I wave at him before heading to my office to grab the sandwiches I picked up earlier. Hopefully getting Liv’s favorite will warm her up.
I wave to the people in her department as I pass through.
“Hey, Liv.” I knock on the door and peek my head inside. “Lunch?”
She peeks one eye open at me before going back to her computer screen. “Not today.”
“Everyone has to eat.” I smile at her, walking inside and closing the door behind me.
“Not today. I have a meeting in twenty minutes to discuss the new league initiatives and how they will affect the bottom line of the team.”
“That’s still twenty minutes. I got your favorite sandwich.”
Liv smooths a nonexistent piece of hair back into place. It’s perfectly smoothed into a low bun at the nape of her neck. Her blouse is buttoned up to her neck and her blazer is pressed.
“That’s twenty minutes I have to prepare. I will eat after.”
I blow out a breath and rest my elbows on my knees. “Liv, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing is going on. I’m busy. I have a lot of projects going on after the holidays and I don’t have time for things I used to.”
“You mean me?”
It shouldn’t sting as much as it does.
My schedule is crazy. Between practice, games, and travel, I devote every spare minute of time to Liv. It’s not a sacrifice because I love her. But trying to get twenty minutes from her is too much to ask?
“Tag.” Liv finally turns her attention to me, a sad look on her face. “You’re asking too much of me.”
“To see you? Sorry I’m such a burden,” I scoff.
“You’re not a burden!” she shouts. Her eyes go wide before she takes a deep breath, running a hand down her blouse. “But you’re not the plan.”
I hate that fucking word of hers.Plan.
Everything in Olivia’s life has to be perfect. Lined up.Neat as a pin. I knew that the minute I ran into her at the rink on my first day.
Ever since then, she’s been showing more and more of herself to me. I get to see the messy side of her. The one that she doesn’t show just anyone.
Now it’s back to the prim and proper side of her. Ever since her parents showed up, she was thrown for a loop. She won’t let me in. Won’t talk to me about anything.
“So? Screw your plan.”
“Tag. I can’t do this anymore.”
“What?”
Those are the last words I expected to hear come out of her mouth.
Can’t do this anymore?
“What happened, Liv? We had a really good thing going here, and then one run-in with your parents and you’re different.”
“That’s the real me.Isthe real me.”
“No, it’s not. The real you is the one that takes risks. Does things that she normally wouldn’t. Lets her hair down and has fun.”
Liv shakes her head. “No. That’s the messy Liv. The real me is the one that has a plan. If I want everything by the time I’m twenty-eight, I need to get serious about my life.”
