24. Luke
When Olivia said she would take me out on a date, I didn’t expect the date to be something like this: spending time in a diner in a part of New York we have never visited before. It’s small, cozy, and a bit outdated, and I already know it’s a niche place that our co-workers probably haven’t heard of before.
But the food is fantastic and her company is just as great. I can sense an excitement vibrating from her as we fill ourselves up with burgers and conversation over how our day went, mostly spent apart after Mrs. Solis’s appointment. I know Olivia spent some time with her friends during lunch, though.
“So, how are things progressing between Jasper and Maria?”
Olivia raises a brow at my question, but her eyes twinkle. “There’s no new development. Maria still insists that Jasper should just ask Pat out and Jasper says that he will, but I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.”
“Why not? Because Jasper’s shy?”
She rolls her eyes. “Jasper and shy in the same sentence? Impossible, so no. It’s because something is going on between Jasper and Maria.”
I remember the two always hanging out together whenever their breaks overlap, but mostly it’s with Olivia and Wanda. My eyes widen.
“What do you mean? Did they sleep together?”
“No. They’re friends. Good friends. But the…vibes have been off lately.”
I frown. “Explain.”
“Well, Wanda and I think something shifted between them since the hospital party that night, but it’s like they don’t want to acknowledge it. So we think one likes the other and it’s just a matter of time.”
“A matter of time for what?”
“Either one of them confessing, the two fighting, or them jumping each other somewhere in a backroom to work off the tension.”
The last one has me giving her a pointed look, which she takes with amusement.
“Yeah, right. Because that’s the most common scene in any hospital.”
She laughs. It’s a delighted sound that pleases me. “I mean, we’re mostly just working on intuition and speculation, but trust me. Something will happen by the end of this month. Next month max.”
I smirk. “We’ll see about that.”
I can’t believe it. I’m enjoying gossip. I’m not even close to those two, but I know they’re close to Olivia and have made her experience at the hospital a whole lot better. I suppose I’m grateful for that and more appreciative of them because of it.
“Want to bet on it, Luke?”
This time, it’s me who laughs before I shake my head. “No, thanks. I think you and Wanda speculating about your friends is enough. Anyway, is this why you took me out on a date? To talk about your friends?”
I ask it teasingly and don’t miss the way she lights up. But Olivia is tight-lipped, shaking her head and teasing me back.
“No. I brought you here to enjoy all this good food.”
“I love it. I love spending time with you.” I say the last part with more sincerity.
“I love spending time with you, too. But it’s not over yet.” She winks. “We haven’t gotten to the good part.”
“What’s the good part?”
Fifteen minutes later, I get my answer as she walks me to the building next door, which turns out to be a large, spacious bowling alley with neon lights and the funkiest rental bowling shoes I’ve ever seen. Before I know it, I’m learning the ropes of how to throw the ball properly and hitting my first strike in no time. Olivia pouts.
“That sucks. You’re good at everything.”
“No, I’m not.” I grin at her.
When she continues pouting, I kiss her pout away and hold back on my throws so she can score her strikes, too, but I guess I’m too competitive to make it last. It’s not fair to her, anyway, so I give it my all in the last few rounds and am genuinely amazed when she impressively ends up beating me.
Olivia, meanwhile, celebrates more loudly, crowing about her victory before jumping into my open arms. She giggles when I rain her face with victory kisses.
“You should be grumbling that you lost, Luke.”
I hold her tighter. “Do you want me not to share in your victory?”
“No. I want to kiss your grumbling away.”
In response, I kiss her giggles away until she’s moaning for me and we’re sort of getting frisky in the bowling alley. I stop at the awareness that we’re still in public, but I pull her into my lap when I take a seat.
“Is Nancy good?”
She nods. “Yeah. She’s staying another hour or two, so we have time for more bowling.”
“Okay. But first, I want to know why you’ve been antsy with excitement since we left the hospital.”
Surprise crosses her face that I’ve figured her out. I expect excuses, but she smiles instead as she tells me her news—all her news, from getting sold out to the commission request from other buyers and Jennifer. It’s not even my success, yet my heart feels like it’s about to burst.
“Liv?”
“Hmm?”
“You should have told me right away.”
“Why?”
“So that I could have taken you to my place instead and we could have had the best celebratory sex there.”
Her eyes grow warmer. “We can do that later. When Riley’s asleep.”
Oh, yes, we can. I already can’t wait, but I look her in the eye. “I was kidding. Well, I’m not because I do want to make you feel good later, but seriously. I’m happy about your news. I’m happy for you, baby.”
She softens, her body melting against mine. I hold her tighter, just basking in the moment and her wonderful aura. Happy Olivia is my drug, an addiction that I don’t think I will be quitting anytime soon.
