Page 38 of My Favorite Mistake

“She’s adorable,” Liza said genuinely. “The guys seem to get along well with her.”

“Oh, theyloveher.” Ophelia laughed lightly and shook her head. “She’s got all these guys wrapped around her little finger. Especially Connor. They’ve always had a special connection.”

Liza swallowed discreetly and nodded. A curious feeling of jealousy surfaced from out of nowhere. “That’s really sweet.”

“Yeah.” Ophelia sighed as she settled backward into the chair and rubbed her forehead. “We met him when he was going through a really rough time, and I got pregnant shortly after that. He’d started hanging around with Scott a bunch, going to music shows and all that. Scott was trying to keep Connor occupied because he was in a serious depression. And Scott had been writing about the artists at Jimmy’s label for about a year at that time, so Connor went with Scott to a few of Jimmy’s artists’ shows. That’s when he and Brennan became friends. They all started spending time together, and shortly thereafter Jimmy gave Connor a job. The poor guy just needed something, so he threw himself into work. When Caroline arrived on the scene, something in Connor just flipped on like a light.”

Liza’s head ached from tensely knitted brows, and she knew her jaw was hanging open slightly. She forced her mouth closed and swallowed. She knew Ophelia would probably not divulge personal information about Connor to a perfect stranger, but Liza had to ask anyway. “Do you think all of that was related to his time in the service? The depression he was dealing with, I mean.”

Ophelia sucked in a breath and lifted her hand to rub one side of the scar on her forehead and then touched the corner of her eye. “Maybe somewhat. He um.” She cleared her throat. “He lost someone shortly after he got out. It was really unpleasant.” She gave a quick, sad laugh. “I mean, losing someone you care about is always unpleasant. But the way he…”

The sound of Scott and Connor approaching caused Ophelia to trail off, and she cut her eyes toward the hall before looking back at Liza. “It’s not mine to tell. I don’t know if you’ve seen his grouchy side yet, but if you do, just know that he’s angry because he’s sad.”

Liza stared at Ophelia as Scott and Connor entered the room. She perceived they were now all speaking to each other, but there was a low hum in the atmosphere that buffered her hearing. Her stomach suddenly felt sick to the point she wondered if it might be a real problem.

Liza abruptly stood. Three pairs of eyes focused on her, but she focused on Ophelia’s. “Can I use your bathroom?”

Ophelia smiled and gestured at the hall. “Sure. It’s the second door on the right.”

“Thank you.” Liza turned, marched down the hall, and shut herself in the bathroom, locking the door. She gripped the bathroom counter and stared at her reflection. A tattered, water-stained post-it note on the corner of the mirror declared in elegant penmanship,Your value comes from within.

Considering her own life experiences, Liza found such an affirmation extremely ironic. She stared at her white knuckles on the edge of the sink as she tried to assemble a puzzle from the pieces of information Ophelia had offered.

The first thing her mind hung on was the timeframe based on Caroline’s age. She was going to be ten at the end of the year. That meant Ophelia had gotten pregnant right around the time Connor had ended his and Liza’s relationship. That also meant the loss of the person that Ophelia mentioned happened right around then, too.

The information was harrowing and startling. It all seemed connected.

Connor had made a stark, sudden transformation that resulted in him cruelly tossing Liza aside. Could the loss of whomever it was and the depression he’d been going through have been the cause? He’d so quickly transformed into a monster who called her after weeks of silence with a hate-saturated voice and dropped a bomb on her.

Never in her life would she forget his callous, firm, yet scary tone. Never in her life would she forget any of it, and the “your value comes from within”note on the mirror hurled Liza into a mental loop of memories.

Within, within, within.

Ten years earlier,withinLiza had been a secret. One she couldn’t divulge over the phone, especially after Connor had all but stopped talking to her other than sporadic text messages that told her he was really busy.

I’m sorry I keep missing your calls. I’m working a night shift and have to sleep during the day. I love you so much, and I miss you like crazy.

I’ll call you soon, I swear. Things are crazy over here and my dad is on my ass. Love you.

I know I haven’t called, but you don’t have any idea what kind of shit I’m dealing with right now. Just chill.

Why are you freaking out? You’re being dramatic, and I can’t deal with you right now.

K.

TheKwas the last message he’d sent. Liza had gotten it at 11:30 on the night she’d told him she was going to drive to New Orleans the following day. She’d told him shereally, reallyneeded to talk to him in person. The secret wasn’t something she could tell him over the phone.

She’d understood he’d been busy laying the foundation for the life he’d promised to start with her in his hometown. Up until then, she’d been perfectly content to wait until just the right time to join him.

But about three weeks after Connor had left for New Orleans, it was clear they no longer had the freedom of waiting. That particular week Liza discovered thetwoof them had become thethreeof them.

The secret Liza couldn’t tell Connor over the phone was that he was going to be a father.

She wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened, but she’d had an idea. Sometime in December, after five months together, they’d ditched the condoms in favor of the pill. And apparently the pill was only 91% effective, and apparently Liza was among that little 9% of ineffectiveness. By January, she realized the rubber had met the road, and it was time for them both to take action. She was terrified, but she believed there was no reason to be.

After all, she and Connor had made promises to each other. After all, they were in a committed relationship that had a future. After all, the promises they’d exchanged may as well have been wedding vows, even though there was no minister, witnesses, or license. After all, he’d never given her any reason to doubt him—that is, until after he’d returned to New Orleans.

Liza knew Connor had been under pressure and stress, and he probably just needed to see her. He just needed a reminder and a little motivation. So, she sent a text saying she was coming to him, and they needed to talk. And all he’d said wasK.

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