Page 197 of Push

“Er—” Why was I cringing like a teenager sprung by his parents? “Defileis a strong word. I prefer to say gentle…and…and…loving.”

“I’d prefer if you said nothing at all,” Liam muttered. “I’m nowhere near drunk enough for this conversation.”

“I’m a married man who’s completely head over heels for my wife. Sex is healthy. It’s part of life.”

“Stop talking.”

“You asked.”

Liam grunted, uncapped the bottle, and poured himself a drink. More than a shot of whiskey went into his glass.

I nodded at the bottle. “Pour me one of those.”

“Won’t somebody please think about the children?” He smirked.

“Oh, har har.”

“What happened to your sobriety?”

“It went out the window at about ten o’clock this morning.”

Liam jerked his head toward the bar fridge. “Mama keeps sodas and water in there.”

“You keeping me on the straight and narrow?”

“Attempting to.”

I never knew what to make of Liam. He shrugged me off, disinterested, but the ghost of a smile curled around his glass when I leaped up and headed for the fridge instead of insisting on him pouring me a shot. He sipped his drink, and his gaze returned to some uninteresting spot in the yard.

I settled back in my mountain of palm tree pillows on the lounge. “So, what’s the plan?” I popped open the can of soda.

“Plan?”

“Yeah.” I waved at him to hurry the conversation along. “Ian.”

“Yourbrother isyourproblem.”

“Excusez-moi?”

Blond eyebrows shot up.

“You’re not dodging responsibility here,” I said. “You put my wife in danger, and I want to know how you’re planning to make it right.”

“I was surprised to learn about your father’s indiscretion, but the Sullivan siblings bickering over their ill-gotten gains has nothing to do with me. You have all the power you need to handle this situation. Throw some money at your brother, and I’m sure he’ll slither back to whatever sewer he came from.”

Seriously?I clenched my fist. “Your man fails to keep track of Gwen, and you beat the absolute shit out of him, but Ian attacks her, and suddenly it’s not your problem? Fuck you. You didn’t see her in that bathroom.”

“Stop.”

Oh, hell no.I wasn’t stopping. “She was covered in blood—”

“Stop.”

“—shaking all over—”

“Stop.”

“—bawling her eyes out—”

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