Chapter 62 Nate
SIXTY-TWO
nate
Freeing.
It was the only way to describe how it felt to finally let the light shine on our relationship. I let Olivia lead on the people-watching tour of Boston.
“Remember when I said I was a travel agent?”
“I do.”
“Well, my favorite thing was to plan walking tours in the city. The group I worked for would charge tourists a ridiculous amount of money to walk the paths I planned.”
“Is this your way of saying—”
“You’re in the hands of an expert.”
I hadn’t had the chance to explore the city since I’d been here; Austin had kept me on a short leash. Most of the time I was here, I was at the ballpark, and when I was done playing, I wanted to get back to Olivia.
“Someday, I’ll give you a history tour. We won’t even need to leave Lexington for that.”
“Well, hello—” a piercing voice ripped through the quiet hum on the city sidewalk. Olivia froze and tugged her hand from mine.
Maddy. And she’d seen enough for a smug look to spread across her face.
“Hi Maddy,” Olivia said, attempting to distance herself from me. Fuck that. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to my side. Hiding now would be an admission of guilt, and neither of us had a reason to feel that way.
“This makes sense now. I see why you were keeping him away from Mackenzie.”
Olivia shivered, and I watched her curl into herself. Fuck no.
“Mackenzie and I talked about this at the party. She’s not interested either.”
Her eyes flashed with something, anger? “Why would she tell you and not me?”
“I don’t know. But usually when I keep something from someone, it’s because I don’t trust them with the information. Maybe you should look at your own relationship with your sister instead of blaming Olivia.”
“You do know her reputation, right?” Maddy scowled at Olivia, and man, women can be bitches.
“Oh, please. Enlighten me, Maddy.” I put every ounce of scorn and derision into my voice as I practically spat out her name.
“Do you know about the Sampsons?” she asked.
A quick look at Olivia, “The couple?”
She nodded.
“Yes. What’s your point, Maddy? Are you trying to shame her? What adults do behind closed doors? Not your business. But when you hurt her? That’s my business.”
“You don’t see it as a sign that she won’t be faithful?”
“I see this as a sign that you’re a nosy bit—”
“Nate!” Olivia cut in, but my message was clear. “Maddy, we’re not hiding this from anyone. But I ask respectfully if you could keep this to yourself until we tell our loved ones?”
“Why? Because you need time to frame the fact that you’re dating an actual teenager in a more positive light?”
“I’m not a teenager—”
“Not helpful, Nate,” Olivia shook her head, stopping me from talking.
“Whatever hit of adrenaline you get from sharing gossip about other people’s lives, I’m gonna ask you to give that up.
Just—I don’t know—be better. Years ago, I confided in you, and you took that information and plastered it all over town.
While you thought you were only hurting me, that wasn’t the case. Cooper got hurt, too.”
Fuck. I knew there was more history between the two of them.
“At the time, I shrank into myself. I avoided making new friends in the community—I didn’t see your actions for what they were. You were threatened by me.”
Maddy laughed. The shrill sound scraped through my senses. “You don’t threaten me. Why would you even think that? Have you seen my family? I have a family, a husband who supports us—not a brother who feels obligated to save my ass.”
“Yeah, Maddy. I’ve seen how your husband looks at every woman but you. And you have too. What you hate about me is that I gave up that security for happiness. That’s what you can’t stand—I’m happy, and you’re not. You have everything you thought you needed to be happy—but something’s missing.”
I watched Olivia’s final blow as it landed, the moment of angst before it turned to anger.
“Here’s my advice, Olivia. It’s the same thing I told you when everyone found out about you and the Sampsons—don’t act in private in ways you don’t want known publicly.”
“What’s that even mean?” I asked. “Are you saying you’re going to put this on blast for the world to know?”
“Well, since we’ve already covered that you’re not ashamed of this affair—it shouldn’t matter.”
And then the bitch walked away. Neither Olivia nor I noticed where she went or who she was with—I was more focused on the panic I saw rising within my girl.
“She’s hurt you before?” I asked. Olivia confirmed with a slight nod.
“Yes. Thankfully, Cooper was in preschool then, and the kids didn’t understand what was being spread. But now—”
Standing in front of her, I took her chin in my hands. “We are doing nothing wrong. Fuck them.”
Her eyes bounced around as she studied my face before settling and looking me straight in the eyes. “Fuck them. And fuck Maddy. I’m not letting her ruin our night.”
“That’s my girl.”
I was rewarded with a grin. I scooped her up and spun her around; her answering giggle lit up my entire world.
“Enough with the tour—we can do that any time. I’m feeling needy after that exchange.”
“Yup. I can’t let you feel needy when I’m with you. Let’s go, you and me, baby,” I said.