There were so many other things he could be doing besides getting in Macy’s way. He ended up cleaning her kitchen, wrapping up her breakfast, and putting the food for the party in her fridge. Once all was said and done, he was exhausted considering he’d started at Bella Vous at six that morning.
He started to leave her a note on the rolls, but opted not to. What would he say? He knew exactly where she stood. He’d seen the hurt in her eyes when she’d told him he should go. There had been pain, and Liam didn’t think he was too far off the mark in believing she was falling for him.
But she wasn’t about to ask him to stay. Why did he have to find her damn pride so attractive?
Her entire life, Macy had put the needs of others first. When her mother passed, she’d stayed at the store—though that had also been a defense mechanism. Then she’d been so assertive with her fostering, even if that meant putting her personal life on hold.
One thing was for certain. Macy may have dismissed him, but he sure as hell wasn’t done with her, no matter what he decided to do. If he did leave, then he’d damn well attempt to smooth things over with her. He couldn’t live with himself if he just let this pain fester between them.
Chapter Eighteen
“I think she liked the park.”
Macy turned onto her street, glancing in the rearview mirror at Lucy, who still held tight to her toy puppy. The blond curls were a little more tamed today. After a rough night, Macy knew the little one needed something fun. And taking her to the park was the perfect distraction to get Macy’s father out of the way, too.
Thankfully there were reinforcements at her house getting things set up. Macy didn’t know what she’d do if it weren’t for all her friends.
“Lucy’s lucky to have someone like you,” her father commented. “I’m proud of you, Macy. For fostering, for opening your home and your heart. Your mother would be proud, too.”
Macy’s throat clogged. This was definitely one of the many times in life when she missed her mother. On countless occasions Macy would need motherly advice, or just some girl talk, but her poor father had to fill the void.
Macy had loved seeing him pushing Lucy in the baby swings and lifting her in the air to spin around. All the same things he’d done with Macy when she was a child.
The need to take pictures had been great, but Macy feared getting too emotionally attached. Someone would eventually adopt Lucy and Macy would have to let her go. Or CPS would get in touch with the grandmother and she’d come forward.
For now, though, Macy was just going to enjoy the moment, love on a little girl who was emotionally broken, and hope she made it into the hands of the right family.
The closer she got to her house, the more Macy’s anticipation built. All the flyers and personal invitations she’d handed out would bring a nice crowd of people, guaranteeing this party would be a huge success. She wanted her father to have a memorable birthday, and doing the party a week in advance would totally catch him off guard.
When she turned onto her road, she couldn’t help but smile. Cars not only filled her driveway, they were parked along the road. So many familiar faces stood out in the front yard, several holding up a long banner that read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PHIL!
“What?” he muttered as he sat up straighter in the seat.
“Surprise,” Macy squealed.
He glanced to her, to the house, then back to her again. “Macy Jayne, I never . . . This is . . .”
Macy laughed. “I take it you really had no idea.”
He shook his head, a smile spread wide across his face. “A party didn’t even cross my mind. I thought we were just going out to eat for my birthday.”
She pulled the car in behind Zach’s truck. “We can do that, too.”
Her father turned, looking back at Lucy. “How will she be around all of these people?”
Something Macy had definitely already thought of. “I’m going to let you go on ahead and I’ll keep her out here for a bit. I may even end up in your apartment. I don’t want her to be afraid of all these unfamiliar people.”
Phil leaned across the seat and kissed her cheek. “I’ve got the best daughter in the world.”
Macy patted the side of his smooth cheek. “Only because I was raised by the best parents. Now get out there and greet your guests.”
As he stepped out of the car, Macy couldn’t help but look for Liam. She knew he was here somewhere. He’d texted her this morning saying he’d bring the food and set up while they were out. After she’d left him in the kitchen last night, she’d wondered if she’d been too closed off when he’d asked her opinion.
