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“Fritz.”
Cora’s warning tone does nothing to save him. The pressure of all these years on my own, of dealing with the grief of losing a husband, of everything up to and including losing the second love of my life—and yes, I am just realizing that—explodes all over Fritz.
I stand and stalk toward him.
“Yeah? Is that a fact?” I look at Cora. “Sorry I forgot.”
“Liv, it’s not a big deal. I understand.”
And I know that she does to a point, but she doesn’t really. She’s always had Jim. He’s always been there. He never…
“No, you don’t.”
I see that I hurt her feelings, and I immediately want to apologize, but Fritz makes that impossible.
“You need to apologize.”
I turn to look at my brother. I love him with all my heart but fuck that. Mason told me I hid too much from my family, and now I will let them know.
“None of you know what it’s like.” His gaze narrows, and he opens his mouth, but I will not take it. Not after what I’ve been through the last few days. “I know you’re about to say that you do, but you don’t. I handle everything. Every damned thing! I don’t have anyone I can lean on. It’s me.” I smack my chest. “And yes, I have a large annoying family, but it isn’t the same as having someone there by my side. I’m on my own now because my deceased husband chose the military over me. Every. Fucking. Time.”
“Liv,” he says, his eyes widening as he steps closer to me. “That’s not true.”
He looks like he’s about to give me a hug, and I want that. Fritz gives good hugs, but I’ve got to tell them everything. Just like Mason told me to.
“It is. Do you know he didn’t get the orders to go to Iraq? That he volunteered?”
Fritz shakes his head.
“Well, he did. He missed the birth of his first child. That was beyond his control. The second time…hechose. He volunteered. He didn’t tell me this, you know? What a great fucking marriage we had, right? Everyone thinks he was a hero, and he was. I mean, he died saving three men, and I know that it’s selfish to think about wanting him with me because those three men would probably be dead if he hadn’t volunteered. So, I get to spend the rest of my life knowing that I wasn’t enough for the man who said he would love and honor me. He lied to me about the orders, and I can’t even yell at him.”
“How did you find out?” Cora asks, her voice quiet for once.
I glance at her, and the shame hits me again. “His commander told me at the funeral. He had no idea I didn’t know, and I hope I was able to hide that I didn’t. I probably did because I was so numb at that point.” The memories of the funeral, the crushing weight of being seven months pregnant and on my own, hit me.
“It took a while for the anger to come. I stuffed it down because I didn’t have a choice. I had a little girl who didn’t understand what was happening and another baby on the way. And, I a really sorry. I should have told all of you, but I was ashamed that I couldn’t handle it all. I didn’t even realize it until Mason said something about it.” I laugh, but there is no humor in it. Tears are now pouring down my face. “And now, thanks to my anger and stupidity, I’ve lost a second chance at love. And Idolove him. He’s too young for me, and I don’t care. I want him.”
Saying the words out loud is cathartic. In that one instant, I understand it doesn’t matter what other people think. All that matters is that I’m in love with him.
“I love Mason.” I whisper the admission as the pressure I’ve been fighting all week seems to lift away. In its place are warmth and happiness.
“Finally,” Avery mutters at the same time, Fritz asks“Who the fuck is Mason?” His voice is so loud that I jump at the sound of it. I turn to look at my brother and see the irritation on his face. Yep, he’s always the last to know everything.
“That would be me.”
ChapterTwenty-Three
MASON
This isn’t how I pictured making up with Liv.
I was starting to worry that we would never be able to get over her age gap hangups and anger, but I had hope. When Sammy showed up at my door, I thought he might be in the mood for a little guy time. Living with two females isn’t easy on a fellow, even if he is just in grade school. But the tears I saw in his eyes sent a healthy dose of alarm clanging through my entire system. Sammy isn’t a crier.
The moment I laid eyes on Liv, my entire world seemed to settle once again. I’ve kept our issues to myself, although almost everyone at work begged me not to come in today because, apparently, I’ve been a jerk. So, I guess maybe I’ve been a little cranky. Now, it’s like everything in my world is better. God, she’s gorgeous. Even with puffy eyes and her hair a mess and tears…she’s stunning.
Of course, I know Avery. The other woman looks like another sister. The man standing in her room—himI have a problem with.
He looks vaguely familiar, and it isn’t until Savannah Martinez steps into the small bedroom that it clicks. He’s her husband, which makes the man Liv’s brother.
