Chapter 11
Nate
Irush through the restaurant, looking desperately for our waiter. I need to get back to Olive. I need to get her back to my room. I spot him chatting with another server by the bar, and I hurry over to him, handing him my credit card. “Can I pay my check real quick?”
He smiles and takes my card. “Of course, let me go run this.”
Excitement and nervousness are zipping through my bloodstream as I vibrate with anticipation.
The taste of her lips is something I can already tell I could quickly get addicted to.
It was honestly shocking how long it took me to finally give in to the magnetic pull I felt toward her all night.
She’s the most unintentionally alluring woman I’ve ever met. She has no idea what she does to me.
To be fair, I also have no idea what she’s doing to me. I fully acknowledge it’s crazy to feel like this so soon. But so far, I’m powerless against it. Not that I’ve tried all that hard.
The server walks back to me with the receipt to sign. I scrawl my name and the tip and practically throw it back to him. Rolling the pent-up tension out of my shoulders, I stalk back to the table and freeze as I approach. Brow pinched, I pivot around to stare into the restaurant.
Did she get up to wait for me somewhere else?
I start walking away from the table, but a thought occurs. Maybe she went to the bathroom. I don’t want her to think I left her, so I’ll wait a few minutes.
Ten minutes later, I sit alone at the table. My leg bounces with concern and annoyance.
Why would she ditch me?
“Sir, is there anything else I can get you?” the waiter asks me again. He’s probably ready for me not to be taking up his table.
I shake my head as I stand up, then pull out my wallet for two $20 bills. “No, sorry for sitting here for so long.” Handing him the extra tip, I leave the restaurant with a cloud hanging over my head.
I kick myself mentally for not getting her number.
I can’t call her to make sure she’s okay.
As disappointed as I am that she didn’t want to spend the night with me as much as I wanted to spend it with her, I’m more worried than anything else.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep if I don’t at least figure out how to get in touch with her.
I don’t even know her last name.
The entire walk back to the hotel, I’m trying to figure out how to go about this.
I might just have to resort to begging the front desk.
They better not give me her room number, or I’ll be speaking with management about their staff giving out women’s room numbers to random men, but maybe they would be willing to find her with just her first name and call her room for me.
Surely, there isn’t more than one Olive staying at the hotel.
I release an irritated breath when I get in line behind three other people waiting for the one front desk attendant. It takes fifteen minutes before it’s my turn.
The young, pretty girl smiles brightly as I approach. “Hello, sir. How can I help you tonight?”
I have no interest in her, especially since I can’t get the taste of Olive out of my mouth, but I place my elbows on the desk and lean forward, returning her smile.
Glancing down at her name tag, I say, “Hi, Danielle. I need a favor.” I cringe internally as I wink.
“I have a coworker I need to call, but she’s new, and I can’t remember her last name.
I know you can’t give me her room number, but can you call her room for me? ”
Her smile falters. “You don’t know her last name?”
I shake my head. “I don’t. Like I said, she’s new, and I can’t remember.”
She hesitates, glancing down at her computer. This isn’t promising. I straighten and look around the lobby, doing a double take when a familiar face walks through the door.
“Uh, never mind. My other coworker walked in. I’ll ask him.” I rap my knuckles on the desk twice and stride across the lobby, intercepting Cade when he’s halfway to the elevators. “Cade, I need your help.”
I receive a skeptical look. “With what?”
Crossing my arms, I look to the side, trying to decide how much detail to give and explain, “Olive and I were out, and I went to pay our check. When I came back to the table, she was gone.” I drop my hands to my hips. “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”
He narrows his eyes. “You were out?”
I nod.
“With Olive?” he asks, like it’s hard to believe.
I nod again, but expand, “We didn’t mean to, but we ran into each other in the casino. And ended up going to get dessert somewhere else after.”
Cade rolls his eyes to the ceiling as he mumbles, “That girl and her sweet tooth, gets her ass in trouble. Guess she was right about you.”
I have no idea what he’s talking about when he says Olive was right about me, but I internally celebrate when he pulls his phone from his pocket. The ringing comes through his phone as he holds it to his ear.
“Hi, this is Olive-”
Cade hangs up. Typing furiously on his phone, he looks up at me. “I just texted her. Let’s see if she answers.” He tilts his head while keeping his gaze on me. “You want to tell me more about what you two were doing?”
My mind races on how to respond to him when his phone vibrates.
“Hm, saved by the bell, I guess.” The look he gives me is different after he reads whatever text he just received. Sadder, maybe. “She’s fine. She’s in her room.”
A breath of relief leaves me as my eyes close. “Thank goodness.”
When I open my eyes, Cade is looking at me curiously. “I hope you aren’t a dick, Nate.”
“I’m not.” The words rush out of me.
Cade nods slowly. “For some reason, I don’t think you are.” He pauses, eyes searching my face. “Be patient with her.”
With that, he strides past me, patting me on the shoulder.
I drop my chin to my chest, my hands landing on my hips. Nothing about tonight has turned out the way I thought it would. Suddenly, I feel exhausted. Pivoting to the elevators, I head to my room.