Couldn’t he tell how much she cared for him? That she was falling for him? Being honest and flat-out saying she loved him wasn’t a smart move at this point. She didn’t want to scare him, but she seriously wanted him to face his own emotions.
Macy refused to beg him and she absolutely wouldn’t tell him he should stay. If he was that torn, then he could only help himself at this point.
Lucy started to whimper in the backseat. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
Macy stepped from the car, warmth instantly hitting her. Spring had come early, blessing them with gorgeous days and warmer weather. Macy saw several park days in their future.... Well, as long as Lucy was in her care, anyway.
Macy was unfastening Lucy’s straps when she felt someone at her side. Turning her head, she saw Sophie.
“Hey, Sophie.” Macy pulled Lucy out, instantly holding her to her shoulder.
Sophie smiled at the baby, then said to Macy, “Liam told us about Lucy. What a tragedy. He filled us in while we were setting up.”
Macy reached in for the diaper bag. “I didn’t get a chance to text any of you yet. It all happened so fast.”
“Let me,” Sophie offered, taking the bag. “Are you going inside?”
“I don’t think she needs to be surrounded by chaos right now.” Macy closed the car door with her hip. “I thought about going for a walk.”
“I’ll go with you. We need to talk.”
The tone in her voice had Macy freezing. “What is it?”
“Don’t be alarmed—”
“When you start like that how else am I supposed to feel?” Clutching Lucy, Macy tried to remain calm. “Just say it.”
“Liam cut his hand with one of his knives. He didn’t know it was in the sink and went to wash up the dishes we were done with.” Sophie’s nose scrunched up. “It’s a pretty bad cut, actually. Braxton just took him to the ER.”
Macy looked over to the crowd surrounding her father—all the laughter, the smiles, the pats on his back. She wanted to leave, but how could she? She not only had her father and so many people from the town at her house, she had sweet Lucy to think of.
“How bad was it?” Macy asked, turning her attention back to Sophie.
Sophie gripped the diaper bag straps on her shoulder, her diamond engagement ring sparkling in the afternoon sun. “Bad enough that he immediately asked Braxton to take him. Zach and I finished getting things set up and Cora started greeting guests in that sophisticated way, as if she were welcoming royalty into your house.”
Even with the fear of what was going on with Liam, Macy couldn’t help but laugh. That sounded exactly like Cora, who’d grown up in a high society world, but blended perfectly into their small town.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you two,” Sophie went on. “But I know it’s more than friends.”
Lucy fussed and Macy patted her back, bouncing a little. The poor thing was most likely ready for a much deserved nap. Between the hell of yesterday, the big day at the park, and adjusting to brand new surroundings, Macy needed to get her settled.
“It’s complicated.” Macy wasn’t sure how to approach this. She and Liam had never talked about what was going on between them outside their little bubble. But his family wasn’t naive or stupid. “And after last night, I’m pretty sure friends is where we’ll stay.”
Those words hurt
to say, but the sooner she faced reality, the sooner she could heal . . . she hoped.
“Really?” Sophie shifted, holding her hand up to block the afternoon sun. “Because I thought for sure once I told him about the opportunity at Bella Vous, that he’d jump on opening his own place and—”
“What?” His own place? Here?
Sophie pursed her lips. “I take it he didn’t tell you.”
“No.” More hurt seeped in. Why was she letting him hurt her when this clearly was a one-sided relationship? A relationship he’d told her up front couldn’t happen and she’d readily agreed. “What opportunity?”
“I should let him tell you.”
Macy kept rocking back and forth gently, and the slow breathing from Lucy indicated the baby was finally resting. “Too late, you’ve already told me. Now just give me the details.”
More laughter echoed behind Macy as she waited. She was thrilled her father was having a wonderful party, and she’d get to it eventually, but now she had a resting child and a man to figure out.
