“Holy shit.” Olivia blinked several times. “I-I…I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you don’t hate me for lying to you about who I really am.” Mac held her breath, waiting for her friend’s response.
The other woman made a motion with her hand as if she were shooing away a fly. “I don’t care about any of that. I mean, obviously Icarebecause you’re my friend, and it totally sucks that you had to go through all that. But I completely understand why you’d keep it a secret from everyone.”
An unexpected tear escaped the corner of Mac’s eye, but she caught it before it could fall. “Really? You’re not mad?”
“Please.” Olivia frowned. “Have you forgotten Jake kept a much bigger secret than that from me for ten years?”
“To protect you.”
“You were doing the same thing. Only you were trying to keepyourselfsafe. No one can fault you for that, Mac. Least of all, me.”
Drawing in a shaky breath, she gave her friend a watery smile. “You have no idea what it means to hear you say that.”
“What did you think I’d say? You’re my friend, Mac. You were there for me when I thought my whole world was falling apart.”
“Thanks, Liv. I hope you aren’t mad at Jake for keeping my secret from you, too.”
“Actually, I’m proud of him for keeping it. Because that meant he was protecting you, too.”
Mac let out a long, loud sigh of relief. “I thought I was going to lose everyone once you all found out.”
Olivia gave her a mom-look she’d somehow already perfected. “Don’t think you’re getting off scot free.”
With a set of deer-in-the-headlights eyes, Mac asked, “Um…exactly which part of what I shared made you mad?”
“Seriously? The man you are completely in love with asked you to marry him, and you said no? Are you crazy or just plain stupid?”
Mac choked out a laugh. Olivia never had been one to pull any punches. It was one of the reasons she loved her.
“How could I say yes?” She tried to make her friend understand. “We’ve only been together inthatway for a little over a week. Not to mention, the danger my past put him in.”
“But that’s over now, right? You said that Henry guy was in jail?”
“He’s been arrested, but nothing’s set in stone, yet.”
“But Trevor and Ryker both seem to think that’s the end of it, right? That you and Coop are safe, now?”
“From the way Trevor talked, yeah.”
“Okay, next.”
Mac scrunched her brows together. “Next? What next?”
“What’s your next excuse for running from Coop? It can’t be because you don’t know him well enough. You two are as close as most married couples I know.”
“I’m not running, Liv. I’m trying to keep him—”
“Safe. Right, I got that. Except, you just said he’s already safe. And honestly, none of us are ever truly safe. Not a hundred percent of the time.”
“I know that.”
There was a moment of pause before Olivia said, “It’s simple. Do you love him?”
Mac looked down at the sleeping baby and back up to her friend. She nodded.
“Then what are you waiting for? Because I can tell you from experience, if you’re waiting for the perfect time to come along, it’s never going to happen. Lex, Charlie, and Brynnon would all three tell you the same thing. So would Jake.”