In the morning, I feel no more rested than when I went to bed last night. My mind kept replaying the entire night, all our interactions, hoping I could find one misread cue. Something that would give me any insight into why Olive would just up and leave me like she did.
As I climb out of the shower, I have no more answers now than when I went to bed.
But that kiss.
There’s no doubt in my mind that she enjoyed that as much as I did. My dick twitches just thinking about her mouth. Her full lips. And sweet smiles.
I hope she’ll open up to me about what happened. Even beyond the physical, which I’m convinced will be life-changing, last night was the most enjoyable time I’ve had with a woman in a very long time. Maybe even forever.
Be patient with her.
Cade’s words play on repeat in my head. What does that mean?
Hopefully, I get the chance to find out today.
By the time I finish packing my suitcase, I still have some time to kill before we fly out.
Making the decision to walk to the coffee shop down the street from the hotel, I grab my wallet and phone.
I ignore the part of me that lights up at the thought of maybe seeing Olive there, knowing the likelihood of that happening twice in two different cities is practically nonexistent.
It’s overcast but warm when I step outside.
As the cool breeze sweeps by me, a feeling I had been ignoring starts to take hold of my heart.
The disappointment and perplexity I feel about Olive leaving is mixed with a sense of…
Relief is the wrong word, but it’s the only way to describe it simply to myself.
Which can’t be right, because I’m certainly not relieved that I didn’t get to spend the night with her.
After I get my coffee from the barista and take a seat outside, I still haven’t resolved anything in my mind about my confusing feelings.
I roll my neck, hoping stretching my muscles will help smooth out the whirlwind of emotions.
My phone vibrates, and I shift in my chair to pull it from my pocket.
I smile when I see the name. “Good morning, Pamela.”
“Nate, I know you’re busy with this new job, but I’m so glad I caught you. I wanted to talk to you about a few things for when you are back in a couple of weeks.” Pamela rambles on about dinners, birthday parties, and soccer games. I respond accordingly, albeit a bit distracted.
When she takes a breath, I seize the break to ask a question that started to take shape while she was talking. “Do you think I’m messed up from Mom and Dad?”
Our parents were the best. They loved each other just as fiercely as they loved us kids. We had the picture-perfect childhood and family. The kind some people dream about and that others pretend to have.
Until it all ended.
One horrible rainstorm on a country road at night, and they were gone.
I was overseas when my sisters called me.
I’ve never felt pain like that. Pamela is a licensed therapist specializing in PTSD, so she helped us all navigate the aftermath of their deaths the best she could, all while also dealing with her own heartbreak.
She takes a moment to answer, then says softly, “I think we all are, to some extent. Why do you ask?”
I shrug, even though she can’t see me, and sip of my coffee to gather my thoughts. “I know you were already with Joseph when it happened, but did you ever get scared about loving him because you were afraid you were going to lose him?”
“Of course, I felt fear, but not about loving him. Honestly, I felt fearful about everyone. Any time anyone was out of my sight, I was terrified I would never see them again.” She’s silent for a moment. “Do you want to tell me what brought this on?”
If there’s anyone in my life that I can be completely vulnerable with, it’s Pamela. “What if I can’t fall in love because of that fear?”
A surprised laugh hits my ear. “I’m not laughing at you or your feelings, Nate.
I’m just a little shocked you would even ask that.
” She laughs again, but this time, the sound is a little more somber.
“You love harder than anyone I’ve ever met.
Look at Jack. Ian. Tyler. And now Ella. Not to mention, all the other employees at Nash.
Look at how you love me, Lori, and our significant others.
You love my kids more than anything in this world.
How could you ever think you can’t fall in love with the luckiest woman on earth one day? ”
I blink a few times, grateful I have sunglasses on, and clear my throat of the new wave of emotion her words brought on. My words feel scratchy coming out. “Thanks, Pam. I needed that.”
I’m the last to enter the plane, and when I take the final step, my gaze roams the faces, searching for the one that haunts me.
Just as I am turning to walk down the aisle to my seat, the lavatory door opens. Cade steps out, and my face drops in disappointment. “Where’s Olive?”
Cade grimaces. “She isn’t here.”
“Wait, what? Why not? Did she oversleep again?” I glance at the time on my phone. It’s pretty late in the day, but maybe she couldn’t sleep last night for some reason.
“No, she didn’t oversleep.” He steps closer.
Wringing his hands, he explains in a hushed tone, “She had to fly home last night for a family emergency.” His nose scrunches up.
“She’s going to be pissed at me for telling you, but that’s why she left you.
She got a text while you were paying the bill. ”
“And she didn’t want to wait for me? I could have helped her.”
Cade shakes his head with a sad expression. “Olive is very private. She doesn’t know you.”
I go to object to that, but Cade holds his hands up to stop me.
“I’m one of her best friends, and sometimes it’s hard for even me to get information from her. I don’t even know all the details about why exactly she left.”
I don’t like it, but I appreciate him sharing that insight into Olive. I tell him as much before I walk to my seat. All the while, contemplating ways to convince him to give me her phone number.