Chapter 25
Reed
Shocked, I stare at Olivia, doing my best to keep my emotions hidden. If Maisy O’Conner sees a look of surprise on my face at this revelation, it could be devastating for our secret.
So I try to recover quickly. Get my feet back under me.
After all… I don’t even know if this is true, right? It could just be something Olivia’s saying for the interview. It could just be a genius ad-lib on her part.
Somehow, though, I doubt it. Because she won’t look me in the eye anymore, and that’s a bit of a dead giveaway. She’s mortified, and in all likelihood, it’s because she didn’t mean to reveal that fact.
I remember the moments we had when we were young, the small encounters when we’d talk—the stories Olivia mentioned before.
I remember her learning to play chess and stomping off in a huff when I beat her in seven moves.
I remember thinking that she was so pretty, always.
But I never knew that she had a crush on me.
In an effort to prevent the interview from becoming awkward for Olivia, I decide to move things along as smoothly as possible.
“We’re so lucky that our paths crossed again as adults,” I say, lifting Olivia’s hand onto the table’s surface so that Maisy can see my thumb stroking her knuckles. “And I’m so lucky to have her.”
“Of course.” Maisy smiles, pleased. Partly, she seems happy for us, but mostly she seems happy to be getting the inside scoop—the first interview we’ve given. “It’s sweet serendipity, then, eh?”
“Something like that,” Olivia says in a small voice, recovering from her embarrassment slightly.
“That’s great,” Maisy says. “How’d you reconnect?”
“Two mutual friends of ours met a while ago, and are getting married soon as well,” I explain. “We ran into each other when Olivia came to an event with them.”
“And you fell back into things quickly, huh? Already popped the question. That’s a pretty sudden engagement.”
“Well, it was like picking up where we left off,” I say, eager to get the chance to smooth over this issue. “Honestly, I know her so well already, and she knows me better than anyone, so the connection was just… instant.”
Maisy scribbles for a while after that answer, like she’s copying down what I’ve said word-for-word. At long last, she looks up again. “Tell me about the wedding. How’s the planning process been?”
“Hectic,” Olivia says, which elicits a laugh from Maisy.
“What kind of party is it going to be?”
Olivia and Maisy discuss wedding plans for a while, and I take a backseat from the conversation, my mind spinning.
After a short while, Maisy smiles, takes a few last notes, and sets down her pen.
“I think I have everything I need to write a good piece,” she says. “Thank you both for coming to meet with me.”
“It was our pleasure,” I say, rising to my feet.
She does the same, and reaches to shake my hand firmly. “You really seem like you’ve got your feet under you now, Mr. Eastwood.”
“That’s nice to hear, coming from you.”
Maisy turns to Olivia. “Keep a close eye on this one, you hear?”
“Of course,” Olivia laughs. “I’m sure he’ll behave himself now.”
“Congratulations to both of you—I mean it. You work well together.”
Before we reach the office door, Maisy pipes up again.
“By the way—I do intend to get some interviews in with a few of your former coworkers, Ms. Quinn. If you want to email me some contact information for some of them, that would expedite the process considerably.”
“I’ll do that,” Olivia says.
“Good.” Maisy nods. “We’ll see if we can’t get the word out about your old place of employment within the next few days. You deserve the chance to tell your side of the story, and I’m going to make sure you get that.”
On the way home, both of us are silent. The tension that hangs between us is unlike the tension of the past few days, however; that was broken earlier, in the midst of the chaos from Keller’s interview.
This is a new tension. I can tell that Olivia still feels awkward about the revelation of her crush. She’s resolutely silent, like she’s hoping I’ll just forget about it, or let it go.
But I can’t. It’s all I was able to think about as we were leaving the Post’s offices, and it’s still all I can think about now, as heavy clouds above us open up and a steady drizzle sends rivulets down the windshield.
“So,” I say into the quiet, “you had a crush on me, huh?”
I glance at her. Her cheeks are bright red. “It was nothing,” she says, turning to the window.
“Really?”
She nods.
I breathe in through my nose, letting my shoulders rise and fall. “Well, that’s too bad. I hoped it wasn’t nothing.”
Her head whips toward me, but I keep my eyes on the road.
“Because I liked you, too.”
