Marked Heart (Marked Heart #3)

by M. Sembera

  Braden thought, at least she sounded the same as he replied, "She had a mini melt down and went to get some ice."

  "Wow, Sarah, you look nice." Charlotte complemented, earning her a sarcastic smile before Liv asked, "What's got you all dolled up?"

  "I'm so glad you're back." Sarah mocked as she eyed, Romeo. "Isn't he a little old for you?"

  Romeo cocked an eyebrow at Sarah as he answered, "I would hope so, I'm her dad."

  Sarah's let a light smile slip as she replied, "Oh." Holding out her hand to him, introducing herself. "Sarah."

  Taking it, he kissed the top of her hand and stated, "Romeo."

  The smile spread across her face as she offered, "Would you like to get a drink?"

  Romeo nodded at her before they walked off together.

  Everyone stood there in a sort of stunned silence for a moment.

  "What the hell was that?" Auggie griped, saying what everyone else was thinking.

  Liv smirked, saying, "My dad's always had a thing for red heads."

  Auggie scowled at her fussing, "What the..." before Charlotte cut him off, patting his arm.

  "Now, Augustus, I'm sure Sarah knows what she's doing." Then with a wicked smile as if she couldn't resist, she added, "And later she'll be hookin' up with Liv's dad."

  "Ha!" Liv blurted as Auggie drug Charlotte away saying, "Come on were going to go get a drink."

  Ailin shook his head saying, "Yeah, I better go see if Sophia ever got Keylee to sleep." Before he walked off towards the house.

  Then it was just the two of them.

  When Liv glanced at him, Braden could feel the tear in his heart. She was leaving in the morning.

  "Ya know what I find odd?"

  Wrinkling up his forehead, he turned to face her.

  "They're celebrating ten years, when they spent a lifetime loving each other."

  Braden thought for a moment before sharing, "Maybe it's easier to love someone than to really be with them."

  "You may be right."

  Flashing a smile at her, he turned and walked towards the party.

  ~

  The evening wound down as it got to be close to midnight and guests started to leave. The pain Braden was experiencing knowing what was to come started to weigh on him as he felt an arm slide around his waist. Looking down, he saw a pair of beautiful grey eyes staring up at him.

  "Did you have a nice time tonight?"

  Smiling at Ren, he nodded.

  "Do you remember when we met?" she asked, letting go of him as she tucked a few strands of her long brown hair behind her ear.

  With a laugh, he replied, "Yeah, me and Auggie gave you hell 'cause I asked you if you were gonna kiss Jacks."

  Rolling her eyes she gave him a sincere smile. "We wasted a lot of time, waiting for the right time."

  Braden found it hard to smile, thinking of what love really does to people.

  "Braden." Ren stated before glancing at Liv and then back up at him. "Stop wasting time."

  Ren reached down and squeezed his hand. When she let go, she turned and walked back to her husband Jacks.

  Braden watched Ren slide her arms around her husband as he leaned down and kissed her. Their love story was epic, but she was right. What was the point of fighting the good fight for years when he could throw down right now?

  M37H

  Hugging Penny and Charlotte as she was getting ready to leave, Liv promised to stop by and see them on her way out tomorrow. It was going to be a long drive with her dad to get back to his house and just the thought of driving for thirty six hours was already making her tired.

  She was about to interrupt whatever conversation Romeo and Sarah had been holding all night, so they could go back to the hotel, when Braden stopped her.

  "You still owe me a dance."

  "What?"

  Smiling at her, he reminded, "Remember, at Auggie and Charlotte's wedding? You were going to dance with me, then you said you would catch me next go round."

  She did remember.

  "They're not playing music anymore."

  As soon as the words left her mouth, 'Hallelujah' by Rufus Wainwright started to play.

  Liv gave him a suspicious glare, but didn't fight it when he led her a few feet away from her dad and his mom. The song was rather appropriate after all that had been said and done between them.

