Kathy was a matchmaker and knew his dislike for kids. It was possible she purposely left that tidbit out, so he wouldn’t find out. He hoped not. No, this wasn’t Olivia’s kid. Maybe, she was babysitting someone’s kid, and that’s what the emergency was.
Looking closer at the girl though, he saw similarities to Olivia. They were similar in features with the stubborn tilt of the chin and high cheek bones. They also had the same color hair. There was no mistaking this girl was related.
She had a kid. That one thought kept repeating over and over in his head.
Olivia had a kid.
Heath took a step back from her. Call him selfish or petty, but he didn’t want to get involved with a woman with a kid. Not even with Olivia. He would never get alone time with Olivia, and he would have to share her. Kids were demanding and messy. They complained about everything. It was a major turnoff for him.
He could work with her fear of men with time and patience. She already melted under his touch. He had planned on them having sex tonight. Heath had set up his house with an array of candles and fresh clean sheets on the bed. His friends threw a wrench in his plans, but Olivia had seemed eager to get to his place after their drink.
But now…
Not once had Olivia ever mentioned she had a kid. She had lied to him. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was liars.
If she didn’t look like she was in a dire situation, Heath would have walked away then and there. He felt so hurt and betrayed. It hurt worse than, when Nadine left him. His fists clenched, trying to control his anger and not yell at her and demand answers. The girl looked scared of him, as she half hid behind Olivia, who still stared at him. The look of horror was gone. Now, she looked sad and hurt herself.
She couldn’t feel half as bad as he did. Olivia had a kid. He couldn’t focus on anything, but that thought.
Chapter 21
“Heath,” Olivia couldn’t have been more shocked to see it was Heath who pulled over. Of all the people who lived in this town, it had to be him to come upon her. Luck was definitely not on her side. She had hoped to put off seeing him until tomorrow, but it looked like fate had other plans.
Heath continued to stare at her daughter, like he didn’t know what to make her. She was sure it was a shock to see Ivy.
“Heath, I can explain.” She said though there was no explanation that would fix this. She lied to him by omission.
Olivia took a step towards Heath, but he retreated, as Olivia felt her heart drop. She lost him, as she feared she would have. He only saw things as black and white. If they were single, it was fuckable, and if they were attached in anyway, they were off limits. No compromise. She should have taken her own advice in not pursuing something that never would have worked. She shouldn’t have pretended she didn’t have a kid.
“I hope so, because I’m confused.” He said, looking from Olivia to her daughter.
Olivia could imagine so. Things had gone terribly wrong. She should have told Heath on their first date, or at the very least, the next day, like she had originally planned.
Olivia hadn’t wanted to get involved with anyone, so at first, there hadn’t been a point in telling him. She assumed he would lose interest in following her eventually, and she and Ivy would move onto the next town soon. She would just become a forgotten memory.
“You weren’t supposed to find out like this.”
“Who is she?” He growled.
“Heath, this is Ivy, my daughter. Ivy, this is Heath.” Both stared at each other in awkward silence. Both studying the other. It was the first time they had actually met. Though, Ivy had seen him in the diner on occasion.
“Is this him?”Ivysidled closer to her mom.
“Yes, this is him.”
“So, she knew about me, but you couldn’t give me the same courtesy?” Heath pointed an accusatory finger at her.
“I tried telling you.” Her eyes bore into his, beseeching him to understand.
“Obviously not well enough. It’s not that hard to tell me you have a kid.” His voice kept rising, as Olivia felt Ivy shrink behind her.
“Can we have this conversation somewhere more private?”
Heath waved his arms out, looking around at the deserted road they were on. “You don’t get much more private than this.”
Olivia felt her bottom lip tremble. He was being cruel and was doing it on purpose. She knew he was upset with her, but there was no call for this. “You’re upset with me, and I get it. I didn’t tell you I had a daughter, but your anger is with me not her, and Ivy doesn’t need to be part of it.”
Heath reared back, as if slapped before recovering. “Fine, we’ll talk about this somewhere moreprivate.” He sneered. “Not that I think there’s anything left to say.”
