Chapter 73

Liam’s POV

“Of course it is,” Logan said. “She still cares for me. Is that what has you so aggravated? You still have competition?”

He was goading me, and if I had been in a better state of mind, I would have been able to properly handle that. As it was, I was already pissed as hell, so his goading only irritated me further.

“You are not competition,” I snapped.

“Then what are you doing here confronting me, Romeo? Why aren’t you with your Juliet?” Logan smirked, smugly. “Did she ask you to leave? Did she say she’d rather spend time with me?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Your always being around has her confused, but she’ll choose me in the end.”

Logan’s good humor abruptly faded. “You don’t even hear yourself, do you? You are mad at me for being around? For being there for her, when you weren’t? Are you sure you are really mad at me? Shouldn’t you be angrier with yourself, for having abandoned her and Joe when they needed you most?”

I didn’t abandon Joe. I didn’t even know about him!

With the distance I had put between Aria and I in our marriage, I’d pushed her into having an affair. It hurt, but I could accept that. And I could understand why Aria, finding herself pregnant with another man’s baby, would want to run away rather than talk to me about it.

But I could never forgive Logan’s interference.

“She would have come back to me eventually, if it weren’t for you,” I said. “Aria and I could have been a family…”

“You are kidding yourself, if you think that,” Logan snapped back. “She moved on, Liam. Without you. And if she wants to continue to do so, you have to let her.”

“That’s not what she wants.” At least, I didn’t think so. Even if it was what I feared most.

Logan lowered the weight he’d been holding then stood off the bench. He wasn’t as tall as me, but was equal in almost every other way, including muscle mass.

I glared at Logan, unintimidated. Logan glared back.

“My initial feelings for Aria were… complicated,” Logan said.

“Dishonest,” I provided.

“Confused,” Logan countered. “But all too quickly, those feelings shifted into something more. I love her, Liam. I have for a long time, and I will not see her repeat her same past mistakes by falling back in with you.”

“Now you are the one making assumptions about what she wants,” I said. Annoyance prickled across my skin. This guy was such a hypocrite. Someone really ought to punch him in the mouth.

My hand curled into a fist.

“I’m telling you, Logan. Back off.”

“And I’m telling you, Liam. Make me.”

Logan’s hands were in fists too. Angry energy sparked between us. At any moment, one of us could be throwing a punch. It would be a relief, almost, to have something to do with all this furious tension stored up in my body.

A fight was just what I needed.

“Now, hold up you two!” said another voice. Turning, I saw the gym owner approach. He was a short man in his late fifties, balding but in incredible physical shape. “If you want to fight in my gym, you aren’t going to do it in the weight room. Take it up in the ring.”

“Agreed,” Logan said.

“Sounds great,” I replied.

The room in the back of the gym held a lifted boxing ring, surrounded by ropes. A pair of guys were presently sparing within it, trading jabs and dodges.

“Hey, yo!” the owner called to the boxers. “We’ve got two waiting!”

“Almost done, boss,” replied one of the boxers in the ring.

The owner looked at me and Logan. “Let’s get you boys some gloves.”

Aria’s POV

I wasn’t ready to admit to myself that when I had finally fallen asleep the previous night, it had been the best night’s sleep I’d had in a good long while. The mattress had been comfortable, but I couldn’t lie to myself about the true reason I slept so well.

Being so near Liam had put my entire body at ease. Despite the hardships and arguments that had caused us to separate and still held me back from reopening my heart to him, my body knew and trusted him, enough to let me sleep soundly throughout the entire night.

I had been so far under, that Joe and Liam both woke without startling me awake. That never happened. Typically, even the slightest disturbance would wake me.

My body and my heart, it seemed, both wanted to trust Liam again. My head was the final holdout. Stubborn I might be, but after how much I had been hurt, I wasn’t willing to take any more chances on Liam.

He was moving in the right direction, showing me he changed. But until I saw concrete proof, I wasn’t sure I could be fully convinced.

I just didn’t want to be hurt again.

Maybe I was being too stubborn. Liam was doing everything right. When he said he wanted to come forward with our marriage… that should have been enough.

That it hadn’t been made me wonder what I was really waiting for. Would any proof from Liam ever be enough to convince me?

Lost in thought, I didn’t pay attention to what I was doing and accidentally poured too much juice into my glass. It spilled over the lip of the glass, making a big puddle on the kitchen counter. With a soft curse to myself, I hurried to grab a paper towel and clean up my mess.

Halfway through cleaning, my phone buzzed with a text message. I ignored it at first, focusing on the spill. Once it was clean, I pulled my phone from my pocket and checked the screen.

It was a message from Liam’s assistant. After opening it, I had to read the message three times to be sure I understood correctly.

Please come to the gym. Liam and Logan are about to fight.

I had just left Liam’s house barely an hour ago. How did he have time to get to the gym and pick a fight with Logan? Unless he drove there straight after Joe and I left his house…

He had seemed upset after I’d made a comment about Logan’s importance in my and Joe’s lives.

Frustration sparked within me. For all that Liam had changed, so much had stayed the same too.

Still impulsive. Still stubborn. Still bull-headed, picking fights rather than talking things through.

Another message came through then, soon after the first.

They both look furious. I’m worried they might hurt each other.

It wasn’t my responsibility to police these two men, but… I had a feeling this fight was my fault. And I didn’t want either of them to get hurt.

I sent a quick reply.

I’ll be right there.

Then I called Isabella.

“Aria? What’s up?”

“Isabella, are you busy? I need a babysitter.” I would not be taking my son into that gym to watch his two father figures punch each other.

“I can come over,” Isabella said, to my relief.

“As quick as you can,” I told her. “I have to stop a fight.”