  Braden held her in his arms. As they swayed back and forth to the music, Braden hummed along with the song until it was almost to the end.

  Whispering in her ear, "Remember when I moved in you... Every breath we drew was hallelujah..."

  She was so moved by Braden holding her, the song, and his whisper, she slid her hands to the sides of his face, allowing him to rest his forehead against hers.

  "Let's get married," he murmured, like it was nothing.

  Quickly letting go of him, she blurted, "What?"

  "I love you."

  Shaking her head at him, Liv couldn't believe he was doing this to her.

  It was too late for him to say those things. Yesterday when he said his piece, he agreed. It was over. Twice now, Braden had told her that he loved her and both times, it was almost like a last resort. Now he was throwing marriage at her to try and keep her there. Who wants to be someone's afterthought? Liv's mind spun in a thousand different directions, reliving moments with him as well as imagining different scenarios. He couldn't do that to her. Tell her things. The things that should have already been said, just because he wanted to keep her around.

  Pushing against him, she barked, "You're an asshole."

  Walking away from him as fast as she could, she heard Braden call after her.

  Her dad shouted, "Lillian!" But she didn't care.

  Sprinting to her car, she stopped when she reached it. Frantically pulling at the handle she needed it to open, but her dad had the keys.

  Finally she heard a pop as the door unlocked.

  "Other side. You're not driving."

  Thankful she was getting out of there and away from Braden, she didn't argue with Romeo.

  ~

  Still standing in the exact spot where he danced with Liv, Braden stared at his sister.

  "Why did he call her that?"

  Charlotte answered for her, saying, "Because that's her name."

  Confused, he argued, "Liv's not short for Lillian."

  "No, her middle name is Ingrid. Liv is her initials. Or they were before she was Caffrey." Penny shared.

  How could he have known her for so long and not known that?

  He recalled, Lily's 'good luck with your new Lily'. She must have remembered her from high school, even though he didn't. What were the chances that he ended up on the losing end of another Lily? He had to wonder if that was why things didn't seem to work out no matter how hard he tried. Maybe the name was cursed. Like him. His tattoo instantly came to mind. Liv practically freaked out when he was going to take his shirt off after bringing her storage bins into the house. Then when she actually saw it, at Brennen's cabin, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. The night Kieran gave it to him, he said 'You're taking the mark of someone's heart that doesn't belong to you'. At the time, Braden just thought that Kieran was pissed and being an ass because he wouldn't take no for an answer.

  Heat started to spread throughout his entire body as he looked at his mom.

  "Did you give me Liv's mark?"

  Pursing her lips at him, Sarah scoffed, "I gave you one that she drew."

  "How did that happen?"

  Auggie scowled at him as he explained, "When Kieran went to mom with the lily, he had her draw him a different one."

  Shaking his head, he couldn't believe that no one told him.

  "Why didn't Liv stop him?"

  Charlotte cleared her throat, saying, "She didn't find out until a few months after you got it."

  "Honestly, son, it's not that big of a deal."

  Giving her mom a dirty look, Penny took a few steps forward informing, "Yes it is. Whether you believe in it
or not, you gave Liv your heart when you took her mark."

  Glaring at Penny, Sarah argued, "Getting a tattoo doesn't make you fall in love with someone."

  Ignoring her mom, Penny stressed, "Think about it, Braden. Do you really think it's a coincidence?"

  ~

  They reached the hotel after an agonizingly quiet drive. Liv knew there was no way Romeo was going to let what happened at the party go. It wasn't in his nature to not question her.

  Romeo turned the car off, holding the keys in his hand as he demanded, "Answers. Now, Lillian."

  "I'm a grown woman."

  His tone was harsh as he assured, "When you start acting like one, I'll treat you like one."

  "I can't believe you're on his side."

  Romeo's eyes softened as he replied, "I'm not on his side."

  "Then why aren't you questioning him?"

  "Is he in this car? Is he my daughter?"

  Rolling her eyes, Liv made an irritated noise and looked away.

