24. Oliver
24
OLIVER
I t was on the tip of her tongue. I know it was. Her wish.
Or I’m simply disillusioned, and it instills a little fear inside of me. Actually, it creates a giant hole that I’m not sure will be patched up.
We are at a crossroads. That I agree with.
All the more reason for why I’m ready to throttle whoever is on the other side of the door. At least use the fucking doorbell.
I hold my palm up to Hailey. “Just wait. I’ll get rid of them.”
Her face sours. “That ain’t happening. Whoever it is won’t give up. There are a few people who want discussions.”
Like me.
The pounding of the door now fuels a need inside me to rip someone to pieces, and it doesn’t even involve a negotiation of a contract.
“Oliver. We know you’re there.” It’s Liam probably.
“Seriously, we’re not going away,” Keats adds.
Fantastic. Double the fun.
“My brother.” Hailey closes her eyes for a second and squinches her face. “Just go, okay? He won’t kill you. He was fine when I saw him. I’ll head to my house for a bit. Leave through the garage, throw a bone at the neighbor’s dog for old times’ sake, or even actually go for a power walk to clear my head. So go and deal with them.” She sounds sincere and patient. At least she’s not showing irritation. Another reason to add to the list of why this woman is only for me.
I release a cleansing breath and walk out of the kitchen to the door. The door isn’t even a crack open when both guys stroll on in.
“I’m here because I’ve slept on it and I want to get this conversation out of the way before the next family dinner. Plus, oh boy, this is a tizzy to be in. Isn’t it? So a man-to-man conversation we shall have.” Liam is nearly taunting me.
“I’m here to offer an ear and to step in if Liam decides to change his mood or in case your brother shows up. I heard he was working with his boxing trainer this morning.” The smug look on Keats’s face is actually a welcoming sign of hope.
I feel this is protocol for what you do when friends are in tight spots.
I trail behind them until we’re in the kitchen, despite the fact that my living room has a comfortable sofa. Liam peeks at his watch. “Oh goody. It’s noon.” He opens the fridge door and re-emerges with three bottles of beer, and he struggles to hold the necks between his fingers.
Keats quickly takes one then offers me the other. I’m in no mood for alcohol so set the bottle back on the counter. “Congratulations, by the way,” he says.
“For what?”
“The marriage and job offer.”
I bite my lip, and Liam swings his gaze to me. “Job offer?”
Rubbing my face with both palms, I wonder why life decided to toss a loose cannon at me this week.
“Yeah, Oliver keeps getting offered a spot on the legal council for the hockey league in New York, and this time, I heard from team sources that they went all out on the benefits package,” Keats explains.
A headache is approaching.
“Really? They’re still pursuing you? You mentioned before. Are you going to take it?” Liam wonders with concern.
“He would be foolish not to,” Keats chirps back.
“Can you two stop?” They both bring their focus to me, eager to listen. “I haven’t even thought about it.”
Keats whistles in disapproval. “You would be crazy to ignore it.”
“Except I can’t just pack up a suitcase and leave,” I justify why I’m not entertaining the job offer.
“Are you staying married? She told me about the building and what you did for her.” Liam sends us straight into the deep end. “I love my sister, and you two are still sinking into my brain. But moving? That… it’s not her.”
Shaking my head, I shut down that idea right away. “First, I know. Plus, she wouldn’t because she has a preschool that she wants to develop. She’s not going to give up on that, nor would I ask her to. Secondly, staying married? We kind of need to discuss a few things.”
Liam seems awfully quiet—until he opens his mouth, that is. “So you’ll give up on your own career for her?”
I roll a shoulder back. “The job offer wasn’t interesting last time, and it isn’t this time.”
“Fair enough. Maybe you were using a marriage to Hailey to ensure you don’t make choices that keep you away from Everhope. Some deep-down psychological stuff,” Keats reflects.
“Or I could have just asked her to marry me to ensure she has what she wants,” I reply.
“That’s the answer I want to hear.” Liam begins to smile with affection. “Maybe I came here because this conversation is simple, maybe even a waste of time because we don’t need to ask the obvious. We all know you’re both crazy about one another. It’s not like you were completely reckless and married on a whim without even knowing one another. It’s cute. Still, this is all kind of out there. Like you are dating but married or married but dating. Like what comes first on the relationship basis?” Liam remains perched against the edge of the counter.
