“Well, in this case, maybe it’s for her own good!” Mack blurted.

“And I still think this book is bullshit,” Gavin said. “He’s obviously still lying to her. I don’t know. I don’t like this dude.”

Mack toyed with a creamer packet. “Maybe there are strong emotions involved.”

“So?”

“So strong emotions can make you do things you wouldn’t normally do.” And Mack totally, one hundred percent was not talking about himself.

“Yeah, but he’s still lying to her.” Gavin shrugged.

“Because he was trying to protect her.”

“I’m just saying that I learned the hard way that even well-intentioned lies have a way of destroying things.”

Mack slammed his mug down. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to protect someone you care about!”

Mack’s outburst made the guys jump in their seats and even caught the attention of people two tables over. Great. He plunked his elbows on the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. He shouldn’t even have come this morning.

“Dude, what’s up with you?” That was Derek.

He was saved from answering when the waitress arrived with their food. Things got dicey when she mixed up the order, though, and gave Del’s cheese omelet to the Russian. They straightened it out before everyone suffered.

“You were saying?” Derek prodded, smiling over a pile of scrambled eggs.

“Nothing.”

Malcolm leaned forward all serious-like. “You are not yourself today, Mack. Talk to us. Book club is about more than books. You know that.”

He did know that. He’d just never been on the receiving end of their psychological machinations. He liked it better when he was dishing out smart-ass advice instead of needing it.

“Come on, man,” Del said. “What’s up?”

“I promise not to make fun of you for whatever it is,” Gavin said.

Del smacked Gavin upside the head. “Shut up and let him talk.”

No use keeping it a secret. Liv would tell likely tell Thea about the bar fight eventually—though he doubted she had already, because he’d made that mistake before—and Gavin would just be pissed that Mack hadn’t said anything. Still, Mack hesitated before leaning back in his chair and blurting it out. “There was a fight at the bar we went to last night. Liv got hit in the face.”

Gavin’s fingers tightened on his fork. “Is she all right?”

“Fine. It was an accident. The guy didn’t mean to do it, but . . .” Mack gave in to his own strong emotions and pointed across the table. “You didn’t warn me what she was like.”

“Who? Liv?”

“Yes, Liv. Who the fuck do you think I’m talking about?”

“I’m not sure what I needed to warn you about, except that she’s cranky most of the time, and you already knew that.”

“You could’ve told me that she’s a pain in the ass.”

“Everyone knows that,” Gavin said with a smirk.

“Yeah, but now she’s a pain in my ass.”

Gavin shrugged again and spoke with his mouth full. “You’re the one who insisted on partnering up with her.”

“I don’t get it,” Del said cautiously. “Did Liv cause the fight or something?”

“No, but . . .” He made a frustrated noise. “Do you want to know what she did? I’ll tell you. All hell is breaking loose, and she jumps up on the freaking bar, and when I tell her to get down, does she listen to me? Hell no. She takes a flying leap right into the goddamned middle of it!”

Gavin nodded. “That sounds like Liv.”

“And then, then she had the . . . the . . .” Dammit, he couldn’t even find words. “The balls to yell at me when I carried her out of there.”

“Wait,” Gavin said, a smile starting to tug at his lips. “You carried her?”

“As in, you picked her up and carried her away from the fight?” Hop prodded, getting back into the conversation.

“Yes. Which part of that don’t you understand?” Mack slumped in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “And did you know she makes fun of romance novels? She hates them. Did you know that?”

Gavin, Del, and Derek all exchanged an unreadable glance. Next to him, Malcolm and the Russian both pulled out their wallets. Mack did a double take. “What is that? What’re you doing?”

“Getting ready for the bill,” Malcolm said. “Continue.”

He couldn’t continue, because he wasn’t going to admit to what happened next. Gavin and Hop were taking the whole fight thing well, but they might not be so nonchalant if they knew that Mack had pressed Liv against the wall, kissed the ever-loving shit out of her, and was now going out of his fucking mind wanting to do it again.

“Is that . . . all?” Gavin finally asked after a long pause.

“Yes. No. I don’t fucking know.”

