Lost in You

by Jules Bennett

  Liam wondered what pleased Macy, but quickly shoved that thought aside. He didn’t need to know what pleased her. He didn’t need to know any more about her than necessary.

  Macy wasn’t like most women he knew. She was simple, her clothes, her style. She was breathtaking without an ounce of makeup, her hair pulled back, and her flannels and jeans. The T-shirt and jeans were equally as sexy. A tall woman with curves in all the right places was enough to attract any man, and Liam figured that was why she dated so much. She could have any man she wanted and he was a fool for spending so much time thinking about her.

  He should have been a little more grateful for her help, for her giving him a place to stay so he didn’t have to intrude on his brothers and their new love lives. Still, something about Macy made him edgy, irritable. He knew what that “something” was, but he didn’t want to admit anything, even to himself.

  From now on, he needed to keep his distance from Macy whenever possible. He wasn’t looking for anything, much less an unwanted attraction. The last thing he needed was to make more ties here. He was working on a way to get out of this town, keep supporting his sister’s dream, and live his own life . . . away from Haven. Away from Macy.

  Chapter Two

  “Marry me.”

  Liam laughed at Sophie as he piped frosting through the center of the cream horns for breakfast the next morning. He absolutely loved working in this kitchen. Because of his profession, his brothers had given him all the authority to pick and choose how this room should be set up. At the time, Liam had no idea he’d be the one benefitting from the double wall ovens, the six burner gas stove, and the dual commercial size refrigerators.

  The large quartz top island was any chef’s dream. The storage beneath held so many of his baking needs well within reach, the far side he’d requested would have six bar stools so they could eat in here comfortably while the guests used the formal dining room.

  The bright window over the sink looked out onto the pond. There was no way he could be in this room and not be in a good mood. As much as he wanted his own restaurant, for now this wasn’t a bad gig.

  “If I was looking for a wife, you’d be a perfect contender,” he told Sophie.

  “If you flirt with my fiancée again, I’ll kick your ass.”

  Liam glanced up as Zach strode into the renovated kitchen, a brown sack beneath his arm. Sophie tore off another hunk of bread and dipped it into the creamy sauce he’d made the night before. If her moans, sighs, and marriage proposal were any indication, he’d say the new recipe was a hit.

  “She proposed to me,” Liam defended. “Maybe she has a thing for a man who can cook and owns something besides denim and flannel.”

  “Like those tight-ass T-shirts you wear?” Zach grunted as he kissed Sophie on the cheek and took a bite from the bread she held. “Damn, Liam. I’ll marry you for that. What did you do to that bread?”

  The unexpected compliment took Liam by surprise. It was no secret the two of them didn’t always mesh. At one time there was pure hatred, but over the past year they’d grown closer. Chelsea would’ve loved to have seen this, and perhaps because of her untimely death and the dream she’d envisioned, Liam and Zach were actually repairing their damaged past.

  Even before the accident, the two would butt heads. Their type A personalities seemed to clash on a daily basis. They had been in the midst of an epic argument when the accident happened. They’d been circling each other for months, griping at each other about anything and everything. Their egos were constantly clashing. They’d both attempted to date the same girl, and that had turned out about as well as it sounded.

  Then that tragic night struck and they’d never been the same.

  They’d both grown since, but the old hurt had never disappeared. Neither of them made any attempts to take that first step and merge their differences onto some common ground. Liam and Zach had just had to learn to deal with their pain and attempt to move on into some normalcy—in their own directions.

  “Just mixed some spices in a blend I’d never tried before,” Liam stated with a shrug, hating he wasn’t sure how to even reply.

  Compliments weren’t something he was comfortable with. Working in an upscale restaurant like Magnolias, Liam was used to getting feedback from customers and he enjoyed it, but it always made him feel awkward. He wasn’t cooking for others for the praise. He’d taken the passion his mother had instilled in him, turned it into a science, a meticulous hobby that just happened to pay the bills. In the kitchen, he was in complete control of his life, of the outcome of what he was doing. It was the other mess in his world that he kept losing his grip on.

  “What’s in the sack?” Sophie asked, leaning against the large center island.

  Zach took the brown bag and sat it on the counter. Liam instantly recognized the logo on the front. He continued his work, cursing the way his heartbeat kicked up at just the sight of a bag from Macy’s store. Ridiculous. He seriously needed to concentrate on moving on, making a plan and not letting his mind get so wrapped around a woman who had no place in his life.

  A near miss kiss, a few months of living in her old apartment, and randomly seeing her and hearing about dates was enough to have him grinding his teeth and clenching his fists nearly every day.

  He’d let one woman into his heart years ago. He’d let her so far in, he thought they’d spend their lives together. Foolish, really. She’d been a player, looking for nothing more than using Liam as a stepping stone until someone better, with more money, better looks, less facial scarring, came along. Liam had a great job, lived alone, and had very little debt. His savings and investments were a nice cushion, but he’d never dreamed she was looking for a sugar daddy. Liam still felt betrayed, used, and deceived.

  His ex never came right out and said his looks bothered her, but he wasn’t naive. He’d seen the man she’d left him for and Liam was convinced the attraction was about more than a hefty bank account.