  The car was silent for a moment before he shared, "You can't be mad at him for loving you."

  "Who says I am?"

  "I do."

  Leaning her head back against the headrest, Liv blew out a loud breath saying, "It's all just one big lie."

  "Not to him. That boy's in love with you."

  Shaking her head, Liv argued, "We're wrong for each other. He knows it too. He said it himself that he's not the man he needs to be. That's because of me. Something happens when we're together. We can't move past each other. It's not right."

  "Look at me Lillian," he stated as she turned her head in his direction. "Now, you listen to your old man."

  Feeling desperate, she nodded.

  "Men are strange creatures, constantly at war with themselves on the inside. We're designed to sabotage ourselves. It's the woman though... The one that gives him something to fight for that makes him the man he needs to be. There's no good, bad, right or wrong to it. It's the victory he's after. You're either the prize or a casualty. And that my girl, is the only decision that's up to you."

  Romeo patted her on the arm before opening the driver's side door. Dropping her keys in the seat as he got out, he closed the door, and walked into the Inn.

  M38H

  Braden shook his head as he pulled up to the farmhouse. It just figured that they would end up in the same place. Maybe this was fate.

  Walking into the house, he wouldn't have to look for her this time. Braden knew exactly where he would find her. Stepping into her library, she was standing in the center of the room, staring at her bookshelf.

  "Liv."

  Slowly turning around she stated, "No."

  "I didn't ask you anything."

  Shaking her head at him she replied, "It doesn't matter. The answer is always going to be no."

  With a slight laugh he informed, "Good to know all my hard work was for nothing."

  Narrowing her eyes at him she questioned, "What?"

  "I was going to ask how you liked your library."

  Blowing out a loud breath she turned her back on him.

  "Why did you do this?"

  "I wanted to finish what I started."

  "I left."

  "It wasn't about you anymore. I finished it for me."

  Nodding, she remained silent this time.

  The longer Liv stood there quietly. The angrier he grew at her. How could she? All this time, he thought something was wrong with him, and it turned out it was her. It was always her.

  "I'm gonna need you to turn around and look at me."

  As if she knew what was coming, Liv hesitantly turned and faced him.

  "Kieran never really loved you."

  Instantly her eyes showed all the hurt that Braden intentionally inflicted.

  "Oh, I'm sorry. That was an asshole thing to say, wasn't it?"

  Her eyes narrowed at him, in response.

  "The truth hurts doesn't it, Liv."

  "You would know," she spouted, with a nasty smirk across her face.

  "Did you ever let him see the real you? The one I got glimpses of here?"

  Liv's smirk disappeared as she shook her head.

  Without knowing if she was answering him or simply shaking her head at what he was saying, he continued, "He couldn't have loved the real you. The one I had the privilege of seeing at the cabin."

  He stepped closer to her.

  Liv shuddered as Braden ran his finger down the guitar tattoo on the inside of her arm.

  "I know he didn't, because if he did, I wouldn't have your mark and you wouldn't have mine."

  Her eyes softened under his touch.

  Tracing the B and then the C that made up the body of the guitar, he shared, "I bet he never even noticed did he."

  Braden could see her struggling as she swallowing hard, trying to pretend.

  "That doesn't matter. What matters is..."

  Tired of the dishonesty surrounding them, he cut her off.

  "You can lie to me as much as you want, but stop lying to yourself. Kieran loved the idea of you, not you. That's why it didn't last. Just like Lily and me."

  Liv jerked her arm away, fussing, "Don't compare me to her."

  "I wasn't, I was comparing myself to Kieran."

  Appearing stunned, she took a step back.

  Compassion filled her eyes as Liv glanced around her library.

  "You're not like he was."

  Nodding, Braden replied, "With you I'm not. With her I was."

  Pausing he took a deep breath and closed the distance between them.

  "And you're so in love with me I can feel it coming off of you. Just admit you feel guilty because you never stopped loving me. I was your first everything. That's why my initials are on you and there's not a single K on your body. You're always going to be in love with me. Just like I'm never going to stop being in love with you."

