13. Olivia
CHAPTER 13
Olivia
S miling when a purring Ira nuzzles her face against mine, I reach my hand out from under the blanket to rub the top of her head and blink my eyes open. When I see the framed jersey across the room, my eyes slide closed again.
Last night, after Bax ruined me for all other men with a single kiss, his dirty mouth, and his one condition that felt a little like torture when he gave it to me, he walked me next door so I could take off my makeup, change into pajamas, and pack a small bag so I’d at least be able to brush my teeth in the morning, and then we walked back to his house.
After we cleaned up and put food away from the evening with his family, he asked if I wanted to watch another episode of the TV show we watched the night before, so we got comfortable on the couch in the living room. But instead of keeping our distance like every other time, he put his feet up on the coffee table, and I stretched out on the couch with my head on his chest, where, at some point, I must have fallen asleep.
And Bax being Bax, he must’ve carried me to bed last night, and once more, I didn’t even wake up. I swear, if kissing him didn’t ruin me, the constant flow of sweet gestures that seem to come so naturally to him would do me in.
Hearing a noise that sounds like it’s coming from the kitchen, my eyes open.
Bax must still be home.
Moving Ira off my chest, I toss back the duvet and walk into the bathroom that is attached to another bedroom, just like my room at Kourtney’s. I quickly go through my morning routine, or as much of it as I can with what I have here, then open the bedroom door. Gemma, who obviously heard me moving around, greets me right outside the door with her tail wagging.
“Hey, girl.” I squat down to give her a belly rub when she rolls to her back.
“You’re up early.” Lifting my eyes, I find Bax standing at the end of the hall, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved gray thermal with a plaid shirt over it, and his hair damp.
“I heard you up.” I move to stand, and the way he watches me sends a thrill down my spine. “I didn’t know you’d be home this morning.”
“I have a meeting at eight in Nashville, so I'm heading out soon.” His gaze tracks me as I close the distance between us.
I’m going to have to make sure he and I are never in the same space as Liam because there is no way it won't be obvious that something is happening between us. And that’s saying something since we haven’t shared more than a make-out session in his kitchen.
“Want some coffee?” he asks.
“Yeah.” I drop my eyes to his hand when it wraps around mine, and he uses his hold on me to lead me into the kitchen. Letting me go at the side of the counter, he walks to the coffee pot and opens the cupboard above it to get out a mug. “What’s your meeting about?”
“We’re considering purchasing a plot of land near Nashville for a build, so I’m going to take a look at it with my cousin April.”
“That sounds exciting.” I hop up on the counter, and he takes in where I’m sitting, his eyes seeming darker than seconds ago and making me wonder if he’s thinking about last night.
I squeeze my thighs together.
“Sugar, creamer?” he asks, pouring coffee into the mug.
“Both, please.” I watch him add both and stir before he brings it over to me.
“What’s on your schedule today?” he asks as I wrap my hands around the mug he hands to me.
“I have a couple of clients this morning and another after lunch.” I take a sip of the coffee. “After work, I need to head to the store to pick up stuff for dinner tonight.”
“What are you making?” he asks, fitting himself between my legs, and I have to admit I really like this position. I also really like that since last night, he has constantly found a way to bring me closer or just get closer to me in general.
“I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. What’s your favorite thing to eat?”
“I haven't had the chance to eat it yet.” He smirks while my mouth drops open.
“You didn’t just say that.”
“You asked.” He laughs, and I shake my head as I try not to smile.
“Just for that, I’m making you a microwave meal.” I take another sip of coffee as he reaches around me and lifts a single key off the counter. “What’s this for?” I ask, taking it when he passes it to me.
“So you can let yourself in if I’m not here. I should be home by six unless I get caught up somewhere, but I’ll call and let you know if that happens.”
“I was just going to cook next door and bring everything over when you got home.”
“Just cook here.”
“Are you sure?”
“That’s why I gave you the key.” He takes the coffee mug from me, and I watch him set it on the counter, then gasp when he grabs me behind the knees and yanks me forward so that I’m pressed tightly up against his front. I don’t even have a chance to adjust to our new position when he captures my throat and tips my head back. “I have to take off.”
“Okay,” I breathe, fisting his shirt in my hand, the other wrapped tight around the key. My eyes slide closed as his mouth lowers to mine, and he kisses me.
As the kiss deepens, I lift my hips into his, reveling in the sound he makes in the back of his throat, which is a mixture between a groan and a growl. I know he said he won’t fuck me until I know what this is, but I have the urge to push him, to see if I can get him to break his own rule.
A rule that shocked me last night because I’ve never known a man to turn down the offer of sex without complications.
But he’s obviously got more willpower than I do, and I know this for certain when he slows the kiss and pulls away but keeps his face close to mine.
“I’ll see you tonight.”
“Tonight,” I whisper my agreement, and he grins a smug grin before brushing his nose across mine and stepping back. I instantly miss his warmth and his touch.
