Cool.I finished off my wine.
Liv continued, “Once in a while when Kaylee smiles, I think about him and wonder if he would have stuck around if I’d given him the chance.” She shrugged, seemingly shaking it off again. “Doesn’t matter. But if he had, I have to believe he would have liked her smile too.”
“He’d have to be a monster not to like that smile,” I said. “Anyway, I owe her ice cream, so just let me know whatever day works for you thatweek. I can pick her up from school and take her, then drop her off at the bar or meet you back here.”
“Okay, thanks. It’s so weird not to have you above Harrison’s anymore,” she said. “I’ll probably barely get used to it before I’m finished there.”
“Then you’ll see me plenty.” I gave her a charming smile. “I haven’t gotten that signed offer letter by the way.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you going to be this much of a hard ass?”
“Are you going to be late with every assignment?” I asked.
She glared at me. “I’ve never quit a job before signing an offer letter before. But I’m pretty close.”
I laughed. “Seriously, send it over tomorrow, please. HR insists.”
“Fine,” she said begrudgingly.
“Hey, you never did share your situation.” She looked at me with confusion. “The one you need my help with?”
“Oh, right,” she said, shifting her feet to the floor and sitting up with her hands in her lap.
“Whatever it is, I’m going to help, Liv,” I said, sensing her hesitation.
She stood up and walked swiftly to the kitchen, grabbing the last two slices of pizza and plating them as she spoke. “So, my mom’s friends are throwing her a Jack and Jill bridal shower in a couple of weeks and I kind of implied that I would bring a date.”
I smirked at her as she walked back to the couch with the pizza, offering me a slice. “You want me to help you find a date for a bridal shower? I can do a lot of things, Liv, but convincing a guy to go to a bridal shower for a first date might be a bit much.”
We each took a slice of pizza off her plate and I bit into mine while she paused with hers midway to her mouth. “I told her I’d bring you.”
“Oh, well that’s cool. Val loves me.”
Olivia took a bite, chewing slowly, before saying. “She does. Which is great. Because I kind of implied you would be coming as my date.”
My eyes widened and my heart rate picked up. “You told your mom we were dating?”
“Yes,” she groaned, dropping her pizza onto the plate on the table and covering her face with her hands. “I have no idea what came over me.”
I stared at her, frozen. This did not feel like the time to tell her we should just go for it, and yet, the fact that she’d told her mom we were more than friends was not lost on me.
Olivia lifted her face and grimaced when she saw me looking at her. “You know how much she’s been trying to encourage me to date for the last few months. I wanted it to stop. Even if she means well, I feel pathetic enough without her reminding me. I said I’d bring you and she assumed that meant we were together, and I didn’t correct her.”
I set down my pizza and took a deep breath.
“Okay, I maybe also said, some variation of ‘yes, it’s new,’ which is really not just an omission but an outright lie.” She winced and searched my face which was still frozen in shock. She waited a few seconds before the panic on her face intensified. “Can you please say something, Jace?”
“Is this a real date or are we pretending?” I asked, voice strained.
“Pretending, of course,” she said quickly, and my stomach sank.
I ran a hand through my hair.
“You don’t have to do it,” she said.
I reached for her hand and cupped it in my mine. “Liv, I’ll do it. Of course I’ll do it.”
I thought about telling her that this didn’t have to be a lie, but the stress on her face convinced me not to broach that topic right now.