In fact, quitting her seems impossible and I can almost say with certainty that I want to keep her for as long as possible. Our relationship is progressing nicely and we’re starting to fit perfectly into each other’s lives. No, we already fit, like two people who seamlessly click like a puzzle piece. Sure, it took a while to get us there after our rough patch, but after that…
“I’m happy, too.” She sighs. “But I’m also trying not to hope too much. I want this to be an inspiration, not a distraction, so I hope the clients will make reasonable demands.”
“Just remember that at the end of the day, you’re the one in control, not them. Give them your timeframe. You’ll be surprised how patient people can be.”
Just like me with her. Except my patience is wearing thin.
I know I said I don’t ever want to commit again after the failure that was my relationship with Carol, but Olivia is right. I’m not the same man I was before—and Olivia is different. At the end of the day, I have to ask myself the most important question. When the thrill of sex is gone, do I still want this woman at my side, supporting me as much as I want to support her?
The answer is resounding in my head. It’s so clear that it hurts, and all I can do is stay seated and take in how winded and overwhelmed I have suddenly become.
“Luke?”
I snap out of it and look at her worried expression. I smile and give her another kiss, reassuring her that I’m fine. Perhaps I’m reassuring myself, too, that this isn’t some midlife crisis and I don’t end up hurting her or Riley.
Which means before I tell her anything, I mentally and emotionally have to prepare everything. Plan it all down to a T, which I know Olivia will appreciate since she loves being organized more than anything else.
When I ask her to take the next step in our relationship, we will both be ready.
And my heart jumps, already anticipating it.
My mind is distracted and my emotions are all over the place as I’m already creating plans in my head. But mostly, it’s because Olivia’s still on her high, and it’s euphoric to witness it. We’re both in a splendid mood when I drive her back to her apartment, which has honestly become my comfortable space in the last few weeks, too.
“So, are you staying over tonight?”
Olivia’s question is casual as if she won’t mind if I say no. But the slight glint of hope in her eyes contrasts that lightness and I find myself grinning.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to tire you out for your weekend’s client meetings.”
A smirk tugs on her lips. “Maybe I’ll be the one to tire you out.”
I respond to her teasing with a kiss, which deepens naturally but also remains in that soft, contented state. Hunger simmers in my stomach, but when I hear her soft sigh against me, that hunger evolves into something else and makes its way to my heart.
It beats hard in my chest, then beats for her. I lose my breath and gain another sigh from her at the same time, leaving me stunned at how that small action cements how I feel about her.
I don’t just have feelings for this woman. I have deep, crazy feelings for her.
Olivia pulls back from the kiss, leaving me empty. I’m about to pull her right back in, not quite done with her yet when my phone rings in my pocket. I would ignore it if it weren’t the emergency tone, which she figures out, as well, as her eyes widen.
She’s quiet as I take the call. I’m quiet, too, listening to the voice on the other end of the line, my heart quickening for different reasons. I must be frowning as she mirrors my expression, her impatience obvious when the call ends.
“What? What’s the emergency?”
I look her in the eye. “I can’t sleep here this weekend. I need to handle an emergency operation in New Jersey tonight. It’s my old patient, Patrick. There’s a helicopter waiting at the hospital rooftop to take me to the other hospital where he’s being prepped.”
She gasps. Then, she’s the one springing into action first as she scrambles out of my car. “Then you’d better get going. With traffic and time constraints…”
“It’s fine. They scheduled it for ten. I wouldn’t normally accept, but I made a deal with the hospital regarding this particular patient…”
“Right. Go.”
“No. Let me walk you to your door first.”
“But you have to prepare…”
“I have an emergency bag at the hospital for cases like this. I’m all packed and there’s still time—well, a bit of time, counting traffic.”
That eases some of her tension as we reach the doorstep, where she hugs me.
“Good luck with the surgery. I hope everything goes well.”
I nod. “It will.” But it feels nice to have encouragement all the same, particularly to bury my nose in her hair and bask in how good she smells—and fuck, it feels nice to have something to look forward to when I come back home. “It’s too bad I can’t come to your meetings.”
She laughs. “Don’t worry. I’ll kill it.”
My chest swells with pride. “I know you will.”
“Now go, Dr. Jennings.”
“Fine.”
Because I can’t resist, I kiss her again and can’t help but feel heated up when she deepens it first, unable to hide how much she will miss me. I grip her hips and pull her closer, letting her feel how much I’ll miss her, too, before we finally, reluctantly part. Our erratic breaths connect as I cup her cheek and we look each other in the eye.
“Do you think Riley’s asleep?”
She nods. “I think so. The lights are off.”
“Okay. Tell her I’ll be back soon.” Then, “I have something to tell you when I come back.”
She studies my face, searches it. Then she softens and nods.
“I have something to tell you, too.”
I smile. “More good news?”
“I think so.”
“Good. I can’t wait.” I love you.
But I keep the last one to myself, at least for now.
Plans. Lots of plans.
Then, when I return from New Jersey, I will be more than ready to ask her and Riley to move in with me.