“Marc…”

“Olivia Jean Davis, I love you. Damn it, please. Are you going to make me beg? I will. But I’d prefer to ask you and have you agree to talk to me, hear me out.”

“Sit.” She waved at a chair. “I need to put the bags in the bedroom. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Marc waited until she’d left the room before heaving a relieved sigh. She looked tired and thin and he wanted nothing more than to scoop her into his arms and take care of her. He doubted she’d let him at that point though. Instead he grabbed the room service menu and flipped through it. Cobbling together an order, he called down and arranged to have it brought up. She may have looked tired and thin but she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She was there and he was there, at least he’d gotten that far. Maggie had called to say she wasn’t staying over in Atlanta with Liv and Marc had gone over to their house to wait for her to get an update. She didn’t tell him a lot and he knew that part of it was that she didn’t want Liv to feel betrayed. But she did tell him she thought he still had a chance to make things right between them.

He could have waited for her to come back by Sunday like she’d told Maggie she was planning to. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to go to her and lay it all out. They’d hammer things out once and for all and leave together on Sunday morning or he’d leave alone. Okay, he’d leave alone and then work to get her back after trying to convince himself he didn’t need her for a few weeks. But they had to work it out, the last walls had to come down between both of them or they’d never be able to move forward.

She came out a few minutes later, having changed into the soft yoga pants she thought he hated. In truth, they made her look even sexier with the way they lovingly hugged her ass and long legs.

Gracefully, she folded herself into the matching chair across from his. “Are you hungry? I haven’t eaten since breakfast. We could order up some food if you’d like.”

“Did you even eat breakfast? Liv, sugar you look like you haven’t been eating much at all.”

She shrugged. He didn’t like the dull look in her eyes.

“I took the liberty of ordering us up some dinner and a bottle of wine while you were in the other room. It should be here in a few minutes.”

“I’m going to order some chocolate cheesecake. I’ve been having a slice or two every day.” She moved to grab the phone.

“I already did.”

“You did? It’s got like eight thousand calories in it.”

He laughed. “Oh I see. You’re trying to agitate me, is that it? Well too late, I’m already agitated. You haven’t been taking care of yourself. That agitates me. A slice of cheesecake isn’t going to kill you. And if you’ve been eating it daily, it doesn’t show.”

Snorting, she rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t cheat on you.”

“I know.”

He jerked his head back, surprised. “You know?”

She shrugged.

“What the f**k is that shrug? If you knew I didn’t cheat on you why the hell did you bolt?”

“If I want to shrug, I’ll shrug. Don’t you tell me not to shrug. I’ll shrug if I want to.” Her chin stuck out defiantly and he fought the ridiculous urge to grin at her. “And I didn’t decide to believe that you hadn’t cheated until yesterday.”

He moved toward her but she put a hand out to stay him. “What? If you know I didn’t cheat on you, why aren’t we making up right this moment?”

“Because that’s not everything and if you don’t know that, we’re worse off than I imagined.”

Room service arrived and set up while she looked out the window. He signed the receipt, tipped the guy and put out the Do Not Disturb sign before closing and locking the door.

He moved to stand behind her, lightly resting his hands on her hips, relieved when she let him. “Liv,” he laid his head on her shoulder, “I love you. It’s killing me that there’s this wall between us. Let me in.”

“Do you know who first called me Liv?”

He took the opportunity to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer.

“No. Maggie?”

“My mom. She was Olivia too, you know?”

“I remember that. I don’t remember much else about her though.”

“My dad, he loved her so much it was like my sister and I barely existed if she was in the room. Anyway, she started calling me Liv to give me something separate from her name, to set us apart a bit.”

“How old were you when she died?”

“Thirteen. She got sick when I was eight.”

“I’m sorry. It’s got to be hard. I can’t imagine.”

“It was. Anyway, she told me once that her favorite thing about my father was her ability to trust him totally. That she could rely on him no matter what.”

Ah, there it was. He’d been wondering why she’d chosen that moment to share that story about her mother.

“Nancy faked a problem with one of the machines and when I…”

“Yes, yes, I know.” She moved away and he felt her absence acutely. “I told you, I believe you didn’t cheat on me. Believe me, Marc, if I thought you f**ked Nancy you’d be coughing up blood right now. Whether or not she’ll find herself in that situation if I catch her ass in town is another thing.”