Chapter Three
Olivia
When I first arrived at the party, comments about my divorce were direct and to the point. And to my face. And while that was bad, the furtive looks and whispers sting even more.
Glenn, the good-hearted reporter my family’s known for years and the only one I trust at Auntie Sue’s party, pulls me aside and asks if I want to say anything on the record.
“Nate and I remain friends,” I say, lying through my fixed smile. “But marriage is something we both agree we’re better off doing with other people.”
He puts down his notes. “Between you and me, I never liked him, Ms. Graham.”
I wink at him. “And that’s why you’re my favorite reporter in Liberty Falls.”
Calvin, my least-favorite reporter in town and someone I would rather avoid on a good day, pushes his way through the crowd and follows me as I try to find some privacy.
“Olivia.” His slicked black hair glistens under the hall lights, and his beady blue eyes are hard as he stares at me. “Care to tell me some details about your divorce or about future dating plans?”
“Nope,” I say with a breezy smile. “Not even a little. Excuse me.”
I make my way across the room, hearing the whispers like a buzzing around my head. They follow me as I walk to the restroom. They’re still around when I return to my mother’s side on the couch. They get louder when I walk alone to the bar for a much-needed beverage.
But once I reach the bar, where the alcohol has made everyone’s tongue loose, the whispers return to direct questions.
“I’m so sorry about your divorce, Olivia,” Aunt Eleanor says to me. “What a pity. You’re single again.”
“Yes, well, itwasa pity when I found Nate on top of someone else,” I say to her.
She gives me a hug. “It will get better.”
“Do you think children just aren’t in the cards for you, dear?” Cybil says to me. “Those eggs of yours aren’t getting any younger, you know. Although you could try freezing the suckers; worked wonders for my neighbor’s daughter. She was forty and just birthed triplets!”
“I never trusted your husband,” Kathy, Dee’s daughter from a previous marriage, pipes in.
“Ex-husband,” I say quickly.
She flips her hand in the air like this information is irrelevant. “He’s quite the shark on Wall Street now, huh? Thank God you didn’t land that job in New York. You’re better off staying in Liberty Falls. Who wants to leave home?”
Right now, New York—or Mars—looks pretty damn good.
“Honestly?” I say, my temper rising as I forget about the cameras, “I don’t care about…”
Before I can continue with my less-than-civil response, a warm hand touches my lower back, immediately guiding me away from the crowd of staring women and toward the exit.
“My mom’s got the kids. Come away with me.” Jenson’s low voice buzzes in my ear. “I think you’ve suffered enough for one day.”
I shiver, refusing to make eye contact with him.
But he knows what I need. He always has.
He continues gently leading me toward the door, not stopping until he’s put me safely in his truck. No cameras follow us out, and for the first time in three hours, nobody’s judging me.
Jenson shuts the passenger door, walks around to the driver’s side, and we leave the banquet hall—and our family—behind at last.
Jenson drives around the corner to the nature preserve a block away. The lot is empty, and he pulls into a corner space and puts the truck into park. When he turns to face me, I raise my eyes to meet his brilliant green ones.
Just like it always has, his piercing gaze looks right through me. I swear Jenson Beau can read my heart better than I can sometimes.
“Hey.” His voice is rough, and that one word is enough to make me melt.