  After that relationship ended, he became even more detached than before and vowed never again to let a woman work her way under his skin. He’d been doing just fine at staying closed off . . . until moving back to Haven.

  The fact that he allowed Macy to have power over him only made him angry. The scar wasn’t his only excuse, though he let people believe that. The jagged line that ran down the left side of his face was not a big selling point with the ladies. And Macy was definitely all lady. She ran a hardware store and knew more about PVC pipe and cement mix than the average woman, and likely some men, but the way she filled out those jeans and her plain T-shirts was damn near a sin. On cool mornings she’d throw a plaid flannel over her T, but by the end of the day, he’d see her with the shirt tied around her waist, flaring out over her hips.

  “I had to stop in and order some materials for that house I’m building over on Peach Tree Lane,” Zach stated. “I went ahead and picked up some extra lightbulbs for here as well.”

  Zach had followed in their adoptive father’s footsteps, taking over the family business of construction. Zach had definitely hit some major hurdles in life, but he’d jumped over them and kept going strong. At one time he’d tried to give up, but then Sophie entered his life, and Liam knew for a fact that the woman literally saved Zach from himself.

  “Haven’t seen Phil for a while, now that he’s pretty much passed the store on to Macy,” Zach went on, tearing off a piece of bread for himself.

  “I’m sure it’s hard for him to just let go,” Sophie added. “Even though he still hangs out there and helps, passing that down has to be bittersweet.”

  “He was the only one working today,” Zach replied around a large bite. “Said Macy texted him and said she couldn’t make it in. He didn’t say why, but that’s definitely not like her.”

  Liam placed the final cream horn on the glass platter and refused to let his mind wander. Most likely she had been on a date. She’d probably left his place last night and headed straight home to get all fixed up. She
’d told him she didn’t have a date, but a woman like Macy didn’t just stay home on a Friday night.

  He’d heard the rumors of her social life, had actually heard her talking enough firsthand to know she wasn’t a recluse like him. Probably stayed out too late or maybe slept over somewhere. The thought knotted his stomach.

  Still. None of his business.

  “I hope she’s okay,” Sophie added, oblivious to the internal argument Liam was waging with himself. “I’ll call later and check on her.”

  “Brock will be here after school.” Zach took another hunk of bread, this time dipping it in the sauce. “I told him to come by and help with cleaning since we have those two groups coming in. So we can put him to work.”

  Sophie sighed. “I think we’re working him too hard.”

  “He’s wanting to save for a new car,” Zach countered. “He can put in the time and save some money.”

  This was not an area Liam wanted to be involved in and sure as hell not something he had experience with. Parenting was just as terrifying as a relationship. No thanks to both.

  While the two argued about what was too much for Brock to handle, Liam continued getting the snacks prepared for tomorrow. They always offered wine and some type of little finger food or pastry around eight in the evening. According to Sophie, there were four ladies coming in tomorrow morning who would stay two days, in addition to the bachelorette group arriving.

  Whatever the reason for the getaways, this was exactly what Chelsea had wanted. She’d had a vision, and so far, her dream was becoming a beautiful reality and really taking off.

  “I need to get back to the site,” Zach said, brushing the crumbs off his hands and onto his holey jeans. “Call me if you need me.”

  He kissed Sophie good-bye and nodded to Liam on his way out the back door.

  “Not that I agree with my brother often, but Brock is a hard worker.” Liam wiped a damp towel over the work space on the oversized island. “He’s like me as a teen. He wants to stay busy, to feel needed. Trust us on this one.”

  Sophie chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. “I know. I just don’t want him to feel like we brought him into our family just so he could be an extra pair of hands.”

  Liam loved her soft heart. They’d shared a special bond since the night of the accident, when they’d both been critically injured. Sophie had needed several surgeries on her hip and leg, and still walked with a slight limp. Liam had taken it in the face, had suffered a broken jaw and collarbone, and irreparable laceration to his face. Hard not to feel a connection after all of that, so Liam definitely had more patience and more concern for Sophie than most people.

  Moving around the edge of the counter, Liam took Sophie’s shoulders and turned her toward him. “He doesn’t think that. He loves you guys. You saved him. He’ll do anything he can to make you proud, even if you tell him to go scrub the toilets. He’ll grumble and complain, but he’s a teen so that’s his job right now. If he’s not rolling his eyes, that’s when you need to worry.”

  “You’re right.” Sophie’s mouth tipped up into a smile, just as he’d hoped. “I have some of my sketches getting delivered today. I sent them off to get custom framed. I’m adding more to the library.”

  Sophie was a master at pencil sketches. They’d tried to get her to sell the things, but she refused. She claimed she only did them as a way to relax and unwind. But Zach had talked her into using each piece to decorate the rooms of the resort house.

  “Do you need me to hang around and sign for them?”

  “Actually I have to put all the sheets on the beds, so I’ll be here for a bit longer. I can sign when they arrive. Do you need me for anything down here?”

  Liam shook his head and stepped back. “I’m done for the day. I’ll be back around six in the morning to make sure everything is set up. I know the first group of ladies wanted a breakfast when they arrived, so I fixed the majority of the food today.”