  Tears welled in Liv's eyes as she stared at him.

  Placing his hands on the sides of her face, this was it. It was the make or break moment of Braden's life.

  "It could be fate."

  His hands fell from her face as she took a step back.

  "There's no such thing."

  "We're meant to be together."

  Liv closed her eyes causing a tear to escape and roll down her cheek.

  "It's only ink."

  M39H

  The banging on Liv's door at the Inn was making it hard for her to focus as she dug through her suitcase.

  "Open the door!" Auggie's voice boomed from the other side.

  What the hell was his problem?

  Giving up on getting dressed, she grabbed a robe from behind the bathroom door, shouting back, "Hang on!"

  Wrapping the robe around herself, Liv pushed the door of a narrow coat closet shut and opened the door to let him in.

  Auggie was already scowling at her as he walked in.

  Without the most pleasant attitude toward him, she griped, "What's up?"

  Glaring at her open suitcase, he snapped, "You're really gonna leave him? Again?"

  "Is that your business?"

  "Damn right, he's my brother."

  "And?" she questioned.

  "He's in love with you." Auggie fussed at her.

  Irritated, she griped, "What's that got to do with you?"

  "I don't want to see him get hurt again."

  Shaking her head at him, Liv spouted, "I see. You want me to stay so you don't feel like you failed as a big brother."

  His face grew solemn as he replied, "I'm tryin' to help. The both of you."

  "Ha!" she blurted before sharing, "I think you've 'helped' enough, already."

  Liv could see how frustrated he was getting with her as he ran his hand down the front of his beard.

  "Look, Auggs, I know you're tryin' to look out for him, but what went down between Braden and me last night had nothing to do with you. You have no say so in what happens next."

  Liv walked back to the door and opened it.

  She kn
ew Auggie loved his brother and was sincerely trying to help, but Braden was a grown man and the sooner Auggie started treating him like one, instead of like a lost little boy, the better off their relationship would be.

  "I have a lot to do before I leave here, so thanks for stopping by." Liv stated with a smirk on her face.

  Auggie started to walk out, then stopped to look at her as he said, "Maybe you should get your head out of your ass and give him a real shot, not for me or him, but because you're in love with him."

  Liv narrowed her eyes at him, swinging the door closed behind him as he walked out.

  Mumbling to herself, she sat down on the end of the bed. Auggie needed to learn how to mind his own business, but he was right. She was in love with him, and last night after she shot down his idea that they were destined to be together, Braden got down on one knee.

  Holding an entwined circle of guitar string, he informed, "All these years I kept my first set of strings. I never thought much about why, until you left." Holding onto her hand, Braden shared, "I wasn't destined to play guitar. It wasn't fate that I picked it up. I made it happen, because I wanted it." Sliding the guitar string ring onto her ring finger he informed, "All it takes is for you to want it too."

  She sat there for a minute, glancing around the room.

  "He's gone."

  Liv smiled wide as Braden opened the coat closet and stepped out saying, "Well, that was frickin' awkward."

  Eying his naked body as he made his way over too her, she looked at the lily on his chest then her poem on his arm.

  Pushing her back onto the bed, he asked, "Where were we?"

  "Since I had already successfully pulled my head from my ass, you were saying something about loving me."

  Biting the side of his tongue as he smiled wide at her, Braden replied, "Oh, yeah." As he untied her robe and slid his hands inside of it.

  Leaning in, he gave her a long slow kiss.

  In seconds, Braden had her out of her robe and underneath him.

  Pushing into her as her legs wrapped around his waist, Braden swore, "I'm gonna love you like no man has ever loved a woman before."

  Liv's breathing grew heavy as she replied, "Is that all?"

  As he picked up his pace he added, "I'm also gonna to think of new ways to put it to you, every day."

  She let out a, "Ha," before he closed her mouth with his kiss.