Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Another knock.
Who the hell was that?
Standing up, I stalked over to the door and jerked it open, ready to unleash a string of curses on whoever it was, but the sight of Selena knocked me off-balance. I’d not expected her.
Oh, wait, Tex had said something about the doctor being here.
“What do you want?” I growled.
The smile on her face brightened, as if I’d greeted her like I wanted her here. What was she up to?
“Liam, you smell like you’ve had better days,” she said in an annoyingly cheerful tone. “Life been stressful?”
I glared at her. Talking meant more pain, and she didn’t rank on the important meter for me to use my words.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and … was she batting her eyelashes at me? Was this a bad drunken dream? Because I’d rather be woken up and deal with the hangover.
Stepping past me, she walked into my office. “Whew, you need lots of water. It’s the best fix. Greasy food too. Although don’t tell anyone I am admitting that.”
Ugh, would she shut up?
“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice gravelly, matching the way my head felt.
She moved closer to me. I didn’t like the look on her face. I knew that look. She was flirting.
I held up both hands. “Whoa. Personal space,” I warned.
She placed her hands on her hips and pressed her lips out in a pout.
Oh God, stop. Please, someone, end this torture and get her crazy ass out of here. I have too much shit to deal with.
“I miss you. And before you tell me again, I know—I know—you got trapped by some bartender. I needed time to process it, but I did. And I am okay with it. I’m a pediatrician after all. I love children. It’s not a turnoff for me. I think you doing the right thing and being there for the baby is truly selfless.”
I held my hands up, shaking my head. She needed to go.
Where was Tex? Why hadn’t he stopped her from coming up here?
“No,” I said with enough force to make me wince again. “Not interested. Go away. What else do I have to say to make you leave?”
There was a flash of fury that I didn’t miss in her eyes, even in my hungover state. She didn’t like being told no. I’d missed that about her before, but thinking back, she had pouted about things. Oh, who cared? She was not important.
“Whatever lies she’s told you about me, I should get the chance to defend myself. All she does is lie. She needed somewhere to live, and you think it’s a coincidence that she was so willing to fuck a stranger? No. She wanted someone to take care of her. She’s a manipulative liar. She’s always been that way. She told my father things about me to make him hate me. She couldn’t stand that he might love me more.” She let out a fake sob and wiped at a tear that wasn’t there.
When she’d started talking, I’d thought she was making assumptions about the woman I had gotten pregnant, but I realized she knew it was Liberty. She was talking about Liberty.
My blood began to heat as I stared at her.
“She’s not who you think she is. Believe me. She’ll probably rob you blind.”
My hand was around her narrow neck before I knew what I was doing. “She doesn’t have to rob me blind. I’d sign over the deed to my house if she asked. Now, you have one goddamn second to get the hell outta my club!” I said, then shook her because she was a woman and I couldn’t hit her. But, God, I wanted to. I loathed the air she breathed.
“I am telling you, Liam—”
“GET OUT!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. Headache be damned. The only thing I felt was fury.
I heard footsteps, and Tex was there. He looked from her to me.
“Get her out before I throw her down the stairs,” I said, not looking back at her as I walked over to my desk.
“This way, lady,” Tex said.
“He won’t listen to me,” she cried.
“If you don’t listen to me, he will do what he said. He’s not in a good place right now, and you are his target at the moment. You need to run like hell.”
“You’ll regret it!”
“Shut the fuck up, woman!” Tex said, and I watched as Tex grabbed both her arms and shoved her through the door before he slammed it closed.
Liberty had lived with that kind of jealousy and hatred.
I pressed my fist to my chest. That wasn’t easing up anytime soon. I had to fix the royal shit show I had created. If I had to get my whole family over to the house and get down on one knee, I would do it.