  Most resorts or bed and breakfasts didn’t allow an early morning check-in, but Bella Vous catered to every client. No matter their request, Sophie went out of her way to try to accommodate every single one. Actually, they all did. Sophie was still swamped with her real estate business, but she did all the bookings for the resort—which were mostly done online anyway.

  Without a doubt, the resort wouldn’t be what it was without her. Oh, the guys would’ve eventually managed, but Sophie had kept them on track with a limited amount of fists flying.

  “You’re not held to certain hours,” Sophie told him. “You’re part owner, so you definitely don’t answer to me.”

  “I know, but I wanted you to know what I was doing.”

  Sophie went up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re here. Chelsea would be, too.”

  Damn it. Guilt slid through him. He didn’t want to be here. Going back to Savannah was all he was looking for. His heart wasn’t in Haven, had actually only been here when his adoptive parents were alive. Now, he felt like an outsider—story of his life. But in Savannah, he could blend. He didn’t have many friends, and even those were kept at a distance. He was looking for a way to sneak out of this awkward life he’d been thrust into and hoped his exit would go smoothly.

  Most likely it wouldn’t, but until Liam had a solid plan for his future, he’d stay right here and not express his need to get out of town. Before he made any major decisions, though, he needed to check into the rumor of Magnolias being for sale. The idea that the restaurant he’d loved for years, had considered his home, could be his was overwhelming and thrilling.

  Liam patted her back and stepped away. “Call me if you need me. I’ll just be home.”

  Sophie’s brows drew in. “Why don’t you date? You’ve never mentioned anyone to me and I can’t believe you literally spend all your time working.”

  He gritted his teeth, but attempted to control his response because Sophie wasn’t being nosy, she was legitimately concerned. “Don’t worry about my social life. I’m happy just the way things are.”

  “Really?” She tipped her head to the side, a clear sign she didn’t believe him. “I actually just sold a house to a new teacher—”

  “No.” Hell no. He didn’t want to be fixed up on some blind date. “I need to go.”

  As he grabbed his phone and keys from the counter by the back door, Sophie called out, “Stop running.”

  He froze, keeping his back to her, his eyes locked on the pond in the distance. The sun was just setting, spreading a vibrant orange glow across the horizon and reflecting onto the water. Such a peaceful evening, quite a contrast to the turmoil inside him, the instant tension in this room.

  “Don’t run from your fear,” she added in a softer tone. “You can’t overcome it if you don’t face it.”

  Liam glanced over his shoulder, pasted on a smile, and lied to her face. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

  * * *

  Macy let herself in the store and quickly disarmed the security alarm. Usually the best times to tackle the dreaded paperwork and invoices was when she couldn’t sleep and she was confident there would be no interruptions.

  She knew the store better than her own house, so she maneuvered through the aisles. Security lights helped illuminate the layout as she headed toward the back where she had a tiny office—her dad’s old office, which had belonged to Macy’s grandfather. That whole generational bond made staying in Haven so much easier. Here is where she felt safe, where nothing could touch her, hurt her.

  Macy remembered being little and playing with a block of wood, an old hammer, and nails on the floor while her dad worked on invoices. While she didn’t have a family on the horizon, that didn’t mean she didn’t envision having a child at her feet someday. Though it sounded clichéd, she had that small-town dream of having a family, a devoted husband and children. She wanted to be able to pass the business down one day, too.

  The option of adopting had interested her months ago and she’d already star
ted the process of becoming a foster parent. That next step for her in her quest to be a mother was to adopt. Even though she would be a single parent with a full-time job, she wasn’t going to let that steer her away from her dream of being a mother. There were many single parents out there and there were so many children who needed a good home.

  So what if she wasn’t married? She didn’t need a man in her life.

  Macy might date, quite a bit, but that was all for show, for herself really. To prove she had control, to prove to her eighteen-year-old self that she didn’t have to be bullied around by a guy and his friends who wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  She hadn’t found a man yet who fit the bill for someone she wanted to commit to, but that didn’t mean she was giving up. She’d seen the love between Zach and Sophie, Braxton and Cora. She’d seen the love between her own parents before her mother passed away. Macy wanted that. Even with all she’d been through, she still held out hope that there was a nice guy somewhere, that she could get her own happy ending with a man who loved her.

  As she rounded the corner to her office and reached to flick on the light, a strong hold circled around her shoulders, way too close to her neck. A scream tore from her as she jerked in an attempt to get away. She’d been held against her will once; instant flashes of that night consumed her. Never again would she be a victim of anything.

  She screamed louder, fought harder. She kicked, clawed, and arched back in an attempt to break free. Fear gripped her tighter than the strong arms.

  “Macy, it’s me.”

  Liam’s low, firm tone in her ear calmed her instantly. Her heart beat in a frantic rhythm as she closed her eyes and willed her breathing to regain some sort of normalcy. She was safe. This was nothing like what she’d endured. Nobody would hurt her here. Nobody would ever hurt her again.

  “Liam,” she whispered, cursing herself for shaking. She needed to get control over the trembling before he noticed. “What are you doing?”