Another glance in her direction, and this time, her jaw has dropped open almost comically. Then she snaps it shut and shakes her head. “You don’t have to say that.”
“It’s true,” I tell her softly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see her shake her head again, so I add, “No, listen. It’s true. I always thought you were funny, and bright. You lit up every room you were in. And of course, you were fucking gorgeous on top of everything.”
“But—”
“It never even occurred to me to make a move, or anything,” I press on, undaunted by the disbelief in her voice.
The rain hasn’t yet begun in earnest as we approach The Luxe. We have enough time to exit the car and slip inside before it starts pouring. I try to help Olivia with her coat but she has already shed it by the time I’m done with mine.
I turn to face her in the entryway. She looks beautiful, the flecks of rainwater in her hair glistening. We stare into each other’s eyes for what feels like eons, and the silence between us grows deafening.
“I—” I begin to speak, but she starts at the same time.
“You—” She breaks off, shaking her head. “You go. I’ve done enough talking for today.”
There’s a hell of a lot I could say right now, but I feel like maybe we’ve both done enough talking for the day. Words won’t reach out to seize this thing that’s hanging between us. Words won’t do what needs to be done.
So I cup her face with my hand and I kiss her deeply.
My tongue strokes against hers, and her head tilts up to give me better access as she leans up into it. I could lose myself in it, but before that can happen, I draw back and scoop her into my arms.
“What are you doing?” she yelps in surprise, her arms wrapping around my neck.
“Making up for lost time,” I tell her simply as I carry her to the bedroom.
Once we reach it, I lay Olivia down on the mattress.
She looks up at me with her lips slightly parted, beads of rain still glistening in her hair, and I reach down to brush the damp strands away from her cheeks.
She catches my hands in hers, laughing softly, then reaches up and drags her fingers through my hair to shake some of the rain out of it too.
I can’t take it anymore. I drop my mouth to hers, and the hungry way she leans into our kiss makes my pulse spike. She makes a soft sound against my lips, scraping her nails over my scalp.
“I’m going to take my time with you tonight.” My voice is like sandpaper, and I tug at her bottom lip with my teeth. “Every inch of you.”
Her arms come up around my neck, drawing me down closer, her movements turning me urgent. The way she’s already arching up to meet me makes something tighten in my chest.
“Lift up a little,” I murmur.
She does, and I reach behind her to unzip her dress.
She shifts her weight on the mattress to help me get it off her, and together, we shimmy it down her body before I toss it aside.
Her bra and panties come next, and I can tell she’s impatient to get me naked too, but I take my time with it, admiring every new square inch of her that’s exposed to my greedy gaze.
Finally, I settle myself between her thighs, leaning down until our chests are pressed together. She whimpers as the fabric of my jacket drags against her nipples, sighing into my mouth.
She helps me shuck the jacket, then her hands slide under my shirt, her nails trailing up my back.
She tugs the hem upward, and I sit up just long enough to pull the shirt off entirely and discard it onto the floor.
She runs her hands over my chest and stomach, her fingertips lingering on every line of muscle, and I can feel my heart pounding against my sternum.
She fumbles at my belt next, her fingers a little clumsy with desire.
I make it easy for her, rising up onto my knees as she works the buckle open, then the button, then the zipper.
I shove my pants down and kick them off along with my shoes as her hand finds my cock through my boxers, and the way she squeezes it draws a choked groan out of me.
“You’re so beautiful, Olivia. Do you know that?”
She shakes her head, her hand still teasing me through the fabric. “You don’t have to say that.”
I lean back down over her, my mouth finding hers between the words. “I’m not saying it because I have to, baby. I’m saying it because it’s the fucking truth.”
It’s torture to draw away from her touch, but I break the contact between us long enough to push my boxers down and off.
She wraps her hand around my shaft immediately, and even without lube, the slide of her delicate fingers along my cock makes my breath stutter.
Her thumb circles the head, gathering and spreading the precum there, and I have to bury my face in the curve of her neck to keep from coming on her stomach far before I’m ready.
“Keep kissing me,” she whispers. “I love when you’re close like this. When I can feel all of you.”
I swallow hard find her mouth again, my tongue sliding against hers as her hand strokes me in languid rhythm, using my precum to slick the glide.