“It would have been memorable,” she said with a grin as she reached for the door.
“It was pretty fucking memorable all the same,” I muttered as we climbed out.
We went inside and I rested my hand on the small of her back. She’d chosen a short, red dress and my desire to run my hand up the inside of her leg was growing.Doesn’t help that I saw this very dress hiked up around her waist and my boyfriend’s dick buried inside her less than an hour ago.
With the heels she’d slipped on she was nearly the same height as me, and I leaned into her ear as the hostess led us to our table. “You look beautiful, Olivia.”
She smiled and flicked my tie. “You don’t look so bad yourself, handsome.”
We sat down and looked over the menu, both choosing one of the steak specials. Olivia ordered a glass of wine and then smiled mischievously.
“You have ten minutes until they come back with our drinks to tell me everything I need to know about my date tonight,” Olivia said, her smile spreading as my eyes widened.
“Are you serious?” I asked.
She nodded. “Is that not what I had to do four years ago?”
“Sure, but that was to protect our cover for the evening.” I took a sip of water. “What do you want to know?”
She shook her head. “Not how this works. Whatever comes to your mind. Spit it out before they come back with my wine.”
I laughed and rubbed my sweaty palms on my thighs. “Alright, I’ve got this. When do I start?”
“Now. I’m sure you’re down to seven minutes,” she said smugly.
“I’m thirty years old and I wanted to be an architect since I was a little kid and I saw one on TV. My mom is dead, I had a little brother who died in a car accident, and I’ll share those details with you but notin the middle of this word vomit.” She took my hand and squeezed. “I left Boston for college because my father is an abusive piece of shit. I’m proud to be bisexual and a recovering alcoholic.”
She smiled proudly at me. “I’m happy to hear you say those things so easily now.”
I took another sip of water. “I have a daughter who I’m just getting to know but who I’m already crazy about. I have an unreasonably high IQ, enough fears and phobias to keep surprising you for years when they pop up, and I don’t like talking about myself to anyone except Jace and you. I’m in love with the same man as you and it feels unreal that we’re even sitting here when I’d become convinced that I lost you forever a long time ago.”
The waiter appeared with Liv’s wine, and I took a deep breath. “Thank God,” I said, sighing in relief.
She burst out laughing and squeezed my hand until the waiter was gone. She brought her wine glass to her lips and smiled around it. “Will you tell me about your family?”
“Of course,” I said. I found myself walking her through the details just as easily as I had with Jace. Telling her after I’d already told Jace made it a little easier. The memories were more accessible and I felt confident that if I told her now, I wouldn’t have to talk about my past anymore for a while. It wasn’t like I wanted to suppress the memories—my therapist in rehab had made it clear that wouldn’t do me any good—but I also didn’t want to bring it up regularly.
Olivia was empathetic and shared details about her absent father as well. “I think that’s part of why I never looked for you,” she said, taking a sip of her wine and sighing. “I’m sorry, Kayden. I knew you didn’t want to be in Boston, and I was afraid if I found you and told you about our daughter, she’d have a father who breezed in and out of her life too.”
I took her hand in mine and held it on top of the table. “I don’t hold any resentment for the choices you made. But I need you to know, if things were different, I would have been here for both of you. Every single day.”
“I know that now,” she said with a sad smile. “But then we might not have Jace, and that makes me incredibly sad to even think about.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I said. “How did you two meet anyway? He’s never said.”
She laughed and a nostalgic smile washed over her face. “I suppose I can thank you for that, actually.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Explain.”
The waiter appeared at the table and set down our meals before Olivia continued, “When I woke up the morning after our evening together, I went straight to my perverted boss and quit. He offered me more money to stay and didn’t even look at my tits during the whole exchange. It must have taken him great effort.”
I laughed and took a bite of my steak.Delicious. I’d forgotten how good the food was here because I’d been so distracted by the memory of my company that night. “And yet, you held your ground?”
“I did. I’d made a promise to a gorgeous man who’d made me come very loudly in a bathroom the night before. I couldn’t let him down.”
I took a sip of my sparking water to keep my mouth busy, otherwise I’d be tempted to crawl across the table and kiss her. “And how does Jace factor into this?”
“I walked around the city that morning trying to find a restaurant where I’d get a chance to bartend like I wanted and where the manager hopefully wouldn’t be a perv.”