Aren’t they two of the same?
No, actually. I’d rather be married than dating. It hits a little different when I can say she’s my wife instead of my girlfriend. To many it shows forever commitment. Romance never dies which means you can still have a hot-as-fuck insatiable dinner together. Always learning new details about each other. Whispering I love you, which I’ve failed up until now, even though it’s not a new sentiment.
“The girlfriend-boyfriend title was never for us,” I declare. “We skipped a few steps. Just haven’t really clarified that with one another. We still need to hash out those details. Hence, why it would be great if you two could run along now.” I fake an overdone smile with my fingers walking in the air.
“Okay, all I wanted to point out is your little secret—helping her my ass—was a secret because you both have completely horrendous avoidance issues when it comes to your feelings, and you both lack solid verbal communication,” Liam offers his unsolicited opinion.
I roll my eyes at him. “I really don’t think I should be taking relationship advice from you.”
Keats chuckles. “Or he is the best person to tell you because he cares more than any of us. Sibling love does that to people. Speaking of siblings…” His face turns pained. “What will you say to Carter? He’ll cool off, but you might need to show that there is no confusion amongst your happy marriage, otherwise he might burst again.”
Raking a hand through my hair, I try to push the thought away. I was doing a damn good job of doing that today. Also, maybe I assume he would need to cool off. But his mind is still on his ex-wife, and it’s affecting him more than I thought.
“It’s going to be a tough conversation, and I accept that.” Brotherly love means we owe each other nothing and we’ll still love one another. But we are closer than that. We can’t brush things to the side.
“This is still kind of crazy. It’s taking a hot minute to wrap my head around this news,” Keats comments.
I drum my fingers on the counter that I’m leaning against. “The last thing we needed was everyone’s opinions. We still got that in the end, but c’est la vie.”
There is a pause of silence and then Liam slides his drink to the side. “I don’t want to keep you long because I think you and my sister have a lot to talk about. But if you hurt her then I’ll still kill you then help people look for you.” He fakes a smile at me.
My arms begin to flap as if I’m wrangling my friends in, encouraging them to get the hell out of here.
“If you care then you will leave so I can finish any life-altering discussions that I need to have with my wife .”
They both smirk but get the hint and set their beers on the counter then follow my indication direction straight the door. “Hustle, boys. No seriously, move a little faster.”
“Okay, we get the hint,” Keats assures me with Liam by his side.
Walking them to the front, I open the door with gusto and feign a smile at them.
“Call me when we can plan a double date.” Keats winks at me.
“And I’ll see you at our next family dinner where… Ah, it will be great,” Liam boasts with a wide grin.
I grumble a sound, and as soon as they step to the other side, I swing the door shut, causing a loud bang due to the force.
Gathering myself, I return to the kitchen and lean into the counter, rubbing my face due to exhaustion. I hear another door open, and my eyes zip toward the hall to the garage and laundry room.
The sight of Hailey instantly puts my body on full alert and my spine straightens. She’s taking her earbuds out and saunters my way.
“You’re here?”
She nods. “I was sitting on the step in your garage, unable to leave because my heart didn’t want to.”
My jaw ticks when she says the word heart. “What did you hear?”
Hailey shakes her head and stops when she stands across from me but keeps her distance. Too much distance. I can’t pull her into my arms.
“Nothing. I knew you weren’t alone so wanted to tune out. I was listening to a true crime podcast about a woman on trial for murdering her first and second husband.”
Stifling a laugh, this is one way to break the ice. “Should I be concerned?”
She slaps her forehead. “Shit. That sounded kind of bad. Not that I’m gathering ideas or anything. Actually, I’ve been spewing out a lot of gibberish in the last hour.”
“How so?” I cross my arms over my chest and tip my chin up as I inspect her body language.
“We don’t need to be married.”
My eyes pop out because I don’t need to hear her say that again or the fact it comes out in monotone from her gorgeous mouth.
She curses the F-bomb under her breath before her tongue dips to the corner of her mouth and slowly slides along her bottom lip. “Not doing great here, Hailey,” she berates herself. “I meant that the rules for the building changed and the effort we put in is irrelevant it seems. And now you have that job.”
I step forward in a flash, ready to object. “I’m not taking the job.”
She seems to be double-checking an answer that she already knows. “Oh, so you’re staying here. You don’t have to if it’s because of me.” Her eyes dip down.
