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I roll my head to face him. “I don’t know how to let Luke go.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re not supposed to,” he says, surprising the hell out of me.
“Since when are you team Luke?”
He shrugs. “I was wrong to judge him.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“Sacrificing his own happiness, so that you can have yours, is the purest form of love. He left you, but only had your best interests at heart. He still does.”
“Where the hell is this coming from?”
He shrugs. “Everything he’s done has been for you. He funded the Maddox security branch in San Diego so Dylan and Garrett would be close to you. He took care of all your legal fees from the safe house incident. The doctor who saved your life works for him. He consulted both me and your brother after he broke up with you to make sure you had a support system. Your VIP birthday party? He paid for all of it. He even paid for the gym in the barn. I’m sure there’s more. He provides for you without your knowledge, Livvie. He does it because he loves you. And from what I understand, still does.”
“Wh—What?” My jaw drops. “He did?”
My dad smiles and nods.
“How do you know?”
“Mark told me.”
I rub my thumb under the sparrow pendant I always wear. Luke never stopped taking care of me. He just did it. Not because I needed it, but because he wanted to.
“When you took that bullet for him, I was furious. And if you ever do something like that again, I’m locking you in this house for eternity. But you did for him what he did for you. He left you to keep you safe, and you were willing to die for him for the same reason. A love like that is pretty damn rare, Livvie.”
I never thought about it like that before. I sacrificed for him, just like he did for me.
“It’s time you both stop sacrificing for each other and learn to live for one another. Do you think you could do that?”
I sigh and shrug.
“Well, for what it’s worth. I know you can. You’ve been miserable without him.”
He’s right. But I’m not ready to admit it.
He stands and walks around the couch, bending to kiss my head. “Just think about it, Livvie. Whatever you choose, I’ll support.”
He leaves me in a jumbled mess of emotions. I lay back down on the couch and stare at the ceiling. Luke’s face leaps into my brain and I can’t get it out. I stop trying and sink into his eyes like I used to. His face sharpens into clearer focus, and he laughs. Tiny crinkles form by his eyes. It doesn’t give me the answers I need, but my heavy heart is lighter.
