I curled into my sweater and headed back into the house. I’d finally told him how I felt, but it wasn’t nearly the truth. I didn’t just love him. That wasn’t a strong enough word. Whatever it was, it’d taken root a long time ago, and tonight, it’d finally bloomed. But now, it wasn’t just something that lived in me. It was part of my being.
18
The distinct aroma of brewing coffee lured me from my sleep the next morning. My dad sat at the kitchen table and barely acknowledged me as he browsedThe Dallas Morning News.
I poured myself some coffee and tried to seem casual. “So, what do you think?”
“About what, kiddo?” he asked, eyes on the newspaper.
“David.”
He paused, folded down a corner of the paper, and looked at me over it.
“Please be honest,” I said. “With Bill, you kept your feelings to yourself. The best way to protect me now is to tell me the truth.”
He considered this a moment. “I’ve dealt with a lot of people over the years, and I’m a good judge of character. I like David. Thing I like best is that he adores you. That, and I can see he’s strong enough and smart enough to make tough decisions. You don’t get as far in business as he has by pussy-footing around.”
I twisted my lips. “Do you like him because he’s a good businessman or because of the person he is?” I asked.
My dad chuckled. “He’s a good guy. And Bill was, too. The difference is that Bill didn’t quite know what to do with you.”
I blushed at the first thing that came to mind—the biggest change to my life since meeting David. Mind-blowing sex. He knewexactlyhow to handle me in the bedroom.
“You up for a run?” Dad asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “A run? Like exercise?”
“Yes, Olivia, like exercise. Call up David and invite him.”
“You want to go for a run with my boyfriend?”
He bristled. “I don’t see any reason why not.”
The reason why not was that he’d never done such a thing with Bill. “I think he runs,” I said, tilting my head. I was pretty sure he’d mentioned jogging the lakefront with Brian. “But I doubt he brought anything with him.”
“I have shoes he can borrow.”
I shook my head before I fell into a fit of giggles. My dad only stared at me with confusion. When I could speak again, I gasped, “He’s . . . a size . . . fourteen and a half.”
“Oh. Big feet.”
“Yeah.”Enormous. I smiled as I shook my head again, picked up my phone, and dialed David’s number. “My dad wants to go for a run with you,” I said when he answered.
“Are you coming, too?” he asked.
“Me? I’m going for a breakfast burrito.”
He laughed. “I’ll be right over.”
The smartest thing I’d done in my old apartment was grab a bikini. It’d been too long since I’d been poolside, and I was happy to park myself in the Texan sun while David and my dad sweat it out on their jog.
I was sufficiently relaxed and reclined on a latticed lounge chair when they returned. I waved from across the backyard. My dad excused himself to shower, and David followed the perimeter of the pool until he was standing over me.
He bent at the hip and crooked a finger under the string between my breasts, pulling up slightly. “Nice bikini,” he remarked before straightening up again.
I lowered my sunglasses and checked him out. He wore only red and white basketball shorts, having already peeled off his shirt, and the planes of his chest glistened with a sheen of sweat. I wrapped my hand around the back of his knee and ran it up the opening of his shorts. “Hi.”
“How long have you been out here?” he asked.