“After Rand was removed from the mayor’s office, Dax McGlone took over. He called the other day stating he’s been getting calls from all over. The town is really thriving with more tourists since we opened the resort. Between the women flooding in from Savannah, and the talk of Liam’s cooking, Dax wanted to know if we’d be interested in opening a small bakery to sell to the public.”
“We . . . meaning Liam?”
Sophie nodded. “He hasn’t told me what he wants to do yet, but I think this is exactly what he needs. He’s been so . . . I don’t know, almost lost since he came back. I know his heart isn’t here, but I’d hate to see him go again.”
Little did Sophie know the man already had one foot out the door. He hadn’t told Macy about this opportunity and clearly this was the call he’d taken the other night when he’d pushed her questions aside. He hadn’t wanted to let her in, hadn’t wanted to discuss the options he’d been given.
In short, he wanted to do this all alone.
Tears pricked her eyes and she was thankful for the sunglasses she still had on. “Well, I’m sure he’ll let you know soon. I need to take Lucy to Dad’s and let her rest more. Can you let him know I’ll be back?”
Sophie patted her arm. “I’m sorry. I know you’re upset. I just assumed he told you.”
“It’s fine. We don’t share everything.” Well, she did, but obviously he hadn’t wanted to open up to her. “Will you come tell me the second you hear how he is?”
Sophie handed over the diaper bag. “Of course.”
Adjusting the bag onto her own shoulder, without waking Lucy, Macy watched Sophie head back toward the party. Macy opted to walk on the other side of the house and then around back. Nearly everyone was inside now, so she could sneak away and into her dad’s apartment without being seen. While her dad was having a great time, Macy needed to pull herself together.
Once Lucy rested for a while, she’d take her back to the house. She knew she’d be bombarded with questions about the baby, but those would be easy to answer.
It was everything else in her life at the moment that was causing major anxiety. As Macy let herself in to the back of her father’s apartment, she leaned against the door and sighed. Between the store and Lucy, she had enough on her plate. She just wished she’d listened to herself months ago when she told herself not to get emotionally attached to her new tenant.
Unfortunately, she’d fallen in love with a man who couldn’t get out of town fast enough.
* * *
Punching with one arm was a bitch, but that didn’t stop Liam from beating the hell out of his bag. He’d been in the ER so long, he’d missed going to Phil’s party. After he was dismissed with too many stitches, a wrap, and a pissy outlook on his future as a chef, Liam had told Braxton to just drop him off at home.
Home. The second floor of an old building in the main part of town. His “home” was the property of a woman he couldn’t get out of his mind, but he couldn’t let her deeper inside, either.
The pounding on his back door had him freezing. He didn’t want visitors. He sure as hell wasn’t ready to face off with Macy again. He’d been dead set on seeing her after the party, but that was before he’d injured himself. Now he wanted to be left alone with his punching bag and his thoughts.
Unfortunately, the unwanted visitor kept pounding. It couldn’t have been Macy—she would’ve let herself in by now.
He’d barely wrestled a glove onto his good hand earlier. Now he tucked his glove beneath his opposite arm and tugged until he was free. Tossing the glove onto the bed, he headed toward the door as the persistent knocking continued.
As soon as he jerked the door open, he was greeted with his brothers and Brock. Three sets of eyes, angry if he was reading body language correctly, stared back at him. Great. What had he possibly done now? He’d been in the damn ER for hours.
“Oh, good. My day is about to get worse.”
He turned away from the door. No need to invite them in. They’d do what they wanted.
“Count on it,” Zach confirmed as he closed the door behind the posse. “What the hell are you thinking stringing all of us along?”
Liam ignored the pain in his hand and sank down onto the leather sofa. “I’m not in the mood for games, so spit out whatever you really want to say.”
“He wants to know when you’re going to make up your mind about staying or leaving,” Braxton intervened. “Because you told us you were most likely leaving to go back to Magnolias. Then Sophie tells us you have an opportunity to stay here and open your own place, branching off the resort.”
