Marked Heart (Marked Heart #3) (5 page)

M
6
H

Wiping off a storage bin as she set it on the dolly, Liv forgot how much of her belongings she stored out in the old shed when she first moved into the farmhouse with Kieran. She had already managed to get three of the plastic tubs into the house. One was on her dolly, and there were still four stacked in the corner of the shed. Looking at her dusty rag, she tossed it down and wiped her forehead off with the back of her hand. Ten thirty in the morning was definitely too early to break a sweat. Hearing Braden's car pull onto her gravel driveway, Liv blew out a loud breath. She twisted her hair into a knot above her head and walked out of the shed.

Liv stood in front of his car as it came to a stop.

"Can you believe how hot it is," she griped as Braden got out of his car.

Shaking his head with a laugh, he replied, "It's only eighty."

Continuing to hold her hair on the top of her head, Liv wiped down the side of her face and neck with her free hand, saying, "At ten in the morning, in December."

"What were you doing?"

Turning to walk back to the shed, she replied, "Digging my stuff out."

"You couldn't wait for me?"

Liv picked up her pace, saying, "There's more than I remembered."

She dropped her hair, feeling as though holding onto it was slowing her down. When Braden caught up with her, she increased her pace a little more.

"Hey," he said with humor in his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Are you trying to beat me to the shed?"

"Ha!" she blurted before taking three long strides and stepping past the doors, assuring, "There was no trying to it."

"You have issues," he laughed before picking the storage bin up off of the dolly and carrying it out of the shed.

Dusting off the last four bins, Liv couldn't help watching Braden from the corner of her eye as he lifted each one and carried it out of the shed. This may have been a bad idea. Thursday nights were sacred, but outside the sanctity of that one night a week, they were never alone together. Aside from the next morning, and car ride here and there, Liv had kept it that way on purpose. As much as she wanted to deny it, it was never Pat that she thought about, even when she was letting him feel her up.

Liv turned as Braden carried the last bin out of the shed. Following him into the house she needed to give him the list of things she wanted done, shower and go to work.

Placing the storage bin he was carrying with the others in the old marking room, Braden complained, "What the hell is in these?"

Standing in the doorway, Liv replied, "Mostly books."

Wiping his forearm across his forehead, he said, "Damn they were heavy." Before adding, "Now I'm sweatin'," as he started to pull his shirt off.

Liv's stomach instantly lurched in panic as she held out her hand and blurted, "Don't."

With his arms crossed in front of his torso, he held the sides of his shirt and smiled.

"Worried Pat might get jealous?"

"I just don't wanna see your badge of honor that's all," she replied with a smirk.

Liv knew what the lily her husband tattooed on the left side of Braden's chest looked like, she didn't need or want to see it permanently marked on his skin.

"What's the matter? It's just a little ink," he teased with a hint of irritation.

That mark, the one Kieran betrayed his legacy with, had already caused enough hurt and done enough damage for her to know that wasn't true.

Before she knew it, the words, "Don't start talking shit because you were too much of a dumbass to realize she never loved you," flew form her mouth.

Braden froze. There was so much hurt in his eyes, it wounded her at the same time.

"Screw you, Liv." Braden grumbled, brushing past her as he walked out of the room.

Closing her eyes, she balled her fists, blew out a loud breath, and followed him.

Braden was pouring himself a glass of water when she walked into the kitchen. This was another reason why spending extra time with him was a bad idea. There were things that would eventually come up that had no business being discussed. Regardless, at the moment, this was on her. While what she said was true, it never should have been said, especially by her.

Stepping in front of him, Liv assured, "That was an asshole thing to say."

"Yeah, it was," he replied with anger in his voice as he continued to drink his water.

Knowing she was in the wrong by allowing the hurt someone else had caused her to backlash onto him, as if the situation hadn't hurt him enough all on its own. Liv waited until he set his glass down. Allowing her guard to slip just enough to be sincere, she stepped closer, and covered his fist that was clinched on the counter with her hand. Staring into his brown eyes, that she always thought should have been green, Liv let her eyes emphasize the sorry her words could not express.

