“Is now a good time to remind you that, by your own admission, you enjoyed your week with him?” Jessica interrupted.
Olivia sighed and reached for her glass of wine. “What happened in Nantucket was supposed to stay in Nantucket. Not spill into my real life.”
“Er, Nantucket was still real life, Liv,” Jessica countered. “It’s entirely normal for human beings to go on holiday. And have hot flings.”
“If we’re lucky enough,” Ashley added, following her statement with a sly smile.
That made Olivia pause. “Out with it, Ashley. What are you dying to tell me?”
“I may be about to embark upon a hot liaison of my own.”
Shame washed through Olivia. Connor had alluded to setting Ashley up, but she’d been so focused on work, phoning her sister had been put on the back burner, something to be donewhen she had time. “Are we talking about Connor’s boss?”
“He told you, huh?” A grin split Ashley’s face. “I’ve got no illusions it will go anywhere, but I’m going to enjoy the hell out of whatever chance I get.”
“Why is it not going anywhere?” Olivia demanded.
“He’s debonair, sophisticated, the sort you’d expect to have a twenty-something willowy blonde on his arm, not an overweight nearly fifty-year-old.” Ashley waved a hand toward the screen. “Enough about me. What was it like seeing Connor again? And we want the truth.”
Too much. Too intense, too familiar. Too easy to remember how alive she’d felt in his company. But if she admitted that, her meddling sisters would set her up again, and she couldn’t handle a Connor-shaped distraction. “It was a shock to see him with a daughter.” That, at least, was the truth.
“Ah, yes, Ellie.” Jessica smiled. “Mia was over the moon to meet her. Said she was ‘well cool.’”
“She’s a sweetheart, but that’s not the point—”
“The point is Connor isn’t the immature, irresponsible playboy you’re desperate to pigeonhole him as,” Ashley cut in.
“I don’t... okay, maybe I did think that in the beginning,” she admitted. “But no, the point is, he kept a huge, really important part of himself back from me.”
“Can you blame him?” Ashley said. “You kept insisting it was sex only, a holiday fling.”
“I see you’re on the side of Team Connor now that he’s set you up.” Olivia couldn’t keep the hurt out of her voice.
“I’m onyourside. That’s why it upsets me when you lie to yourself about how much you like him. You wore his bracelet for a month after you came back,” Ashley added in a softer tone. “You have feelings that you’re denying, Liv. Why else are you so upset he didn’t tell you about Ellie?”
Olivia looked away from the screen and grabbed her wine, giving herself a moment to compose her spiraling thoughts. “I’ll admit to having more feelings than I expected,” she said finally. “And to finding it hard to say no when he asked if we could continue seeing each other.” Sighs of disappointment echoed from the computer screen. “I have very good reasons for doing that,” she continued before they could butt in, “so I’d appreciate it if you could help make this as painless as possible and not interfere from now on.”
“Damn, I hate it when you show your vulnerable side,” Ashley muttered. “Makes it impossible to disagree with you.”
“Then I should do it more often,” she countered dryly. “When are you seeing Aaron again?”
“Wednesday.” Ashley gave her a coy smile. “He’s going to cook for me. Imagine that, having a personal chef.”
Olivia’s phone dinged with the notification that her takeout was on its way, and she experienced a sharp pang of sadness.
“Shit, I didn’t mean that to sound like a dig, a reminder of Connor.” Ashley heaved a sigh. “I’m just in that giddy first phase of a crush. It’ll blow over.”
“I hope it doesn’t. I hope it works out for you, hope that he realizes that being with someone who’s warm, funny, articulate, and wise is far more satisfying than dating arm candy.” Olivia looked at Jessica. “I promise to take Mia out again, but it can’t be with Connor and Ellie, so please make sure she knows that. I think... I think continuing to see him will hurt both of us in the long run.”
She said goodbye to them, and when the chicken jalfrezi arrived, she ate it at the island, washed it down with the rest of her wine, then took a long shower.
When she finally crawled into bed, she found she had two messages on her phone, both from Connor.
How did the presentation go?
BTW, in case my number isn’t saved in your phone, this is the hot chef you met in Nantucket.
He’d remembered. A reluctant smile tugged at her lips as her fingers typed out her response.
