TWO
CALEB
Olivia sighs and walks toward the living room.
I close my eyes against the wave of desire that nearly brought me to my knees.
On one hand, I’m relieved she walked away. The electricity that always runs at a hum between us is more intense right now than it ever has been.
On the other, I miss being near her when she walks away.
I’m in love with my best friend.
Like, she’s the only one who can calm me when I’m mad, and she’s the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of when I go to sleep kind of love.
I’ve been crazy about this woman since we were fifteen and I saw her filing papers at her uncle’s clinic after school. My mom and I had just moved to Cape Sands and the doc needed to sign off on some forms for me so I could play ball for the high school.
She was—hands down—prettier than any of the girls at my old school.
Back then, it was easy to shrug it off as nothing more than teenage hormones. She was hot, popular, and didn’t take any of my arrogant bullshit.
All these years later and she knows me better than I know myself. And she still doesn’t put up with my bullshit.
But she’s never seen me for more, and I value the friendship we have too much to fuck it up by professing feelings for her. She wouldn’t believe me anyway given my manwhore reputation.
I find her lying on my sofa, one arm flung over her eyes, her chest moving up and down in a steady rhythm. But she’s not sleeping; she’s trying to figure out what she wants to tell me.
She may have my number, but I also know how this woman works.
I gingerly sit on the ottoman in front of the sofa and poke her leg. “Talk, Emerson.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you so persistent about this?”
“Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.”
My brow furrows when she doesn’t give me a withering stare like she always does when I say that.
“Olivia.”
She blows out a breath and drops her arm. “Fine,” she says, then sits up until we’re facing each other.
Her knees are between mine and it takes an effort to keep my eyes on hers.
“What do you want to know?” Anger mixed with hurt and something else I can’t place radiates off her in waves.
“Whatever it is that has you driving all night to see me. It’s not like you to pick up and leave work without planning it. You practically live at the hospital.”
She looks down at her hands. “I lost my job. And got dumped.”
I start to stand, but the sudden movement sends pain shooting through my chest. “Ow, shit.” I catch my breath a moment before speaking. “What the hell happened?”
Her head turns and she stares out the back door, where the yard is covered in colorful leaves. “You need to rake your yard,” she says, her voice flat.
I scoff. “Yep, I’ll get right on that.” I nudge her knee with my own. “You’re stalling, Livvie.”
“So, you know I was dating that ER doctor, right?”
“Samuel?” Why the hell didn’t he go by Sam like normal guys?
“Yeah. Anyway, last week, he misdiagnosed a kid that came into the ER with cold symptoms. When I saw blood on the child’s pillow, I called for a neurosurgeon, and it ended up not being a cold, but something the kid needed surgery for right away.
I told Samuel what happened and he was livid with me. Said I made him look like a fool.”
I clench my fists, envisioning my fist plowing into this douchebag’s nose. When she runs a hand through her hair and rolls her lips inward, I stay quiet and let her continue.
“I couldn’t understand and he wouldn’t speak to me.
Then yesterday, right after I clocked out after being on a twenty-four-hour shift, I’m called into a boardroom.
Samuel is there, as well as his boss, my boss, and legal.
Long story short, he lied about what happened, and somehow his initials ended up on the electronic documents of the things that I’d done that saved this kid’s life.
And mine were on the misdiagnosis documents. ”
Her gaze meets mine before she continues. “Evidently, the parents were threatening to sue the hospital if they didn’t get rid of the doctor who wouldn’t help their kid. And if I left quietly, the hospital would give me a glowing reference for my next job.”
My head is on the verge of fucking exploding. If I ever see this fucker, then he’s a dead man. I’m trying to stay calm because that’s what it looks like she needs.
But it’s a struggle.
Before I can say anything, she delivers the coup de grace.
“Then while I was in the locker room clearing out, he comes in and says I need to get anything I left at his apartment as soon as possible because”—her cheeks flush and her gaze darts away—“his girlfriend was moving back to Dallas and she’d be arriving today.”
I shoot up from my seated position, this time ignoring the pain. “What the ever-loving fuck?”
I start to pace the room, barely able to contain my rage. “I’m going to kill that son of a bitch. I’m going back to Dallas with you and I’m going to kick his ass.”
Olivia crosses the room and stands in my path, her hands on my chest. “No, he’s not worth all that.”
I look down into her sky-blue eyes that are pleading with me. My jaw tightens. “It must have been serious. You lived with him.”
“I didn’t live with him. I just left a few things there from time to time when I stayed over.”
“Was it serious? Do you love him?”
Her gaze searches mine. I can’t read her and I’m always able to read her. Frustration goes up another notch.
“No and no. I hadn’t dated him for that long. I’m humiliated more than anything by the fact that he fooled me into thinking he was a decent man and a good doctor.”
She drops her head, but her hands stay on my chest. It’s the second time she’s touched me there, and I’m all mixed up about it.
Over the years, Olivia and I have touched more times than I can count. Hugs, playful shoves, tickle wars, headlocks. She’s even had her hand on my chest before.
But this…this is different. It’s as though she’s feeling what I feel.
Which will never happen, no matter how bad I want it.
“But you know what the worst part of my day was, Caleb?” Her head lifts and she meets my eyes. “The worst part was getting that phone call from Derek…” She stops, her voice shaky. She wets her lips before continuing. “Telling me you’d been in a wreck.”
I whisk away a stray hair from her face and place it behind her ear. “He told you I was banged up but fine.”
“I had to see for myself. So, I grabbed a few things and drove here.” Her eyes dart toward the front door. “I know I should’ve probably told you I was coming.”
Her eyes tell me she’s referring to Candy. “I told you not to worry about her. She means nothing to me. Unlike the stunning brunette currently standing in front of me.”
When her mouth drops open, I realize what I’ve said.
Shit. I need damage control.
I take her wrists and lift her hands away from my chest. “Because you’re my best friend, Livvie, and you know you’re important to me.”
She slow blinks and sways toward me. “Right. Right.”
Her gaze roams around the room as though she’s never seen it before. “Caleb, I think I need some sleep. I’ve been up a long time.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulders and lead her into my bedroom. When she sees the rumpled sheets on my bed, she freezes. “No, no, no. I’m not taking your bed, Caleb.”
“Why? It isn’t like you haven’t slept in my bed before.”
She raises a brow. “Are they clean? Did you do anything with silicone girl on these sheets?”
I roll my eyes. “No. I just put them on night before last and I haven’t had any…guests since. Do you really think I’d offer you my bed with sex sheets on it?”
She straightens her back for a moment before going limp with exhaustion. “No.”
I settle her into bed, and as I leave, she calls my name.
“Yeah?” When I turn back, she’s curled on her side, her hands stacked under her cheek. In the shadows of the room, her dark hair is a stark contrast to her porcelain skin, making her look vulnerable.
My protective instincts go into overdrive, and I want to hit something hard.
“When I wake up, you’re going to tell me what happened to you.”
I bite back a sigh, knowing she’s going to hate it. “Deal.”
Her eyes close and she’s out.
I watch her a moment before closing the door behind me.
It’s been months since I’ve seen Olivia in person, and seeing her today only solidified the one truth I know.
She still owns my heart and soul.
And I’m so fucked.