Chapter 4
brEAKING DOWN
Unsurprisingly, after Luke left, I barely got any sleep. All night a voice kept hounding me, suggesting I fight for him. Save him. Stop him before it was too late.
I pressed the pillow hard against my ears, as if I could smother the noise clawing its way out of my head.
Nothing worked; the voice wouldn’t stop. “He needs your help. Luke is making a big mistake.”
Tired of fighting it, I eventually opened my eyes and took a deep breath. The voices were right. Well, I was right, since those were my internal thoughts.
Luke was about to destroy his life, and as his friend, I couldn't just stand next to him while he made the worst mistake ever.
Which is exactly what I explained to Tami, the barista who made the gigantic mistake of asking how my day was going.
She kept her smile in place, but I saw the flicker of uneasiness in her eyes before she looked down and closed the lid on my cup.
"Remind me again, who is Luke?"
I retrieved the coffee from her hands and sighed before repeating myself. "My best friend. Who wants to marry somebody he barely knows, a woman who is all wrong for him."
Tami leaned over and glanced at the line behind me, her smile still sweet as I continued.
"Six months ago, Solemn came into our lives, and I welcomed her without a second thought. I assumed she’d be gone soon. I was wrong about the girl with the gray eyes. And now they’re engaged." My fist clenched as I explained.
Tami looked at me like she didn't understand the problem. "Maybe they love each other."
I scoffed, "Give me a fucking break. Love? After six months?"
"Maybe it was love at first sight."
I thought of slapping that innocent smile off her face. Thankfully, I wasn't the violent type.
"Lady, are you done? Can I order now?" a voice behind me asked.
I threw my head back and shot a glare at the man in a neon yellow and orange construction vest. "It's only coffee, not oxygen. You won't die waiting."
However, Tami's words had spoiled my mood. It felt like a rain cloud had burst overhead, drowning me in icy water. I sipped the coffee and marched from the shop. Clearly, I was talking to the wrong person.
My SUV was double-parked in front of the coffee shop. I jumped inside.
"Take me to the tennis club," I ordered Hopeton.
Luke’s mom, Vicky Forrester, should be there taking a lesson now.
If anyone could stop him, it was her. Maybe she could talk sense into her son since I couldn't. Why didn't I think of this sooner?
Once I got Vicky on my side, she'd definitely pressure Luke into making the right choice. In under two minutes (thanks to Hopeton’s liberal interpretation of speed limits), we arrived.
I entered the club and found Vicky pretty quickly on a private court.
She was beautiful. Wrinkles framed her face, but confidence erased years better than Botox.
Vicky giggled like a schoolgirl as she adjusted the straps of her V-cut top.
She wasn’t beyond flirting, clearly. Her manicured hands ran down the arm of her tennis instructor, the diamonds on her wrist outshining the fluorescent light.
"Olivia, what are you doing here?" she asked then put some distance between her and the man who was possibly her newest boy toy.
I walked over, gave her a hug, and waited. After a couple of seconds, the tennis instructor took the hint and left.
"Luke is marrying that woman. Did you know that?" I blurted out.
Giving me a slight nod, Vicky dabbed her face and then led me off the indoor court. "I know. We may not be the closest, but that boy had to tell me he was engaged."
"Okay. So, what are you going to do about it?"
Vicky and I walked to a nearby table and sat. She stared at me in a familiar way; it was the same look Mei and the girls gave me. My defenses flew up. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Come on, Olivia. I made no secret that I wanted you to be my daughter-in-law, but you and Luke crushed my hopes every time. Actually, you did that more than him."
I rolled my eyes.
Vicky touched my arm gently. "This was bound to happen sooner or later. What am I supposed to say to him?"
What? She needed me to write her a script? Her son was making a mistake, and Vicky couldn't find the words to talk him out of it. Just as I opened my mouth to help her, Vicky spoke. "Luke loves her."
"Not possible."
"Why? Because she isn't you?"
Her words knocked the wind out of me, and I had no reply
"You two are older now," she continued. "We have to let you both make your own decisions."
"So, you're just going to stand by and let him make a mistake?"
Vicky locked eyes with me. "I watched you both doing it for years. Luke was bound to find somebody else eventually."
