Page 93 of No Way Home
I was being a complete tool. But if Liam touched her one more time, I would go ballistic. And then Liam would drown me. So yeah, this was simply self-preservation.
Liam’s nostrils flared, every muscle flexed. “I’m gonna kick your —”
“You can’t,” I said with a cocky chuckle. “You know why?” Jump. “No roughhousing.” Jump. “Wrestling.” Jump. "Or fighting.” Jump. “It says so in your contract.”
His face turned an alarming shade of tomato. If I’d had any sense, I would’ve run—er, swum—for my life. I didn’t.
His eyes darted past me. “Maggie!” he called. “Don’t leave.”
I turned to see her crawling to the ladder.
“Oh no, you don’t!” In two bounces, I was across the mat, cutting her off. “I need to talk to you.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she snapped, like that was final, proving her best friend’s prediction correct.
Was she really over me?
Admittedly, I shouldn’t have spoken my next words. But my pride and the panic I couldn’t shut down rendered me temporarily insane. “Oooh. Got it.” My head bobbed as if she hadn’t hurt me at all. “You don’t care who you get with, as long as their last name is Dupree.”
She blinked, eyes watering, like I’d backhanded her.
Crap.
Liam exhaled a frustrated laugh. “Oh my gosh. Dude. You are so freaking dumb. Like the dumbest.”
I swung around to look at him, and Magnolia launched herself off the trampoline. When I turned back, all that remained was the churn of water where she’d disappeared.
I heaved my arms behind me, about to go in after her, but Liam grabbed the waistband of my shorts and flung me onto the mat. My left shoulder blade burned. “Gah!” NowIhad road rash.
He pinned me to the mat, his palms digging into my shoulders. “What is wrong with you?” He jumped up an inch and slammed back down. “I mean, I’m glad you finally came to your senses. Took you long enough.” Another mini jump and his knee was in my gut. “But I spent the entire day building you up to her, telling her what a good guy you really are, and you just destroyed all of it.”
I stared up at him in surprise. “You did?”
“Yeah.”
I snorted. “Did you flirt with her to make me jealous? Or to make Griff jealous?”
His grin turned villainous. “Yup and yup.” As fast as it appeared, his smile vanished. “But also because I think you two would be great together.” He punched me in the pec and it nearly knocked the air out of me. “Or Idid. But not if you’re going to be a douche.”
“You didn’t need to put your hands all over her the entire day,” I said through gritted teeth.
His brows flicked up. “Apparently, I did. It got you to finally act.” He shoved my face sideways. “Look what you did.”
Magnolia had made it back to the beach. Charlie was talking to her, hands moving frantically, probably apologizing for my behavior. From the stiffness of Magnolia’s shoulders and how aggressively she was pulling on her shorts, it looked like she was leaving.
Standing next to her, Abilene frowned at me, arms folded, shaking her head.
I tried to sit up but Liam wasn’t having it. He pinched my entire face between the fingers and thumb of his right hand, his brows lifted in a threat. “Don’t break her heart again. You hear me?”
“Since when do you care about Magnolia?” I asked lips forced into a little round O.
“Since always,” he said possessively. “She’s my friendandshe’s one of the best girls I knowandeven though we have zero chemistryandshe’s still stupidly attracted to you, don’t think I wouldn’t marry her in a heartbeat and love the heck out of her just to spite youandGriff.” He said it like,try me and see. “We clear?”
But all I heard was that she was ‘stupidly attracted’ to me. “Did she say she’s attracted to me? Today?”
“No, jackweed. She’s keeping those feelings close to her chest—as she should, after what you did. But it’s obvious. Her eyes kept darting around, searching for you when you disappeared.” He popped me in the side of the head just like Ashton. “If she decides to forgive you, don’t hurt her this time.” Then he stood. “Go,” he ordered.
I looked over to see Magnolia grabbing her purse.
