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The look on Liv’s face was one of pure joy. Moments like these were few and far between with her but becoming more frequent. I couldn’t help but smile because her happiness meant more to me than anything.
After dinner, Liv packed some leftovers for Piper to take home before they left. As Liv washed the dishes, I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Thank you for dinner. It was amazing.”
She turned around and kissed me, then smiled up at me. “You’re welcome.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear as I stared down at her. “I love you, Liv.”
She searched my eyes, the corner of her lips lifting up slightly. “I love you, too.”
The thought of her leaving weighed heavily on my mind, especially with all the plans we were making for the future. “Have you thought more about moving back here?”
Her smile fell, and she pulled back a little. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, darting her eyes away from me. “I have, but I still haven’t decided yet.” She sighed. “It’s complicated. My whole life is in Charlotte.”
I frowned, dropping my hands from around her. “What about me and Piper? Are we not a part of that life?”
She closed her eyes, shaking her head. “That’s not what I meant. That came out wrong.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and took a step back. “Things are going really good with Piper and with us. If you go back to Charlotte, we’ll lose everything we’ve worked for these past couple of months.”
Liv sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You think I don’t know that? It’s not easy throwing away my entire career.”
“Some things are more important than work.”
She narrowed her eyes at me as she threw the dish towel in her hand on the counter. “What happened to making it work no matter what? You were fine with long distance a few weeks ago.”
“Yeah, well, things change.” I dropped my arms before stalking away, done with the conversation. “I’m gonna take a shower.”
Liv didn’t object or argue. I hated fighting with her, but she needed to realize what was really important, and that was Piper. Even if I wasn’t part of the reason she stayed, I wanted her to put our daughter first, which we’d failed to do all those years ago.
I stayed in the shower longer than normal, letting my anger fade away before getting out. When I went to my room, Liv was waiting for me on the bed.
We stared at each other for a few moments before she finally spoke. “You’re right.” She stood and walked over to me, looking up at me with sad eyes. “You may not understand why it’s such a hard decision, but it is. I left here with nothing but my car and what was in it. And even if it was by choice, I was alone. On my own.”
Her brows furrowed as she continued. “I worked my ass off throughout college to get to where I am. Throwing everything I worked for away is scary. The thought of starting over is scary.”
Looking at the situation from her perspective helped me to understand her hesitation and fears. I reached up and ran my knuckles down her cheek. “You’re not alone this time. I’m here for you, and I’ll help you with whatever you need. You just have to let me.”
She nodded, wrapping her arms around my waist. “Okay.”
I rested my chin on her head and hugged her to me. “I love you, Liv. I’ll always be here for you.”
She squeezed me tightly. “I love you, too.”
Later that night as Liv slept next to me, I couldn’t sleep as thoughts of her leaving again preoccupied my mind. I worried about what it would do to Piper since we’d been spending so much time together.
I watched her sleep for a few minutes and sighed. I hoped that she decided to move back, for both our daughter’s sake and mine. I wasn’t sure I’d recover from her leaving me again.
LIV
The weekend of the end of summer carnival was quickly approaching, and so was the end of my assignment. From all the data and samples we’d collected, I’d been able to complete a great deal of research and analysis, but there wasn’t much more left to do.
I’d have to make the biggest decision of my life in the coming weeks, and I wasn’t ready. To an outsider, the right choice seemed like an easy one, but to me, it wasn’t. I’d have to totally uproot my life in Charlotte and find a new job and a new place to live. I’d be tossing aside everything I worked my ass off for and starting over.
And that scared the shit out of me. Even with Lincoln’s reassurance, I feared the unknown. What if I gave up everything, and we broke up again? What if Tim and Emily changed their minds about letting us be in Piper’s life?
What if? What if? What if?
I’d always focused on the worst-case scenario in my life, which was what made it hard for me to be optimistic and take leaps of faith. Life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and sometimes bad shit happened.