And then it happened again. Just like at Gavin’s house, the guys traded bemused glances and then lost it. Their laughter shook the goddamned table and drew stares from every other person in the restaurant.

“Shut up,” Mack grumbled, poking at his egg-white omelet.

“Shit,” Gavin panted, trying to catch his breath. “I did not see this one coming.”

“See what coming? What the hell is so funny?”

Malcolm clapped a beefy hand on his shoulder. “Mack, for someone who has read every manual out there, you sure are clueless about your story sometimes.”

“Fuck off. What are you talking about?”

“Liv, dumbass,” Del laughed. “You and Liv to be more precise.”

The sense of total exposure sucked the air from his lungs. “No. Hell no. Look at me. She drives me crazy.”

“Exactly,” Malcolm said. “Look at you. You’re a mess.”

“You guys are full of shit.” Mack started shoveling heavy forkfuls of tasteless eggs into his mouth.

“I don’t know,” Derek said. “I’ve sure as shit never seen you like this over a woman.”

“Me either,” Malcolm said. “Not even when Gretchen dumped you.”

“Face it, man,” Del said, leaning back all smug and shit. “She might be perfect for you.”

Mack pointed at every man at the table except Hop. “Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. And fuck you.”

The Russian looked up. “You did not say fuck you to me.”

“Fuck you too.”

“Did it ever occur to you that the reason she drives you crazy is because you’re attracted to her?” Malcolm asked. “It’s classic enemies-to-lovers.”

“Classic,” Gavin said, nodding and chewing.

“I can’t believe this,” Mack said to him. “I thought you of all people would know this is nuts.”

Gavin took a deep breath. “I only know of two women in the world who can drive a man as crazy as you are right now. I’m married to one, and the other is her sister. I say go for it.”

“Go for it?” Mack parroted, his voice an incredulous squawk.

“Why not?” Gavin said. “But I probably should also tell you that if you hurt her, I will have to hurt you.”

Mack slapped his hand over his heart. “Your faith in me is heartwarming, truly. I’m all squishy inside.”

“I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m just saying you have to be careful. Liv is . . . she’s not what she seems.”

Mack dragged a hand over his hair. “I know.”

“She likes to pretend she’s all tough and stuff, but it’s bullshit.”

“I know.” It came out a growl this time, because that was what scared him the most about her. That her sarcasm, her fuck off attitude, and her complete distrust in men were just a cover for something else. Maybe that, above all else, was what they shared in common. They were both living a lie. A sudden sense of loneliness stole over him. Not for the first time, he felt on the outs. The odd man in the group. The man who could save a hundred marriages but was doomed to never find his own happy ending.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Okay, I think that’s everything.”

Thea dropped the last of Ava and Amelia’s four bags on the floor of Liv’s living room. “But if we forgot something, you can just get it from the house.”

“Who needs toys when there are goats and chickens?” Liv said, dropping to her knees and throwing her arms open for the girls. They launched themselves at her with squeals. Thea waited patiently as Liv did her best to get them riled up with tickles and raspberries on their necks.

Finally, when the girls had collapsed in a heap of giggles, Liv stood.

“You’re sure this is okay?” Thea asked. “I mean the dog with the chickens?”

Liv was also watching Butter Ball. “It’ll be fine.”

Butter had reached that tipping-point age for golden retrievers when they stopped noticing squirrels and instead sought out the best sunbeam for a nap. As if on cue, the dog sank to the floor with a heavy sigh in front of the window, where a crack in the curtains had let in a ray of sunshine.

“How are things going?” Thea asked.

Liv looked up to see that her sister had wandered to the kitchen table, where Liv had been searching job postings. Liv strode over and shut the computer.

“I’ll find something.”

“That good, huh?”

Yeah. Great. Two more form rejections had come in just this morning. “I’ll find something.”

Thea set her purse on the table and fished out her wallet.

Liv gritted her teeth. “What are you doing?”

Thea didn’t answer as she set a stack of twenty-dollar bills on the table. Liv picked them up and handed them back.

Thea refused to take them. “You’re babysitting. People get paid for babysitting.”

“They’re my nieces.”