Right. The truth. That would just solve everything, wouldn’t it? Liv hated liars. She’d made that abundantly clear, and that was without knowing the extent of the lie he lived every single day. He was a fucking idiot if he actually believed she would just shrug and say no big deal. There was a reason he’d been lying for so long. And after a certain amount of time, the lie was even bigger.

Because when people learned the truth about him, about his father . . . No. He wouldn’t let that get out.

Mack drove aimlessly after he dropped his mom off. He didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to go to work. There was only one place he wanted to be, but it took an hour of trying to talk himself out of it before finally banging his hand on the steering wheel and turning the car around. He didn’t even know if she was home. She might’ve taken the girls out to do something or—fuck. He just knew where he wanted to be.

He hit the button for hands-free calling and dialed Liv’s number.

“Hey,” she answered breathlessly.

“Hi,” he responded stupidly, because he’d lost all brain cells at the sound of her voice and morphed into a walking Dick and Jane book. Hear Mack stammer.

“Um, what’s up?”

He wiped a sweaty palm on his jeans. “What, um, what are you and the girls doing this afternoon?”

There was a pause. Long enough to cause a small heart attack.

“Um, actually, nothing. I have to . . .” she let out a nervous laugh and a restoring breath. “Alexis called and asked if I could help out at the café tonight. Her cat got bit or something, and she has to take him to the emergency vet clinic, and so I’m going to leave the girls with Rosie in about a half hour.”

His heart picked up. “I can watch them for you.”

Another pause. Another tiny heart attack.

“You want to watch them?”

“I could take them for ice cream or something.” He cringed. Jesus, could he maybe sound a little more creepy and desperate? See Mack wince.

“I think they would love that,” she finally said.

“I can be there in twenty minutes.”

“You’re sure?”

“Do I need to stop and get anything? Food or milk or whatever?”

“No.” She laughed.

“I’m on my way.”

“Mack, thank you.”

He made it in fifteen, and after pulling into the long driveway, he let out what felt like the first real breath all day. Liv must’ve heard his car, because she appeared on the stairs as soon as he shut off the engine. She wore a pair of jeans that made his mouth water and a plain white T-shirt. Her hair was piled high on her head.

Two pigtailed sprouts of joy raced ahead of her as he got out of the car. “Uncle Mack!”

Mack grabbed a girl in each arm and tossed them over his shoulders. They squealed and shrieked, and when he finally set them down, he found Liv staring with an affectionate smile. Whether it was for him or the girls, he wasn’t sure. He just wanted to see it again.

“Thank you for doing this,” she said, striding closer. She looked conflicted. “I thought about telling Alexis that I couldn’t help, but she’s been really weird lately because of the Royce thing, and—”

“Liv.” He slid his hand around the back of her neck and squeezed gently. “I got this.”

Three things happened at once.

She looked at his lips.

He looked in her eyes.

And an unspoken understanding passed between them.

They were going to talk about that kiss later.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Five hours later, Alexis walked into the café just as Liv was locking the front door.

“How’d it go?” Alexis asked, slightly out of breath. She lugged a plastic cat carrier in her left hand.

Liv untied her apron. “Fine. How’s Beefcake?”

“They stitched him up and gave him some antibiotics. He’s going to be okay.” Alexis set the carrier on the floor and shrugged out of her raincoat. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Of course. Anytime.” Liv inwardly winced. The conversation was stilted, uncomfortable. Alexis must have sensed it too, because they spoke at the same time.

“Can you stay for a little while?”

“Are we okay?”

They both stopped and laughed. “You go first,” Liv said.

“I was wondering if you could stay for a little while.”

Liv nodded. “For a few minutes. I left Ava and Amelia with Mack, so—”

Alexis’s mouth dropped open. “You left them with Braden Mack?”

“He’s surprisingly good with children. The girls love him.”

“Oh.” The way she said it was a lot like the way Thea had said I know.

“Don’t read anything into it,” Liv laughed. “He’s just helping me out. That’s it.”

“If you say so.” Alexis smiled. “What were you going to say before?”

