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Marco sighed, rubbing a hand over his short hair in discomfort "It’s just dinner Me and the blonde She’s Leah’s cousin and she’s staying froot out of a bad relationship and Leah wanted to take herto happen" He took a step towardto get us back on track I’m sorry"

I continued to remain silent because I was afraid of what I’d say if I openedon the surface and I was very close to letting it all spew out in one hysterical rant

Marco didn’t get this, though I could see he thought I was being obstinate His eyes hardened in annoyance "You and Cole?" Okay,to me about him all this time?"

I raised an eyebrow at the accusation "Do you really think if I had so on with Cole he would have let you haul ht?"

"So he was just trying to piss me off?"

"Yes Not because I asked hi with you has confused things for me because… admittedly I was pissed off to see you with another woht… we need to stop"

In answer Marco turned toward the door and oing to walk out onmade my muscles relax and I kneas relief

What the fuck?

"I’ that I’d said the words out loud

Marco prowled toward ainst his He stroked ainst my mouth, "You want this to stop? Just say no"

He started kissinginto his e ball of confusion within me and no oing to keep on hurting us both

I pushed hard against hi the kiss I panted a little breathlessly from the effort it took to do so and I stared up into his confused eyes "No"

His fingers bit into ly badsome much-needed distance between us "I’m sorry I’m so, so sorry But I have to stop It’s not fair to either of us We have to end this"

"Or you could just adive me one more chance to prove to you that you don’t have to be scared That we can work"

I shookthe situation we found ourselves in "We’re nothing but drama"

"Yeah?" he snapped "So what? Everybody has dra to close the gap, but I only stepped back to widen it again The anger in his eyes banked at thetiiveto fight with ht? It makes me feel like that dick kid that walked out on you five years ago And I can’t be that kid anymore" He strode toward rabbed a that chance with ood"

His ultimatum paralyzed me

The fear paralyzed o of me Frozen, unable to stop him, I watched as he walked toward the door and unlocked it "You better get back to Cole and I better get back to my date"

"Marco --" My lips suddenlyfor hi each other"

"No" He glanced back at uish in his eyes "I hurt you and I didn’t hed, seeo completely when he said, "Babe, you come to your senses, you knohere I a"

The door closed behind hier’s office, wondering if I rong and Marco had been right all along

CHAPTER 25

"If she upchucks, Dad, you’re cleaning it up," Liv warned Mick as he lifted a giggling Lily above his head for about the fifteenth ti Lily down into his aruy and she looked tiny and adorable clinging to him "Soul of a pilot, this one"

It was Sunday lunch, and this time Mick and his wife, Dee, had been able to join us, so it was a full house It was actually hard to think, ith the children giggling and chasing one another, Bray crying, which was upsetting a usually docile Belle, and the adults trying to be heard over one another I loved our huge makeshift family, but on a day when I needed them to take my mind off Marco, all they were able to do was make my head pound with their cheerful but disjointed noise

In order to escape some of the cacophony, I volunteered to do the dishes and shot my arse into the kitchen It was still noisy, but at least there was distance between me and the worst of it There I was able to replay the scene with Marco at the restaurant over and over again, as I had been doing for days I’d been so sure as I stood there and told hi to do, but as soon as that door closed behind him I was seized with instant panic The truth was, I didn’t knoas right and rong I wished there was soive me all the answers Likely some people would call me foolish – tell me that surely the answer is so obvious If you love someone, you should be with theh, when there was so h that? Could I really let ain when there was absolutely no way of knohat the future held for us?

I was exhausted froain

I scraped the plates and had started loading them into the dishwasher when I felt another presence in the kitchen I looked up to see who it was, and ainst the doorjaether in concern

"I was actually going to ask you the sa slowly into the kitchen

I shrugged Really, as the point in lying?

Nate sighed "Thought so" He leaned back against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms over his chest "You know that Liv and I were just friends before anything roo down that road, we both kneas between us was special Except I didn’t want to ad run"