knew he had the potential to hold me back from everything I've ever wanted for myself, so I let him go. I told him lies and acted like he meant nothing to me. It was the only way. He had to hate me enough to let me go or else one phone call and I'd come running back to him.

It worked. It worked so damn good that I tricked myself into believing I was over him – until I wasn’t, until I needed a love I knew only he could give me.

I guess I always thought we'd somehow find our way back to one another. It's pointless to assume someone like him would stay single and wait for me, but a girl can dream.

Josh hadn't called or tried to reach me. I felt bad, but knew moving on was the right decision.

Everything would have been fine if he'd just found someone other than Tamsyn to be with. The moment I heard they were an item, I thought it was a sick joke. I was sure he'd figured out we were friends and was using her for one final attempt to get to me.

Now I've made a fool of myself, not just once but twice.

Josh doesn't want me anymore. I'm a mess. It's not fair. How could he love her of all people? How could he refuse me? Why?

Now I’m desperate, willing to go to extremes to prove he still has feelings for me. He may say one thing, but he’s fighting it. I can tell. I always could.

Now I just have to figure out how to make it happen, because throwing myself at him isn’t working anymore.





Chapter 17


Joshua


That next morning, after making sure my sister and Wes are home, I haul ass out of there, leaving Liv asleep on the couch. I still can’t believe she showed up and tried to get with me. She was jealous. It’s insane.



Back at the ranch, I’m riddled with emotions. I heard her crying throughout the night, and wonder if I’m going to hear from my sister about it. We’ve kept them out of the loop. They know we’ve been together, but nothing else. They don’t know how she tortured me for years, making promises and giving me false hope.