“When—oh. Right. I just . . .” Liv bit her lip. “I just want to make sure you and I are good. We haven’t really talked since the last time I was here, and we left things weird.”

Alexis let out a relieved breath. “That was my fault. I overreacted.”

“So did I.”

Alexis picked up the cat carrier and nodded for Liv to follow her into the back. “Were you busy tonight?”

“Not too bad. Steady but manageable.”

Alexis set Beefcake on the floor again. “Any progress on the job front?”

“None.”

“Not even with the Parkway? I called the head chef myself.”

“And they responded. I had an interview set up for next week—”

“That’s great!”

“—but they canceled it for no reason.”

Alexis deflated. “You think Royce had something to do with it?”

Liv shrugged. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. He threatened to ruin me, and he’s doing it.” She sat down on a stool along the wall with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what to do. Jessica refuses to leave. Mack even offered her a job. Any job. She won’t take it.”

Alexis put a bowl of water in front of Beefcake. “Maybe you should just stop.”

“I can’t. There has to be a way to stop him. We’re trying to get a list of women who worked there before me and might have left under weird circumstances.”

Alexis’s hands paused. “Why?”

“So I can go talk to them. See if they know anything or if they want to come forward.” Liv bit her lip as the warring voices in her head battled over whether she should shut up or plow forward. Plow forward won. “Do you—do you know anyone?”

Alexis stood slowly. Shook her head.

“I just need names, Alexis. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

God, were they really back to this? “Why? I don’t understand—”

“If someone hasn’t come forward by now, I’m sure they have a valid reason.”

“Do you know someone?”

Alexis winced. “I can’t give you her name.”

Liv shot to her feet. “You do know someone!”

Alexis’s face turned stony. “You need to leave well enough alone, Liv. Didn’t you learn anything from what happened with your sister’s marriage?”

Liv felt the burn of her words like a giant splash of hot oil against her cheek. Wow. Liv hadn’t known Alexis had it in her to go for the jugular like that. It was always the sweet and quiet ones that could surprise you the most.

Alexis sighed and apologized. “I’m sorry. That was unkind of me.”

“No, you’re right. I didn’t help matters when Thea and Gavin were split up. I convinced Thea that Gavin couldn’t be trusted because I don’t believe any man can be, and it nearly ruined their chances to get back together. That was a mistake I will have to live with.”

Alexis walked over and hugged her. “I still shouldn’t have said it.”

Liv squeezed her friend and backed away. “I should go.”

Alexis gripped her hands. “Please don’t go away mad.”

“I’m not.” Liv looked at her feet and opted for honest. “I’m disappointed and confused. I’m trying to stop a predator. I don’t know why you would try to stop me from doing that.”

“Because some fights can’t be won.”

Disappointment burned hot and angry down her throat as Liv walked out to her car. Alexis’s words bounced around her brain the entire drive back to the farm. Some fights can’t be won. Liv refused to believe that.

A half hour later, her headlights illuminated the back of Mack’s car when she pulled into the driveway, and disappointment faded into anticipation. The window facing the driveway glowed in alternating shades of blue and white as if the only light inside her apartment was from the TV. Liv climbed the stairs, found the door unlocked, and pushed it open softly. She didn’t want to wake the girls. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but what she saw when she walked in sent her heart into overdrive.

Mack was on the couch, the girls curled up on either side of him, their feet in his lap. His head rested against the back of the couch, one arm stretched wide across the back of the cushions and the other resting on his chest, his fingers splayed wide. He was sound asleep.

Her apartment was clean too. The dirty coffee mug and oatmeal dishes that she’d left in the sink were gone. The girls’ toys had been picked up and lined against the table that held the TV. He’d even straightened up the pile of shoes by the front door. They stood in a perfect line on the mud tray.

Liv shut the door as quietly as she could, but the creak of the hinges brought a sharp breath behind her. She turned around. Mack lifted his head with a sleepy smile and raised the hand from his chest in a silent greeting. She crept closer to the couch, and he sat up straighter with a careful glance at each slumbering twin. With a wide yawn, he stretched his arms high over his head, and that was the thing that did her in. The yawn and stretch. Manly and vulnerable at the same time.