The longer it took Ivy to answer her the more her spirits deflated. Ivy wasn’t ready for her to date, despite what she said. “This was a bad idea. I’m not going.”
“No, you can’t do that.” Kathy protested.
“I have, too.”
“But what about Heath?”
“I don’t give a fig about Heath. Ivy is all that matters to me. I only agreed to finally go out with him, because I had Ivy’s blessing, but it’s obvious she’s not ready, so I’m not going.” Olivia pointed at Ivy, who looked shocked by Olivia’s statement.
“Me?” Ivy squeaked. “You’re not going, because of me?”
Olivia nodded. “Give Heath my regrets, Kathy.” Olivia spun around and marched back into her room, despite Kathy’s sputtered protests and dropped on the bed.
It didn’t matter what Kathy had to say, nothing would change her mind. If Ivy wasn’t ready, then she wouldn’t go out with him. It was just that plain and simple.
There was a soft rap at the door. “Mom?” Ivy called.
“Come in.” Olivia patted the bed next to her, when Ivy poked her head in.
Ivy sat down next to her. “Did you mean what you said? That you wouldn’t go out with him, if I didn’t want you, too.”
“Of course, I meant what I said. You will always come first no matter what.”
“I’m sorry for freaking out like I did. Seeing you standing there, ready for your date, it just took me back to your first date with Royce.” Tears welled in her eyes.
Olivia pulled Ivy close to her side, trying to shield her from their past, knowing there was nothing she could do about it now. “I wish I could erase that day from both of our minds. I know you can’t take my word for it, but I promise, Heath is nothing like Royce.”
“If he ever hit you, would you stay with him, too?” Olivia closed her eyes in shame. She should have left Royce, after the first time he hit her. She believed his pretty lies that it would never happen again. He’d always been so sorry afterward. Olivia felt like she didn’t have anywhere else to go, and Royce made her dependent on him. Then, once he laid a hand on Ivy, and after what she saw that he was doing behind her back, she couldn’t turn a blind eye anymore.
“Never,” she vowed. Never again.
“If you trust him, I can try and trust him, too. I want you to be happy, like I am.”
“That’s so sweet of you, baby.” Olivia kissed the top of her head.
“Go on your date tonight.” Ivy encouraged her.
“Are you sure?” Olivia wanted to make sure she had Ivy’s full blessing.
“I’m sure. Like you said, there’s a lot of nice men in this world like Daddy. Heath does seem like a nice guy.”
“He is.”
Please, don’t let me be wrong about him.
Chapter 12
Heath pulled in front of the diner a few minutes before seven. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous. He hadn’t been earlier. It wasn’t like he hadn’t gone out with Olivia before. They spent a great afternoon together yesterday. So, why was he nervous now? He had done dinner dates before. He won, and Olivia finally agreed to go out with him, so he should be celebrating his victory, instead of sweating his head off. What was wrong with him? One would think this was his first date, instead of his…he didn’t want to finish that thought.
The long string of women he had seen over the years was staggering. It wasn’t until yesterday that he started thinking the numerous women he had seen was bad. Before Nadine, there had been a few. It wasn’t until after her that he went through women like he had. He didn’t want Olivia just to be another number, but he didn’t know how to get over his fear of commitment. As much as he liked Olivia, it was only a matter of time, before she gave him an ultimatum.
None of the other women gave your friends an ultimatum.
Maybe, he was overthinking it. He was already thinking like they were dating for a long time and planned to be together; not just a couple nights or weeks. Heath was getting ahead of himself. Maybe, a real date would be a bust, and they would just end up staring at each other bored and go their separate ways by the end of the night.
Unlikely.
A soft tap on the passenger window had Heath jumping clear out of his skin. He glanced over to see Olivia smile at him, and all his worries disappeared.
