Fighting Solitude (On The Ropes #3)(67)

Don’s mouth hitched in a smile.

“This isn’t amusing,” I informed him.

He put his hands up in surrender, but his smile grew to full-blown.

“Stop smiling! This is going to be the worst kind of bad. He’ll probably go all Mel Gibson in Braveheart and paint his face with Garrett’s blood.”

Don laughed—like an actual laugh. “That doesn’t happen in Braveheart.”

“Right. Well, let’s hope Quarry hasn’t seen whatever movie that does happen in.”

“All kidding aside, are you all right?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I sucked in a deep breath and did a quick physical assessment. My back hurt like hell, but everything else seemed to be in working order, so I nodded.

“You want me to get Gwen to drive you home?” he asked.

Swiping my index fingers under my eyes, I fixed my makeup. “No. I think I’m okay. I’m supposed to be meeting Quarry at Till’s for dinner.”

“Good.” He bent down and scooped my keys off the ground before offering them my way.

I reached out to take them, but he didn’t let go.

“You have to tell him, Liv. Even if he does go Braveheart. You have to tell him. That shit Davenport just pulled is not acceptable, and your man has a right to know he had his hands on you.”

I closed my eyes in defeat. “Can I leave out the part where he had his lips on me?”

Don chuckled. “No. But I would definitely forget that hotel room number before you tell him. That is…unless you feel like hiding a body tonight.”

My eyes popped open. “Oh, God!” I yanked the hotel keycard out of the top of my dress and then Frisbeed it across the parking lot.

Don grinned his approval then swung my car door open. “Get home safe. Let me know if you need me to cover for you tomorrow.”

I returned his smile. “Thanks.” I tipped my head in the direction Davenport left and finished with, “For everything.”

“Glad I could help.”

Don stayed on the sidewalk until I pulled onto the road. At the first stoplight, I retrieved my phone from my purse and texted Quarry to let him know I was finally on the way.

My phone chirped with his reply, but my shaking hands gripped to the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

For the first time in my entire life, I was dreading seeing Quarry.





I WAS SITTING ON THE couch with Till’s son, little Slate, when Liv finally arrived. While she hadn’t come right out and said it, I knew she was nervous to tell my family about our relationship. But, to be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot left to tell. Every single one of them had cornered me over the last two weeks, even before our picture together had been published. And, while she was hesitant, I was f*cking ecstatic.

So, when Liv walked in, her eyes wide, looking like she had just seen a ghost, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Liv!” little Slate called out, hoofing it in her direction to show her the new Lego ship we had built.

“That’s great, buddy,” she said absently, her eyes flashing to mine before immediately bouncing away.

Even before things had changed with us, Liv would always come straight to me and chat for a minute before tracking down the girls in the kitchen.

This time, she walked straight to the dinner table, where Till was putting out plates with Blakely, and she whispered something in his ear. A plate froze in midair and his body tensed before his eyes dangerously cut to me.

Now that got my feet moving.

“What’s wrong?” I asked before I’d even made it over to them.

“Blakely, take Slate and Cole upstairs and put on a movie,” Till ordered.

Her eyes lit. “But it’s a school night.”

“Go,” he said in a gentle but firm tone. “Flint! Get in here!” he called into the kitchen.

By this point, my entire body was on alert. When I got within reach, I curled my hand around the back of Liv’s neck and forced her eyes to mine.

“What the hell’s going on?”

She pressed to her toes and placed a lingering kiss on my lips.

It did nothing to answer my question though.

“Rocky?” I growled.

“Everything’s fine.” She looped an arm around my hips and tucked into my side. “Let’s get the kids upstairs and I’ll tell you, okay?”

“Bullshit,” I gritted out, studying her eyes, which I now noticed were red-rimmed. “Were you crying?”

Resting a reassuring hand on my chest, she answered, “Stop. I promise I’m okay. Let’s just get the kids situated so I can tell everyone at once.”

The room fluttered around us as my family caught the angry chill that had begun to fill the room. My imagination was running wild as I paced a hole in the carpet in front of the couch. Ash and Eliza settled next to Flint on the sofa, while Liv sat in the recliner, chewing on her thumbnail.

When Till reappeared from upstairs, he didn’t settle next to Eliza. He eerily walked beside me and got all up in my space. Not touching me. Just looming.

Fucking hell. He was bracing for the explosion. Whatever she had whispered in his ear must have been really f*cking bad.

“Talk,” I demanded.

“Okay, so, ummm, Davenport was waiting for me outside when I left the community center tonight.”