Her words struck, sharp and silent, leaving my chest hollow.
Just then, Vicky tilted her head to signal something behind me. I turned around to find Luke coming over. He looked well rested, handsome, and at ease, like he wasn’t the reason I’d been staring at my ceiling all night. The fucking nerve of him!
"Well, if it isn't my two favorite women," he said, then kissed Vicky on the cheek and took a seat beside me, a little too close.
Our arms touched; it was brief but still managed to send electricity through me.
Goosebumps appeared along my arm, and I fought the urge to slide away or closer.
Just like a typical man, Luke didn't notice my discomfort; he kept chatting away, completely unaware of how off-center he made my world.
"Don’t you mean two of your favorites? Won’t your fiancée feel left out?" Vicky said.
Luke smiled, then leaned in and kissed my cheek. Heat filled me before I knew what was happening.
"It's a habit. You're right, I'll have to change that."
"Not even married to Solemn yet, and already you have to make changes to your personality. So sad." I stuck out my bottom lip.
Vicky squinted. "Isn't her name Solenne?"
"Liv struggles with pronouncing it," Luke said, then gave me a doubtful look. "She speaks six languages, one of them is French, but she’s struggled with this particular French name for six months."
Vicky chuckled and lifted a menu to browse. "Well, you'll have a lifetime of practice. Solenne Forrester will be joining our little group permanently, right Luke?"
"Soon as we say I do. We'll all be one happy family."
Noticeably, Luke never took his eyes off me as he spoke. I had to keep my teeth hidden, otherwise I’d snarl at him, but my bitten lip paid the price.
"What are we having for breakfast?" Luke asked, then paused. "Liv, are you joining us?"
Jumping to my feet, I shook my head at Vicky. "No. I'm late for work. Should've been there two hours ago."
"Why are you and Mom meeting this morning?" Luke asked.
I looked at Vicky with pleading eyes.
"Fashion. What else?" she said, then continued, "Olivia was asking me what fashion show I wanted to sit front row at this season."
I exhaled deeply, hurried to her side, and kissed her. "I’ll call you later about that."
"Couldn’t you have called her about it in the first place?" Luke asked, raising his eyebrow at me.
He wasn’t even engaged for two whole days, but already he was acting like I needed a reason to see his mother, a woman I called aunt.
"Since when did Liv ever need an excuse to visit me?" Vicky said, reading my mind.
I left her to handle him. The whole morning had been a waste.
Since the news of Luke's engagement slapped me upside the head, I'd been a mess.
It was time I accepted things and went on with my life.
The first thing I should do was bring my butt to work.
I exited the club and climbed back into the SUV.
"Let's head to Fox they all voted for me to bear my soul to Luke, leaving me vulnerable to rejection and in more pain than I felt right now.
Luke was my best friend. I couldn’t handle the idea of him rejecting me.
"Why is this so difficult?"
Through the rearview mirror, Hopeton looked at me. “Did you say something?”
“Nothing, sorry.”
I smiled as I thought about how long I had known him.
He and Dorothy had been with my family for as long as I could remember.
When my parents divorced, my mother assigned Hopeton as my driver, refusing to let him leave with dad.
His wife, Dorothy, who once tucked me in at night as my nanny, now helped me run my home.
They were more than staff. I loved them.
While I reflected on how grateful I was to have them, I realized we had already arrived. “Thanks,” I said, then climbed out of the car and walked into the office, determined to be productive, get a handle on myself, and stop acting like my world was falling apart.
"Olivia, you’re here. A few designers stopped by your office," my secretary said as I walked by her to my desk.
Hurling myself into the chair, I stared at her, confused. "Why?"
"The sketches. They’re eager to see if you approved them."
Oh shit! I’d completely forgotten about them. In fact, the sketches had never left my desk. "I’m approving them all."
"All?"
What did I fucking care? "Let's not mass produce. Make small batches so they’re exclusive, and see what sells."
She left me alone, and I opened my computer to email a few designers. My door burst open, and I didn’t need to look up to know who it was. "How can I help you, Jacqueline?"
"Where have you been?" my little sister, who often forgot which of us was the wise older one, asked.