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My mom’s eyes glistened with tears, and her voice cracked as she asked, “Do you think I’ll be able to meet her?”
My chest tightened. “I hope so. We still have to work all that out with her adoptive parents. They said Lincoln and I could see her again, but we didn’t set anything up yet.”
Nodding, my mom dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “That’s understandable. I can’t imagine what any of you are feeling right now. It must be so overwhelming.”
That was the understatement of the century. Everything about the situation was overwhelming—my pregnancy at such a young age, the adoption, my destruction of my relationship with Lincoln. And coming back home and throwing salt in old wounds was the icing on the cake.
I sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know what to do. I have a life back in Charlotte. Lincoln has moved on, and Piper has a wonderful life with two great people.”
My mom gave me her knowing smile. She reached out and placed her hand over mine. “But what is life without love? If you don’t share it with the people who mean the most to you?”
Lonely. Boring. Sad. I looked up into my mom’s wise eyes. “You know the answer already, Liv. It’s always been here,” she said, placing her free hand over her heart. “You’ve just always been too stubborn to listen.”
She was right. She was always right. I should’ve listened to my heart all those years ago and took a chance with Lincoln. My fear of being kicked out of my home and forced to be on my own with a newborn stopped me from following my heart. I knew Lincoln would’ve done everything he could to provide for Piper and me, and we could’ve made it work. We could’ve been a family.
But I was young and stupid. The biggest mistake of my life still haunted me every minute of every day. I may have already lost Lincoln, but I could still have a chance with Piper. It would be hard, but she was worth it.
“Thanks, Mom.”
After chatting a little longer with my mom, I went back to my hotel. I still felt like hammered shit after the night before, so I wanted to take a nap and hopefully sleep off my hangover.
As I walked through the lobby, the receptionist called after me, “Excuse me, Miss Owens?”
Stopping, my brows furrowed as I turned toward a young woman. “Yes?”
“These were left here for you.”
A huge arrangement of flowers sat on the lobby desk. I slowly approached, confused as to where and who the flowers came from.
The receptionist smiled as I reached the desk. “A young man came looking for you today. He was very adamant that I get these to you personally as soon as you came back.”
Butterflies took flight in my stomach. Lincoln was always big on romantic gestures, and no one else had a reason to send me flowers, so I assumed they were from him.
I slipped the small card out of its holder and read the inside:
* * *
Liv,
I’m sorry about last night. Please give me a chance to explain. I can’t stand for you to be upset with me, not when I just got you back.
Lincoln
* * *
The note left me even more confused than I had been about what had happened. If he had a girlfriend, why would he send me flowers? Why would it seem like he was trying to rekindle things between us when he stopped me from kissing him last night?
I thanked the receptionist and carried my flowers up to my room. I set them on the table and stared at them for a few seconds, trying to make sense of everything.
I gnawed on my bottom lip as I debated what to do. I wanted to talk to Lincoln about everything, but I was afraid of what he was going to tell me. Hearing that he was in a committed relationship from his own lips was different than hearing it from Beth. It would hammer the final nail in the coffin of our relationship.
My head was still pounding from my hangover, and my morning hadn’t helped at all. I decided to take a nap, then make my decision. I wanted to have a clear head when I saw Lincoln, especially after the night before. I didn’t need to make a fool of myself again.
LINCOLN
I couldn’t believe how badly I’d fucked things up with Liv. She’d finally opened back up to me and even made a move by kissing me, but I’d stopped her like an idiot. What I’d been praying for for over ten years was finally coming true, and I’d fucked it up.
But no matter how much I wanted to take things further, I couldn’t. Not while I was still with Amber. I couldn’t betray her like that. It was bad enough that I was feeling things I shouldn’t be for Liv—I didn’t need to add cheating on top of that. If I’d allowed Liv to keep rubbing that sexy body of hers all over me, we would’ve crossed a line there was no coming back from.
