Liam didn’t follow me immediately. I could feel his gaze burning into my back as I walked out, my steps quicker than they should have been. My heart pounded, my mind racing with everything he had just said.
Mate.
The word felt heavy, suffocating.
He had spent years pushing me away, making me feel like I was nothing. And now, suddenly, he was accepting what fate had written for us? Just like that?
I didn’t trust it.
I couldn’t.
I forced my breathing to steady as I made my way back behind the counter, my hands gripping the edge as if grounding myself. Jack’s sharp eyes flickered toward me, but he didn’t comment. He rarely did when it came to Liam and me. Maybe he knew better than to get involved.
I focused on the task in front of me, wiping down the counter with slow, measured movemen
