Merritt let out a surprised laugh. “How did I not know that?”
“I didn’t want to make it weird, since you know her,” he mumbled.
“Well, you’re going to have to get over it, since you’re about to be neighbors,” said Olivia, sipping her tea.
Merritt unwrapped the towel from her head, combing out her damp waves with her fingers. Olivia glanced over at her. “Are you going to be around for dinner tonight? Dev’s on deadline, and I feel like I’ve barely seen you recently.”
A pang of guilt shot through her. “I know, I’ve been so busy. With the house, and the board, and everything.”
Olivia’s smile turned fixed, and there was a brief, awkward silence. Even though Olivia must know she’d been hanging out with Niko, it certainly hadn’t been because Merritt had told her. In fact, neither of them had even mentioned his name since their conversation after yoga.
“But, yeah, I can do dinner,” she added hurriedly. “And I can cook. Have you been craving anything?”
Olivia’s eyes lit up. “Can you make that baked brie with caramelized onions again?”
Merritt laughed. “Sure. I think that’s stretching the definition ofdinner,though.”
“Not if I eat all of it,” Olivia said calmly.
Merritt glanced at her phone with a grin, checking the time. “Sounds like a plan. I can go to the store now.”
“Ooh,” Olivia said, “and after dinner, we can catch up onBottoms Up.I’ve been saving it, since Dev refuses to watch.”
“It’s true,” said Dev. “You have to draw the line somewhere. And for me, that line is a butt crack.”
“Uh,” said Merritt, “I really, really want to. But I’m kind of…going out tonight. Later this week, though, for sure,” she added in a rush.
Olivia and Dev exchanged a brief, significant glance, which confirmed that even if they hadn’t been talking about her just now, theydefinitelyhad recently. Olivia turned back to her and shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “No problem.”
But it kind of seemed like it was, in fact, a problem. A real-life passive-aggressive smiley face emoji haunting Merritt all the way back to her room.
12
“You still haven’t told meabout your breakup.”
Merritt drained her water glass before accepting the fresh beer Niko offered her. Three was probably okay. She could handle three. Despite Olivia’s ambitions, Merritt had eaten a huge chunk of the baked brie, crackers, and other assorted apps-for-dinner she’d put together, which seemed to be doing an adequate job of soaking up the first two.
Still, that was at least part of the reason she didn’t bat an eyelash before answering, even though a month ago she would’ve shut down and demurred. But then, a month ago, he probably wouldn’t even have asked.
“Which one?”
Niko set their empties on the table next to him and picked up the chalk. “The one that brought you here.”
She leaned her hip against the pool table, her eyes drifting to his hands as he chalked his cue. “Neither have you.”
“Yes, I did,” he said.
“Not that one. Your last one.”
She thought maybe she’d made a mistake when he didn’t answer, just lined up his shot. It was an easy one, but he bungled it, sending the cue ball ricocheting around the table. He must have been tipsy, too. He glanced up at her, his brows knitted together.
“Olivia told you?”
She raised one shoulder, then lowered it. “A little. The basics. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.”
He fixed her with a look she couldn’t decode. “I guess it’s only fair.”
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours?” A little more flirtation slipped into her tone than she’d intended.Reel it in,she admonished herself.