Braden was silent as he wrinkled his brow in response. He searched her eyes before relenting to her unspoken apology. Liv continued to stare at him as he broke eye contact and looked down at their hands. She felt his fist loosen under her hand and flatten against the counter. Watching his expression carefully, the moment his hand slid back far enough for his fingers to make their way in between hers, she pulled away.

"Your to-do list is on the table," she shared, turning her back on him.

~

While Liv was in the back getting ready to go to the shop, Braden sat on the couch looking over the list in his hand without reading it. She touched him. Liv wasn't a toucher. She was more of a smack you on the arm, nudge you with her elbow kind of a girl. Even the night she allowed him to hold her she grabbed his shirt, and never touched him. She was apologizing and he got that, but her touch did more than emphasize how sorry she was for what she said. It made him curious.

Braden stood as soon as Liv stepped back into the living room. Her black hair was completely straight with the sides pinned back away from her face so you could see her black, diamond hoop earrings sway against her jaw. She had on a black t-shirt that read 'BLACK HEART, BLACK SHOES, AND TATTOOS', with black and white plaid slacks. As she continued to the door he followed, noticing the way the plaid pattern stretched wider across her backside and hips as it clung to her, hugging the curve of her thighs.

"Do I got somethin' on me?" she snapped, causing him to look up and see her looking back at him with a slight scowl on her face.

As luck would have it, she did. Braden walked up and peeled a small sticker off of the back of her pants.

Sticking it to the tip of his index finger, he smiled, sharing, "Your ass is 'special'," as he showed her the red and yellow sticker.

With a laugh she assured, "Damn right," before informing, "I made you lunch, it's in the fridge. You'll probably be done before I get back so I'll see you in the morning."

"Cool, thanks."

Liv made a clicking sound with her mouth and winked at him before opening the front door and walking out.

Closing the door behind her, Braden looked at the list still in his hand, but all he could think was, Pat is one lucky bastard and Kieran was a damn fool.

M
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H

As Braden's mind worked overtime, trying to forget how Liv placing her hand on his made him feel, every other part of him seemed to react to the moment making it hard not to give in to his thoughts of her. It was an unnecessary complication that he neither needed nor wanted. To say, which he had many times, that he never thought of her
that way
, was in fact a lie. The truth was when he did have an inappropriate thought it was quickly replaced by the knowledge of what they meant to each other. Their bond was too pure to be clouded with immorality. Whether it was right or wrong, that's what he had Mina for. Liv was beyond simple thoughts of lust for him. There were boundaries to their relationship, but lately, the foundation of those boundaries had begun to crack and it all started with what he'd read on her kindle.

Spending most of his week tending to Liv's to-do lists, he did everything he could think of to occupy the rest of his time, in an effort to avoid alone time with Mina. That was until her usual pout over not getting her way had turned into a full blown huff causing Braden to give in when she showed up at his apartment Wednesday night with movies in hand suggesting they spend the evening on his couch.

Mina remained snuggled up next to him on the couch while the sappy love story she brought over seemed never ending. In the back of his mind, he couldn't stop himself from tallying the differences between her and Liv. Mina was definitely warm in every sense of the word. Liv on the other hand was the epitome of cool. Mina always came off as subdued, most of the time it was hard for him to tell how she truly felt about something. If Liv had a problem, she let everyone know and if happened to be him that she was mad at, a smack to the back of the head could definitely be expected. Smiling to himself, Braden recalled the time she was so mad at him she wacked him with a broom, repeatedly.

Just as his mind started to wander to the physical differences between the two, Mina broke his train of thought.

"What are you thinking about?"

Braden's smile faded as he glanced at her.

Pushing up at his side, she repeated, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothin'."

Mina frowned for a second before a cheery smile took over.

"I was thinking, since I met your mom Sunday, it's only fair that you get to meet my parents."

Leaning away from her, he blurted, "How is that fair?"