My eyes remain set on her with a cold stare. “Not because of you. I don’t want the job, as I’ve said a million times.” My words are tart.
Our eyes lock and it’s only a second or two before a light smile ghosts her lips. “Okay, one less thing to worry about. Only the staying-married part seems to be the topic on the agenda.”
Pursing my lips, a small calming breath leaves my soul. “ Staying married. We seem to agree on something, so that’s a start.” My heart is booming in my chest.
“Staying sounds good,” she replies shyly.
“Do you know what I think?”
“You’re going to tell me, aren’t you?”
I press my lips into a faint smile. “The universe was throwing us signs to be together because we were both scared to commit because… we always knew we would be forever.”
Now she steps forward, the space between us shrinking. “You’re right. You and I skipped quite a few steps, but that’s okay. We’re not strangers. Most of all, you are the man that I would dream about and the man that I’m in love with. Not just the lust kind of love, but I really love you.”
“Oh, thank fuck.” In a flash, I close our space and my hands weave through her soft long hair, and I hold her in place to punish her mouth with a kiss that will sear her because she’s mine.
I moan into her mouth, and she takes my breath away when she sucks on our kiss, making it impossible to break. It’s wet, messy, us. Our teeth scrape and our lips seal us together. That tongue of hers tickles mine, and my response is to give her a good thrashing back, exploring her mouth, my hands strengthening around the mold of her face, and the sound of her murmurs only heightening everything inside of me that is about to burst to the other side of the door.
Pulling away, I give a short kiss then another. “I love you.” I’m almost panting. “The moment I got stuck with you on a road trip, I knew it was the start of our unraveling. Leading us straight to where we are meant to be but ignoring the obvious. We’ve been complete fools coming up with ridiculous reasons. All we had to do was grab from the start what we are meant to be.”
“We made it even more complicated for ourselves because we had the pressure of a secret somewhat-fake marriage that made us anxious to admit how we really blatantly always felt. Wait, does this mean that neither one of us has any intention of going anywhere?” she asks coyly.
I yank her close with my arm snaking around her middle. “Not a chance. I would just tie you down anyhow. There was no way I would give you a divorce, even if you told me that’s what you wanted. You’ve made me so fucking insane that it’s borderline psychotic, and I’m okay with that.”
Hailey howls a tiny laugh. “That’s uh… kind of hot?” She’s questioning herself. “Or do I need to be concerned?”
I shake my head. “Nah. I now have what I’ve been waiting for.”
She looks down at her fingers now playing with my shirt. “You know, we didn’t even have a wedding cake,” she laments.
“We had birthday cake.”
“Nor a honeymoon,” she volleys.
“Later.”
Her eyes gleam with a soft innocence when they catch mine. “Our newlywed phase has kind of been unusual.”
“Sneaking through yards is a good basis for the adventure that we will have in our marriage. Meh, the living-separately part is going to have to change pronto, though.”
Her fingers curl around the fabric on my chest. “I like the sound of that.”
“What else? Have we missed something?” My enthusiasm to get us moving on the full-on marriage train is trying to speed us up.
“I guess not. Our families have already met, we both want a dog one day, and I can change my name soon.”
“All positives.”
We’re there. No need to say more. This is us now.
Our mouths crash together at the same time, electrifying every molecule inside of me. I need her naked in our bed with that ring perfectly set on her finger and my own, too. Hoisting her up, she squeals delightfully then wraps her legs around my waist, and I begin to tread my steps in the direction that we need to go. Our mouths stay connected, but I feel her smile against my lips.
The doorbell repeatedly getting pushed startles her. We stall and our kiss stops, then both our heads move cheek to cheek to stare at the closed door. Her skin is warm and the corner of her mouth wet and swollen.
“Can the earth stop interrupting us?” Hailey chastises the world.
“Oliver!” Carter’s voice is directly recognizable.
“Silly us.” Hailey’s voice is full of dismay. “We forgot the little detail that your brother had a meltdown.”
I loosen my hold on her, and she slides down against my body. Whatever excitement my dick had has vanished due to the doorbell.
“I might as well face him now,” I suggest.
“I hear you in there! Open up before I break down the door.” Clearly, he hasn’t calmed down.
My jaw goes slack, and I take a beat. “Let’s get this over with.”