“Yes, I’m fine.”
She gives me a quick side hug and whispers that she’ll call me later.
“Thanks, Zoe.”
“Do you want some tea or coffee?” I offer to Rita, wanting something to distract from what I know she’s here to talk about.
“No, thank you. I just came to talk and deliver something…”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Did Harrison send you?”
“Yes and no…”
When I don’t say anything, she continues.
“First of all, I need you to know I never meant for you to get hurt, Olive. I truly think you and my nephew are a perfect match.”
I snort at that. “And how does his fiancée fit into it?”
Her brows furrow. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Harrison isn’t engaged. Honestly, I didn’t even know if he would ever give love a chance.”
“He doesn’t have to be in love to be engaged. The ring on that woman’s finger is damning evidence.”
Rita shakes her head. “That woman is a viper and desperate. She would do anything to tie herself to Harrison… including breaking a wonderful woman’s heart in the process.”
Could it be true? Could the woman have lied about being engaged? If so, how did she know about my letters and that Harrison was the man Rita matched me with?
“What about my letters?” I ask, suspicious. “You gave them to Harrison.”
My words sound accusatory, and I don’t even care. She matched me with someone she knew from the start wasn’t looking for a relationship when she knew all I wanted was to fall in love.
“Actually, Harrison sort of stole that first letter. He was so enamored by you that he couldn’t handle letting me match you with anyone else. Which is why I knew giving him your letters was the right thing to do.”
I scoff. “The right thing? I trusted you to match me with someone who had the same goals for a relationship that I do.”
She has the decency to look slightly chagrined but not nearly enough to be apologetic.
“Olive, dear, I knew from the moment I first talked to you that you’d be the one to change my nephew's mind about everything he thought he knew about relationships. Call it a sixth sense, if you will.”
“Was there ever a perfect match for me like you claimed?”
“Harrisonisyour perfect match.”
I shake my head in denial. That can’t be possible. Not when he didn’t even want a relationship from the get-go. My mind trails off to the letters and how I thought that he seemed perfect and all the guilt that surrounded that. All the guilt that wasn’t necessary since Harrison and Thomas were the same person.
A fission of anger shifts through me, breaking me out of my sadness and splitting me down the middle. Half despair, half anger… okay, there may be a little bit of hope that what Rita says is true mixed up in there. I’m not quite ready to admit to any of those feelings just yet.
“I’m not lying when I say that you and Harrison are perfect for each other.”
A single tear leaks down my cheek. “I wish I could believe that.”
Rita pats my knee then hands me an envelope. “Read what he has to say… just give him a chance. Reach out and grab your happily ever after. It’s right here for the taking.”
With those parting words, she leaves.
I stare down at the envelope with nothing but my name on the front in what I now know is Harrison’s handwriting. Part of me wants to rip into the envelope and see what he has to say. Another part of me is terrified that what he has to say won’t be enough.
It only takes me a minute to give in to the curiosity. I open the letter and start to read.