"You don't want to meet my parents?" She questioned as if she were in shock.

Braden scooted farther away from her, asking, "What makes you think I would want to?"

"We have been dating for almost a year," she snapped at him before instantly calming herself and saying, "It's okay. We can talk about it another time. I know you have a lot on your mind."

He did have a lot on his mind but he would bet his life she had no idea what she was talking about.

Shaking his head at her Braden insisted, "No and I didn't ask you to meet my mom. It happened by accident."

"I know that silly," she replied with a smile before suggesting, "We can wait until you're not so stressed to talk about it."

'Am I not speaking English?' Braden thought to himself, trying to figure out why she was ignoring what he was saying.

"Why would I be stressed?"

Giving him a compassionate pat on the arm, Mina replied, "You got laid-off and now Liv has you running around doing chores for her to make extra money."

"What?"

"Look, it's okay. I've thought about how much she's taking advantage of you and decided to help you out until your back on your feet."

Braden had to close his eyes and pause for a moment before repeating, "What?" instead of shouting, 'Are you crazy' at her.

"I make enough money for both of us."

Shaking his head, trying to make this conversation make sense, Braden informed, "I know I said she hired me but I'm not going to take her money."

"You feel sorry for her but that doesn't mean..."

Agitated, he cut her off informing, "I'm helping her out because I want to. I don't feel sorry for her."

"Come on, you don't have to pretend with me," she assured in a condescending tone.

That's when it hit him. What Liv said about being with Mina seeming forced.

Leaning back, Braden sighed, "I have been pretending."

A soft smile formed on her face as she replied, "Like I said, it's okay."

Although he hated to admit it, the only reason he was into her in the first place was the fact that she was into him.

"It's not and I don't think we should see each other anymore."

Mina's expression went blank and he braced himself for tears and possibly yelling.

The longer Mina sat there quietly staring at him, the more it started to freak him out.

Then suddenly, she snapped, "What is wrong with you?"

Caught off guard he shrugged at her.

Hopping to her feet, she stated, "I'm pretty. I'm sweet. I'm easy going and I come from a good family."

"Okay..." Braden slowly replied, wondering where this was going.

"So what is your problem?" She demanded.

Unsure of what to say, he answered, "I don't know?"

With a light sigh and compassionate eyes, she shared, "I do. You're just confused."

"I am?" He questioned, seeing as at the moment he really was.

"We have been dating for almost a year and now you're out of work. I'm sure that put a hindrance on all your plans for us."

"Plans?"

She may have appeared sweet as pie, but it was growing abundantly clear to him that Mina was crazy as hell as she nodded, saying, "I'll give you some space until you feel like a man again. Then we can get back on track."

At that point, all he wanted was to get her safely out of his apartment. And by safely, he meant his safety.

For some reason, even though she had just declared she was going to give him space, she was still standing in his apartment.

"I'll see you around then." He said, hoping she would get the hint and leave.

"You're breaking up with me?"

Thankful they were now on the same page, Braden replied, "Yeah, I am."

Mina's eyes welled with tears as she questioned, "Why?"

Trying not to get frustrated by the fact that she seemed to be in denial he stood up.

Taking a deep breath, he shared, "Mina, you are very pretty and so sweet," pausing to mentally add passive aggressive and crazy, "But I don't want a relationship. At least not the kind you're looking for."

Pouting, she looked down, complaining, "It's not fair for you to let one girl ruin things for us."

"I'm not. There was never going to be an us."

Mina's eyes grew wide as she looked up at him.

"You're pathetic." She spouted before turning and walking out of his apartment.

Braden sat down on his couch as his door slammed shut.

Sinking down into the couch cushions, he couldn't help thinking she might be right. He was still as empty as he was when he quit playing guitar over two years ago. But there was nothing he wanted. With no desire to love or be loved, he didn't care if he learned or succeeded. Braden wanted almost nothing out of life. Only Thursday night, where beer and pizza with a friend made him feel something, and kept him from completely shutting down.