Page 59 of Tiger on the Prowl

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Olivia was back at her cottage, spending the entire afternoon with the TV on for background noise. She was still performing for Smith, playing the annoyed girlfriend who’d finally had enough of the man who had stood her up once too often. On her way home, she’d left a message for her sister, because she needed Grace to finalize the last part of her plan to deceive Smith.

When her sister finally called in the early evening, Olivia took a deep breath, answered the call and put her on the speaker. “Hey, sis. How’s the honeymoon?”

“Fabulous. But how are you? Mom said you met a guy.” Grace chuckled. “Well, she actually said you were trying to hide him in your hotel room. Girl! Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing somebody?”

She’d counted on her mother telling Grace the latest gossip, and on the fact that Grace would immediately steer the conversation in that direction.

“Well, I wish Mom hadn’t said anything.”

“Why not? She said he’s handsome.”

“Yeah, he is. But he’s also totally unreliable. That’s why I didn’t mention him before.”

Grace sighed. “Most men are a little unreliable.”

“I know that, but Jay is worse than any of the guys I’ve dated before. I mean, the sex is great, don’t get me wrong. But he’s always so secretive, and we make plans, and then he just doesn’t show, and calls me way later to tell me he got delayed. Total bullshit.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Liv. Mom thought you’d finally found a nice guy.”

Olivia sighed heavily. “Yeah, so did I. But when he already starts out like that at the beginning and lies to me and makes excuses, it’ll just get worse later. You know? I don’t need that kind of trouble in my life. So I told him it’s over.”

“So sorry. I wish I were there and we could go out for a drink. Are you gonna be all right?”

She shrugged. “I will be. I’m sure. But I need a change of scenery.”

“A little vacation? You deserve it. You’ve been working so hard.”

“Yeah, a bit more than just a vacation. You know when we talked a few months ago about one day going to Japan to see where Dad’s grandparents are from?”

“I wish we could have done that trip together, but Timothy—”

“No, no, I know that. You’re a couple now. You can’t just go off on some trip with me. But I figured, what am I waiting for? I can do my job from anywhere in the world. So why not from Japan? I might as well immerse myself in the culture and all, and brush up on my Japanese.”

“Are you sure? Why don’t you talk to Mom and Dad and see if they wanna go with you?”

“I wanna go on an adventure for once in my life, you know? So I checked the flights today, and there are a few last-minute flights that are dirt-cheap. So I booked one. For tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? Are you crazy?”

“You’re always telling me I’m not spontaneous enough. Now I’m spontaneous.”

“Are you sure you’re not just doing this because it didn’t work out with this guy?”

Olivia shrugged. “So what if? It doesn’t change anything about the fact that I’ve always wanted to go to Japan. And who knows, maybe I’ll find myself a nice Japanese man.”

Grace laughed. “Have you told Mom and Dad yet?”

“I’ll call them from Tokyo. Or they’ll just try to talk me out of it. And before I forget it, my cell phone won’t work in Japan. I’ll get a new SIM card when I arrive. So don’t worry if you can’t reach me by phone immediately. If there’s anything urgent, just email me.”

“Looks like your mind is made up. And I know better than to talk you out of it. That’s never worked before. So, promise me something, little sis: be careful, send me lots of updates, and most of all, have fun.”

“I will. I love you, Grace.”

“I love you too.”

“Tell that husband of yours to treat you well.” Tears were now welling up in her eyes, because this would truly be good-bye until it was safe to come back to her old life.