“It’s not a place. I don’t want to talk about my past.”
“What would you like to talk about then?” Wasn’t that how you got to know someone? Talk about where they came from, family, and that sort of stuff.
Olivia stopped in her tracks, looking lost, and Heath was worried about that look. Was she second guessing herself in agreeing to hang out with him? It wouldn’t be his first rejection, especially from her, but it would be the first time he would be upset about it.
“I honestly don’t know.” She chuckled to herself. “It’s been so long, since I’ve talked with a man.”
He went for a different approach. “What do you like to do?” It was the first thing that popped in his head that didn’t involve probing questions.
“I used to enjoy painting.”
Olivia got a far off look in her eye, reminiscing about the past. At least, not all of it was bad. “What did you paint?”
“Landscapes.” Olivia blinked, coming back to the present. “But that was a long time ago.”
Heath wanted to press her and learn more about her, but she had made it clear she didn’t want to talk about it. “You said you’re planning on leaving soon. Where will you go?”
“I don’t know yet. I haven’t decided. Enough about me, what about you?”
He, on the other hand, didn’t mind talking about himself. “I grew up in Boston, and I have two siblings.”
“Brother or sister?”
“Both. An older sister and a younger brother.”
“That must have been nice growing up with siblings.” She got that far off look in her eyes again.
So, Olivia was an only child. He tucked that little nugget of information away. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew my sister. You think I’m arrogant. She lorded over my brother and I.”
Olivia chuckled. “Do you still see them?”
“Not as much as I used, too. I joined the military right after high school and have moved around a lot, until the past few years. I just haven’t really found the time.” It wasn’t entirely true. He could take off to see his family, but everyone seemed so busy with their own lives, that he stopped making an effort.
“Family is important. You shouldn’t take them for granted. Anything could happen to them, and you’ll never get that time back.”
There was something about her words that said she knew that from experience. He wanted to ask her about it, but this was the longest they had spoken to each other, and he wasn’t ready for it to end. “You’re right. I have taken my family for granted.”
Olivia glanced over at him, before looking away with a blush on her cheeks.
She was so pretty, when she blushed. Her cheeks grew flush, and she always looked away bashfully. Her face was so expressive. So honest.
“So, what do you do in the military?”
“Security.” It wasn’t a complete lie. It was closer to the truth than he had ever told anyone before. All his teammates used the same job, when someone asked. They normally said they did some boring desk job, so people didn’t ask a lot of questions, but for some reason, he didn’t want to lie to Olivia.
Heath felt Olivia’s gaze fall back on him, looking him over. “I can see that.”
His normal response to a comment like that would have been ‘Do you like what you see,’ but knew that would only upset her, so he refrained. “How did you end up working the carnival?”
“Kathy, she said I would get paid for working an hour, but she didn’t tell me what I’d be doing, until I arrived.”
He made a mental note to thank Kathy next time he saw her. It couldn’t have worked out any better had he planned it himself. “I can’t lie and say I’m not happy about it.”
Olivia shoved him playfully on the shoulder. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t have to kiss like a hundred people in an hour.” Olivia winced at her crass comment. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, Olivia,” he stopped her. “I don’t want you to ever be afraid to tell me what you’re thinking. I would never hurt you for speaking your mind.”
Olivia’s eyes darted around them, like she didn’t know what to do next. Whoever had hurt her had done a real number on her. She sometimes blurted out the first thing she thought of, but immediately regretted them. He didn’t ever want her to be scared to speak around him. Heath liked her open honesty. He made it his personal mission to see her smile by the end of today. She didn’t want to talk about her past; that was fine. They were at a carnival, and there were plenty of other things to occupy them. “Would you like to get something to eat, or perhaps go on one of the rides?”
