17. Meeting The Family
MEETING THE FAMILY
LAKE
I see the exact moment Olivia tenses when someone says her name.
I turn to look and see a tall man in an expensive suit and her friend Winnie, whom I’ve met a handful of times through Colt.
Winnie is a close cousin to Colt and his brothers.
I’ve been carefully asking questions about Olivia.
I told Colt I wanted to know because she was skittish, and if there was a danger, then I needed to know.
I told them I wanted to make up to her for being an ass.
I wanted to help keep her safe. I’m not sure he bought it entirely, but he has shared small things with me about her.
Because of that, I know Winnie is her best friend.
Their opinions obviously mean a lot to Olivia.
Is she ashamed of me? It’s a possibility, but if she is, I’ll work to change her view of me.
I didn’t think Olivia came from money like the guy in front of me obviously does.
Is this her type? If that’s true, I’m shit out of luck.
Suddenly, my day with Olivia—which was looking promising—sours.
I watch them walk over to us. I don’t miss the way the man’s eyes look at me—cool, accessing, and clearly showing his dislike. I frown. Something about him is familiar, but I’m used to that look. It doesn’t faze me at this point.
“Livy! I didn’t know you were coming out today. The three of us could have met up for dinner,” Winnie responds, breaking the ice, which seems to have settled in the room.
“Hey, Winnie,” Olivia says hugging her. Winnie immediately sits down beside her, and Mr. Asshole sits beside me.
He holds himself stiff, which makes me want to laugh.
I don’t, but instead I look at Olivia, giving her a reassuring smile.
She just glances at me, but she returns it. That’s enough for now.
“Lake had a doctor appointment. I had a therapy session, so we just decided to go together,” Olivia explains.
Her words shouldn’t upset me, but I can’t deny hearing her describe our day out the way she did isn’t annoying.
I don’t let it show. I knew getting close to her was going to be a long, winding road.
Doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating though.
“Lake,” Winnie says, her voice weighing my name. I already know her man finds it lacking. I lean back against the booth seat, as if I don’t have a problem in the world.
“Hey,” I respond.
“You look familiar,” the man says.
I turn my head to look at him. “I doubt it. It’s obvious you and I don’t frequent the same places,” I answer with a smirk.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asks, obviously upset with my answer.
“You don’t see many suits muckin’ stalls,” I explain. Olivia instantly giggles.
“Lake’s got you there, Blade.”
Blade grunts. I wink at Olivia and her cheeks blush the prettiest pink I’ve seen. She really is beautiful.
“I’m going to go to the restroom for a minute,” Olivia whispers.
“I’ll go with you,” Winnie says at once. I watch as the women walk away. Blade gets up and takes the seat Olivia was in and stares straight at me.
“Afraid it will hurt your reputation if you sit too close to me?” I ask.
“You need to stay away from Livy,” Blade replies.
“Luckily, I don’t agree. I also don’t give a fuck what you think.”
“You might not, but Livy will. If I tell her to stay away from you, then she will.”
It upsets me that he’s probably telling the truth. Olivia is skittish, and she doesn’t know me. Hell, I don’t know myself. Still, I have a feeling that Olivia wouldn’t like this asshole telling her what to do—or who to see.
“You could try it,” I answer with a shrug.
Somehow, I keep the genuine fear I feel from showing.
At least I hope I do. I don’t know how Olivia got so deeply under my skin, but she did.
I’m pretty sure I knew she would from the beginning, and that’s why I tried to believe the worst of her with Ray.
Now, that might come back to bite me in the ass.
“I wonder how Livy would feel about you trying that, though.”
His face hardens. “Her name is Olivia.”
I smirk and say nothing. We continue to stare at each other—neither of us giving an inch. My gaze doesn’t move off of him, even as the girls make it back to the table.
“What’s going on here?” Olivia asks.
“Ask your buddy,” I tell her, still staring at Blade.