Looking over at where Gemma has sprawled out on the cushioned mat in front of the sink, he taps his thigh. “Come on, Gemma,” he calls out, and she bounds up off the floor and runs over to him as his gaze comes back to me. “Later, babe.”
“Have a good day.” I watch the two of them disappear from the kitchen and hear the front door open then close. Dropping my eyes to my hand, I open my fingers and look at the key on my palm, smiling, then hop down from the counter and grab my coffee. Taking it to the bedroom, I pack up my stuff and make the bed before heading over to Kourtney’s.
Arriving at work an hour and a half later, I open the door, and Holly smiles at me from behind the desk with the phone pressed to her ear.
“Morning,” I whisper as I pass her, and she waves in return.
Letting myself into my office, I flip on the light and walk to my desk, putting my bag away before I grab my laptop. I look at my schedule to see if anything has changed since I left yesterday evening. As I’m scanning through it, Holly steps into my office, holding her phone out toward me.
It takes me a couple of seconds to realize she’s showing me a text string that includes a photo of Bax and me standing on his front porch, smiling at each other, with a line of kids waiting for candy. A text beneath it in all caps reads
THEY LOOKED SO HAPPY!
I look up at her. “What is that?”
“My grandma just sent it to me.”
“Your grandma sent you a photo of Bax and me?”
“Yep.” She tucks her phone away. “Apparently, all the old ladies love him, and they’ve never seen him with another woman, so you two are the talk of the neighborhood.”
“They’ve never seen him with another woman?” I repeat, finding that hard to believe.
I know for sure that Julie dated him, and if Holly was telling the truth, a whole group of women get together once a month to share their woes about their relationships with Bax. Not to mention his history, which I’ve heard about from my mom or know of from his friendship with Liam.
“Grams says she’s never seen a woman who wasn’t related to him at his house,” she tells me excitedly, “and none of the other women have either.” Okay, that’s weird. “They swear they are watching a Hallmark movie come to life.”
“There isn’t anything?—”
I can’t exactly say nothing is happening between us because there most definitely is. I just don’t know what it is or where it’s going. And even though I really like Holly, she’s not someone I want to talk to about Bax and me.
“We’ve known each other for a long time and are just hanging out right now.”
“Well, I hope it becomes more than you two just hanging out.” She wiggles her brows, and I try not to laugh. “Anyway, I didn’t come in here to harass you about Bax. I wanted to see if you saw that I added another appointment to your calendar this morning.”
“I was just checking when you came in.”
“Cool.” She starts back toward the door as the phone in the front office starts to ring. “It’s just a consultation, so I fit her in first thing this morning before your ten o'clock.”
“Thanks, Holly.”
“No problem.” She hurries out the door, leaving it open. When my computer finishes loading the program, I look over the information for the clients I have coming in, then go about making sure I have everything I need.
At nine fifteen, my consultation arrives, and like sometimes happens, I end up talking her out of the Botox and filler she thought she needed. At only thirty-eight years old, she’s still really young with not one wrinkle in sight, but as a new mom, she’s been feeling down about her appearance. So I suggest a facial and some light lip injections, then promise if she is still not happy, we can reevaluate.
Since I don’t do facials, she schedules one with Julie for later in the afternoon and books me for her lips the next day. After her, I have two other appointments, then a short break, so I drive over to the coffee shop where I met Lincoln and call Rebecca on the way to confirm what time I’m picking her up Thursday.
When I get back to the spa around one, I pull open the door, smiling while juggling my iced coffee, the one I picked up for Holly, and the bag of goodies I got for us to share. “Hey, I got you a—” My words come to a halt when I find Julie sitting in Holly’s chair behind the counter. I haven’t had any contact with her since the whole Bax conversation, and even though I know she works here, I wasn’t expecting to see her.
“Holly had to run out, so I’m answering the phones,” she tells me, looking about as comfortable as I feel.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. I asked her to go to the store to pick up the stuff to restock the client fridge.”
“Oh.” I walk around to the side of the desk and set down the extra iced coffee I’m holding. “This is for her when she gets back.”
“Can we talk for a minute?” she asks softly when I turn to go to my office.
“Sure.” I force a smile as I spin back to face her. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I just wanted to apologize for last week.” Her smile is apologetic as she continues. “I was in my head, and I want you to know that it had nothing to do with you.” Turning in the chair to face me fully, she rubs her palms down the front of her pants. “Bax and I dated for a while, and things were pretty serious.” She shakes her head. “Or I thought they were, but I was wrong because I found out he was sleeping with someone else.” She shrugs. “Apparently, I’m still angry about it, and I took it out on you, which wasn’t fair.”
“He was sleeping with someone else while he was still dating you?”
“Yeah.”
My stomach sours at this information; the situation is far too familiar.
“Can you forgive me for being a bitch?” she asks as the office phone begins to ring.
“There is nothing to forgive,” I assure her softly, then motion to the phone that rings again, happy for the excuse to get out of this conversation. “You should get that.”
With a nod, she picks it up while I turn for my office, feeling sick to my stomach and disappointed because things with Bax just ended before they even began.