I slowly looked up to see my friends staring at me with curiosity. I caught Jackson sneak a glance over at Declan, and the two men seemed to be exchanging something between themselves.
Jackson’s gaze returned to me, and I found myself questioning him for the first time.
“What’s going on?”
Taken aback, he asked, “What do you mean?”
“You and Declan—what’s going on?”
“It’s not important right now,” he said with a wave of his hand.
“I want to know.” My tone was clipped and to the point.
He let out a deep breath of air just as Declan spoke up, “It’s not a big deal, Liv. Jackson’s just worried about you. He told me about the newspaper journalist from the other night and—”
My temper began to rise, and my heart rate accelerated. “You were talking about me?”
The room went dead silent. No one was touching the food anymore, and I felt terrible for disrupting the meal Clare had put so much effort into, but I just couldn’t stop pushing.
“I asked Declan what he thought of the situation because of his background with reporters. That’s all,” Jackson said.
“You think my father is using me, don’t you?”
My eyes darted around the room and saw a sea of blank faces. Did they all think that?
“I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
The tiny room began to spin and my stomach churned with embarrassment. “I don’t feel well all the sudden. Clare, do you mind if I leave early?” I tried to plaster on my best smile.
She gave me a weak smile as she began to rise from her chair.
“Don’t bother, honey. I can show myself out.”
There wasn’t enough air in the room. I felt like everyone was staring at me, judging me.
I had to get out.
~Jackson~
We drove back home in silence.
The sheer fact that she was even in the same car with me right now was a miracle. I could feel the anger and hurt radiating off her body like an overworked furnace.
I spent every second between Clare’s house and ours thinking, contemplating, and figuring out my plan of attack. With Liv, it was always about strategy.
Going into this relationship, I’d known that it wasn’t going to be easy. Both Liv and I had been single for far too long, but her situation was vastly different than mine.
She’d basically been abandoned by the two people in her life who were supposed to be there for her. The results of this experience had made Liv’s strong personality even more so. She had been fiercely determined to prove to the world just how capable she was on her own two feet.
Making a partnership with someone who’d spent years living on her own and asserting her independence was no easy battle, but it was one that I was willing to fight because she was worth it.
Together, we would always be worth it.
I pulled into my driveway, and she jumped out of the truck the second it came to a stop.
“Liv, wait,” I hollered after her, once I’d shut off the ignition and pushed open the door. I raced after her.
“I’m done talking tonight, Jackson,” she hissed as she walked across the grass between our houses.
“Well, I’m not.”
“You don’t want to know what I have to say, so drop it and go home. We can talk tomorrow,” she said.
Somehow, I knew that if I let her walk away, there would be no talking tomorrow.
We reached the sidewalk, and her heels clacked against the concrete as she tried to outpace me to her front door. I sped up and cut her off, blocking the entrance.
“What the hell, Jackson?” Her eyes were narrowed into slits as she angrily folded her arms across her chest.
“I’ll let you pass, but you have to talk to me,” I said.
“Fine,” she said.
“Inside,” I added, remembering whom I was playing with. Liv was a sneaky little thing. If we stood out here to talk, I’d find a door slammed in my face in five seconds flat.
“Fine!” she yelled.
I pulled out my keys and unlocked her door.
“You know I could do that.”
“Yeah, but then I’d probably end up with my ass on the doormat and you on the other side, sliding the chain in place to keep me out.”
“Prick.”
“Nice one.” I grinned, letting her name-calling slide off my back. At least she was talking to me.
I opened the door and stepped inside before she had a chance to scoot past me. Once I was safely in, I ushered her to join me.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Anytime.”
She dropped her purse in its normal spot on the counter and turned back toward me, obviously not taking the time to sit and get comfortable. She thought this was going to be quick.
She was so wrong.
“So, talk,” she snapped.
“I thought I should have the opportunity to explain myself.”
There was no reply. She just waited.
“Look, Liv, I don’t have a clue what’s going on in that head of yours, but I think I have a pretty good idea. Those people you ran out on tonight love you. Not a single soul in that room wanted to cause you harm. If Declan and I were talking about your father, it was only because we wanted to make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
“I can take—”
“I know. You can take care of yourself. Goddamn, woman, would you just let me speak?”
Her mouth snapped back shut.
“I don’t know why you think me wanting to take care of you or protect you is in some way an insult to your independence. Haven’t you already proven that enough already?”
“I just don’t know if I’m cut out for this,” she whispered.
“What do you mean?”
Motioning between the two of us, she took a step forward. “You…me…us. I just don’t know if I’m meant to be in a relationship like this. It’s too much, too soon. We’re too much. I can’t handle it.”
Heart failure—that was what I felt in this moment.
“What are you saying, Liv?”
“Maybe we need a break.”
“We’ve barely even started,” I whispered.
“Then, perhaps we should just go back to being neighbors?” she suggested softly.
“You could never be just my neighbor, Liv.”
My eyes fell to the floor as I tried to come up with something to say that would make her reconsider. What could I say or do if she’d already made up her mind?
“I think I’m done talking for the evening,” I finally said, turning toward the door.