“I’m asking you,” she snaps.
I finally make myself stop looking at the prick and gaze at her soft, worried face. “Blade was telling me I wasn’t good enough for you and to stay away.”
“I never said you weren’t good enough,” Blade growls.
“You’re right, but I’m pretty sure it was implied,” I shrug. Livy slides in beside me and grabs my hand. She links her fingers through mine and makes sure the two people across from us see it.
“Back off, Blade. Lake and I are friends. He’s a good man.”
“You can’t possibly know that, Livy. Cross told me this guy doesn’t even know who he truly is himself.” I freeze and Blade—the bastard—gives me a cocky grin.
“So?” Olivia laughs.
I can see Blade is surprised. Shit. It shocks me. I didn’t think she’d like Blade sticking his nose into her business, but I didn’t dare think she’d clearly take my side. The way she’s still holding my hand says she’s doing exactly that.
“Livy, you’re still healing. You’re fragile right now. People will try to take advantage of you,” he says.
I roll my eyes, letting out a huff of breath. “If you think Livy is fragile, you obviously haven’t been paying attention.”
I see Winnie smile before Olivia shifts sideways to look at me. “You think I’m strong?”
“Hell, yeah. I know we’re just learning one another, Livy, but you’re a survivor and despite everything you’re dealing with, you’ve taken time to worry about me. That’s rare.”
“How do you know it’s rare? You don’t even know your damn name,” Blake grumbles.
Winnie elbows Blade hard in the ribs. “Shut up, Blade. Livy is a grown woman. She doesn’t need you turning into a big brother from hell.”
“He’s controlling. I warned you about that Winnie,” Livy joins in and now I’m the one smiling. Seems Blade’s plan to get under my skin has backfired, and now he’s the one the girls are tearing apart. Fun for me. Not so much for him.
“You did,” Winnie says, mournfully, though I can tell it’s mostly fake.
“I am not controlling,” Blade snaps.
“Oh, please. When we were dating, you wanted to know my schedule all the time.”
“I was worried about you!” Blade sputters.
“He has to know my schedule too,” Winnie chimes in.
“Woman, I’m your man. It’s my job to make sure you’re safe,” Blade exclaims.
“Hold up,” I interrupt, needing something cleared up for me. “You dated Blade?” I ask Olivia.
“Yeah, it was a long time ago, though.”
“And now you’re dating Olivia’s best friend?” I ask Blade.
“We’re not dating. We’re engaged and living together.”
“To be fair, you were engaged and living with Livy, too,” Winnie supplies helpfully.
“Jesus,” I respond, but Blade says the exact same thing at the same moment. For some reason, this makes the girls crack up. My gaze automatically goes to her, and I smile. She’s beautiful, and the sound of her laughter eases every worry and tension I have.
We sit around and talk for a little while longer.
The tension has eased, and I can’t say I’m not having a good time.
It was enjoyable—though mostly because Olivia has held my hand the entire time.
I don’t even think she realizes it. My muscles are cramping from the need to stretch my hand, but I don’t dare.
I’m afraid if I do, she’ll realize what she’s doing and stop.
The waitress takes Blade and Winnie’s order. I sigh.
“Livy, I hate it, but I need to get back to the ranch. I don’t want to leave Colt with only Jeff for backup.”
Olivia turns to look at me. “Oh, okay,” she says sweetly, but I can tell she’s a little disappointed.
“You can stay, Livy. We can take you back.”
“Nah, that’s fine. Lake and I had some things we wanted to talk about.”
I stand, and I smile when she keeps our hands joined, using her hold to slide from the seat and stand up beside me.
Blade watches and I tell he doesn’t like it.
I’d give him a one-finger salute, but I don’t want to risk making Olivia mad.
Blade’s a dick—not to mention a fool. I mean, Winnie’s a great gal, but she can’t hold a candle to Olivia. His loss is my gain.
Now I just need to convince Olivia to give us a shot …