“So what the hell are you doing and why are you so damn secretive?” Zach continued to glare as he practically shouted his question.
Brock stood between Zach and Braxton, his arms crossed over his chest. The anger rolled off Zach, but Brock appeared to be more hurt than anything. Anger Liam could handle, but knowing he was causing pain was a hell of a guilt trip.
“I’m still sorting shit out,” Liam threw back. “Why did you all barge in here to attack?”
“Because Sophie told Macy about the offer at the resort and she said Macy seemed upset.” Zach took a step forward, leaning against the chair opposite Liam. “Clearly whatever you two have going on is a mess if you didn’t even tell her. She deserves more than you jerking her around.”
Yeah, she did. This wasn’t exactly news to him. And this was also the main reason he’d told her they would only be together while he was here. She’d agreed.
“I’m not taking on the extra work at the resort.” He hadn’t known exactly what he was going to do until now. “I’m going to push through with my plans to go back to Savannah.”
There. He’d made a decision. Part of him was relieved, the other part . . . Hell, he didn’t know. Liam was positive no matter what decision he made, he’d have some regrets.
“So that’s it?” Brock asked. “You’re going to leave?”
Liam nodded, ignoring the lump in his throat. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. I came back to help you all out of a bind. You know I never wanted to be here.”
“You made that very clear from the beginning.” Braxton circled the chair Zach leaned against and took a seat. “We just figured you’d have a change of heart and end up staying. Then when this opportunity opened, we thought for sure you’d make the best of it and—”
“And what?” Liam asked. “Forget everything I’d worked for? I did my part. I didn’t let Chelsea down. I didn’t let you guys down. I will stay until I find a proper replacement. I won’t let the resort suffer.”
“It’s more than the resort,” Brock murmured.
Damn, that was low, bringing the kid in on this, Liam thought. Not that he was a kid—he was definitely more adult than most eighteen-year-olds—but still.
“Then you can tell Sophie that you’re not taking this opportunity,” Zach stated. “And you can smooth things over with Macy.”
“Macy
is none of your concern.”
Zach sneered in that typical cocky way of his. “She’s my friend, and when you’re gone she’ll still be my friend. So looks like she’s more our concern than yours at this point.”
Liam fisted his good hand. “I’ll take care of Macy.”
“I hate to bring this up, but it needs to be addressed.” Braxton nodded to Liam’s injury. “What about next weekend? I don’t know what the doctor told you, and I know Cora and Sophie will be concerned about you, plus the wedding.”
Liam inwardly groaned. He hadn’t told anyone what the doctor actually said. Because the words “nerve damage” and “only time will tell” had crushed him.
Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t go to Magnolias. Being the chef wasn’t all he’d wanted. He wanted the Savannah hot spot to be his very own. And if he couldn’t get back to the chef he used to be, that would be a new level of hell, but he’d still have a grand, successful restaurant.
Maybe if he came clean about his hand everyone would see this as him running again. Perhaps he was. Still, that wasn’t going to stop him from going back to Savannah. At least there he could have some control over his life, because here he had none. He didn’t want his family to know he might never have full use of his hand again. He didn’t want them to see him as a failure.
As the new owner of Magnolias, he would handpick the best of the best to fill his place in the kitchen and no one would be the wiser.
“I’ll make sure your wedding is taken care of,” he assured Braxton and Zach. “Nothing to worry about.”
Total lie, but he kept his tone firm and his eyes never wavered from Braxton. He’d find a way to make everything work out, no matter what he had to do or whom he had to enlist for help.
* * *
Macy was a bit surprised when Liam told her he was on his way over. Oh, she wasn’t surprised at his lack of manners. Telling her instead of asking her was typical Liam fashion. He didn’t want to give her the opportunity to say no.
What shocked her was the fact he was the one reaching out and wanting to talk. Or whatever he was coming over for.
Macy had just put Lucy down for a nap when the front door opened and closed. Again, just like Liam to use the code to let himself in.
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