“I... don’t know.” She reached for her tea so she didn’t have to look at any of them. “We split up last week.”
Ashley gasped. “You dumped him?”
“No, actually,” she snapped. “Heended it.”
Jessica let out a long exhale. “Damn, Liv, what did you do?”
“I didn’tdoanything.” She’d warned him, hadn’t she? Told him time and time again she didn’t want to hurt him. “I was clear right from the outset that I didn’t want a relationship. He said he was fine with that, but then last week he decided he wasn’t fine with it after all. So that’s that.” She swallowed a mouthful of tea and attempted to keep her voice steady. “We tried, but, as I predicted, it didn’t work out.”
“That’s a shame.” Her mum gave her a sad smile. “He was good for you.”
“Good for me how?”
“He made you happy.”
That stung. Olivia put her mug on the tray and said, “I was happy before I met him, I’m happy now. I don’t need a man to make me happy.”
It was said too harshly. Her mum blinked and looked away, and Olivia sighed. It was never her intention, but somehow she always ended up upsetting her.
“Liv.” Jessica reached for her hand and squeezed. “We’re your family. Talk to us.”
“Yes.” Ashley took the other hand. “You can reserve the BS for work. Tell us what happened.”
She slumped against the sofa. “I can’t. I’m ashamed.”
“You’re talking tous.” Ashley dug her in the ribs. “I’m the sister who got you to tell my first boyfriend I couldn’t go to the prom with him because I had chicken pox when actually I’d had a better offer.”
Jessica snorted. “God, I remember that. Poor Graham.”
“What about poor Richard?” Ashley retorted. “You spilled milk in his car when you borrowed it but you didn’t tell him. That thing stank for weeks and he didn’t know why.”
“Oh my.” Their mum looked between them both. “I had no idea how mean you two were.”
Okay, Olivia couldn’t stand any more of this. “Connor came to meet me after work. He thought he was doing something nice, but he waited for me in a bar the guys in the office go to.” Olivia heard Ashley whisper, “Oh, shit.” “I introduced him as the son of a friend.”
Ashley gave a sharp intake of breath.
Her mum took a sip of her tea.
Jessica cleared her throat. “That was—”
“Brutal? Mean? Condescending?” Olivia groaned, burying her face in her hands. “I panicked. I didn’t want Stuart knowing I was seeing someone because he’d use it to make a dig about me not being focused.”
“Does Connor know that?” Jessica asked. “Or does he think you were ashamed to be dating him?”
“I wasn’t dating him,” Olivia corrected. “We were just having sex. Sorry, Mum,” she added.
Her mum smiled. “You act like I’ve not had sex before.”
Bet you’ve not had it like I have.
“You were also talking to each other every night,” Jessica pointed out, giving Tabby a little tummy rub. “Which is probably more than most married couples do.”
“So do you miss him?” Ashley asked.
“I miss talking to him. I miss his smile, the way he makes me laugh.” The words tumbled out of her without any conscious thought. “I miss the meals he left me. I miss telling him about my successes but also the way he’d boost me up if I’d had a bad day. And seeing as Mum’s okay with us talking about it, I can admit I miss the sex. I never realized how addictive it could be when it’s done right.”
“So let me get this straight: In Connor, you found a man you enjoyed talking to, who made you laugh, supported you, fed you, and was a stud in bed.” Ashley gave her a pointed look. “Most women wouldn’t let that unicorn out of their clutches.”
