Chapter Fifteen
Austin
C hasing Olivia Daniels around the West Coast is the first time I think I might have a problem.
Have I been invited to a fitness expo before?
No. Have I paid an obscene amount of money to get a last-minute ticket?
Yes. I almost tell the event manager that I am here for a woman, but from their shrewd look and rolling eyes, I don't think it would land quite like I want it to. Does it kind of sound like stalking? Yes. But as we know, I’m not completely averse to some light stalking.
Besides, watching Olivia sleep is only scratching the surface of my obsession with her.
Thank god Luca is busy, or he'd be up my ass about this. Squeeze the Day is one thing; actually following her around is another. And I've avoided the subject completely with Dr. Alfie. Deciding what he doesn't know can't hurt my impending admittance to the hospital.
I know her schedule, so I head straight to Cowgirl Clothing.
An image of Olivia in Daisy Dukes and a shirt undone, teasing me with the curve of her perfect breasts, fills my vision.
I rub my eyes. Christ, I’m fucking doomed.
For the love of all things holy, don’t let her be in those short shorts because I will pick her up like a sack of potatoes, throw her over my shoulder, and growl at anyone who dares try to stop me.
But I pause for a moment. I spot her laughing with a small brunette who has leaned in to tell her a secret.
Her eyes dart around, she looks happy, in her element.
The woman passes her a lemon-colored top with tassels, and she quickly slips it into her bag as the brunette winks.
She gives a small wave and turns right into. .. Oh, shit.
As I stride over to Olivia, I watch as Millie Gilbert's face softens, looking up at me. She’s a tiny, no-more-than-five-foot powerhouse.
She’s defined, her toned and tanned stomach on display with a pierced belly button.
Her neon orange athletic wear is blinding and I can’t help but think of a traffic cone.
“Hey, Killer.” I drop a kiss on top of Olivia’s head as I snake my arm around her waist, pulling her into me.
Her pretty mouth pulls apart as she glances up at me. She fits so perfectly tucked into the crook of my arm.
“You’re here,” she whispers.
“Thought you could leave without saying goodbye, did you? You’re going to pay for that,” I whisper so only she can hear.
Her breathing hitches, but she pulls herself together to slide her hand over my stomach.
I can’t help but tense; the thought of her hands slipping lower takes over as my cock wakes up.
He’s been asleep all week—too sad that I’ve denied him a night thrusting into Olivia.
I can't even get myself off. The poor guy just isn't up for it.
Sulking at what could have been, suddenly fucking miserable at the thought of my fist.
Fuck, I’ve missed her.
I turn back to Millie and the ex in time to see Millie’s face sour and Travis turn absolutely feral.
“Friends of yours?” I ask dryly.
“This is Millie Gilbert. She has her own channel, and this is Travis...”
“I think you mean I had my own fitness channel, Olivia. I was forced to delete it, remember?” Millie interrupts.
I ignore her, turning my attention to Travis. “So you’re the guy who thinks he’s due royalties from Olivia’s channel? The guy that has about eleven subscribers.”
Travis’s face begins to blow up. His lips twitch open and closed, open and closed like a goldfish swimming in circles. I have nearly a foot of height on him, so if he does anything stupid, I know it’ll be easy to flick him away like the annoying gnat he is.
“And you”—I flick my gaze lazily to Millie—“I thought you’d have an epiphany of some sort? Something about reflecting on your past actions. At least that’s what your apology video to Olivia suggested.”
Millie’s shocked face moves between me and Olivia. I can feel her tensing beneath my arm as she grips the back of my shirt. My girl is brave, though. Face forward, she’s cool, calm, and collected. Millie watches her movements, and a triumphant sneer flashes across her face.
“Oh, I see...” Millie draws out. “You’ve hired a bodyguard to make yourself look important. Oh, bravo, Olivia. You really know how to work the room.”
“Not a bodyguard...but we do love a bit of roleplay, so thanks for the tip,” I snap back, pulling Olivia a little tighter against me.
Travis has almost turned purple, the poor sausage.
“You okay over there, big man?” I say jovially, insincerity woven between my words. I’ve been working on being a better person, but I’ll make an exception for these two idiots.
“Who exactly are you?” he spits out.
“I’m Austin, Olivia’s boyfriend.”
“ Boyfriend ?” he splutters. “What happened to you focusing on your career and not having time for a relationship?”
I hesitate a second, allowing Olivia to answer if she wants to. She remains stony-faced, so I jump back in.
“I guess people find the time for the right person. But as I’ve already said, we really must get going. Lots of people to talk to.”
I quickly spin back to the stall, where the brunette is gaping at our interaction.
The tall, dark-haired man standing protectively at her side gives me a small nod.
I return the gesture, tuck Olivia in closer, and shield her from standing close to them as we walk away.
Once we’re out of the hearing zone of those two goblins, I pull her between two stalls. “Are you okay?”
Now that Travis and Millie can’t see us, I allow myself to take note of her. She’s rattled, practically shaking. It’s incredible what people have the power to make us feel. My poor Olivia is terrified of them, and no doubt it’s not just physically confronting; they threaten her whole business, too.
A small whimper escapes her.
I pull her into my chest. “Not here, Killer. Let’s go up to the room, and you can tell me what happened with Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dickface. But don’t let them see you cry. They don’t get to have that.”
She pulls back and nods, taking a deep breath.
“Hey man, can I buy one of those?” I ask the stall next to us for one of their bottles of water.
“They’re free.” The guy says, handing me the bottle.
“You’re a champ.” I wink at him before handing it to Olivia. “Drink this. I have it on good authority that you can’t drink and cry at the same time. Physically impossible.”
“What?” she turns, perplexed.
“I stayed with my younger cousins in the summers growing up. The best way to get them to stop crying was to give them a glass of water. Worked every time. Although, it did end up meaning they would all run around with cups of water anytime one of them started crying. Honestly, I slipped on my ass so much that summer.”
I peer up to the ceiling, remembering that it was truly one of the best summers of my life.
“We went to stay with my aunt in Austin, Texas. Her kids thought it was the funniest shit ever that my name was Austin.”
“Austin in Austin, huh?”
“I know, right? That joke went on for weeks.”
She smiles softly. “You’re really not what I thought you would be, you know? ”
“You aren’t either, Killer.” I tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Now, do you want to go to the room for a moment, or do you want to walk around?”
“I actually have my talk in...” She glances at her watch. “One hour. I’ve got to get ready. Is my makeup okay?”
“You look perfect, Olivia.”
She rolls her eyes but smiles. All traces of tears have vanished.
“Umm, quick question: why did you say the bit about roleplay to Millie?”
We jostle through the crowds, heading to the main stage where they’re finishing up another talk.
“It’s not totally off the mark.”
“What do you mean?”
“Abductor and the abducted...I mean, usually, it’s the other way round in traditional tropes, but I’m glad we gave it a fresh face.”
She spins her face to mine like I’ve gone absolutely bat-shit crazy. Well, that's true, too. Crazy for you, baby.
“That was not roleplay . . . I actually kidnapped you.”
“Olivia, you might not be ready to hear this, but I could have whipped that little taser off you in point five of a second if I wanted to. I liked you. Thought you were a fucking angel sent down here to punish me for two years. And then when you waltzed up to me all sweetness and light, you had me hooked. When I realized what you were doing, I wanted to know why. So I did what anyone would do.”
“You’re telling me you actually chloroformed yourself willingly? I thought you were joking when you told me that last week.” She arches an eyebrow.
“You were doing so well. And you looked so serious; I didn’t want to ruin your flow.” She laughs, slapping my chest playfully. “You’re a real asshole, you know that, right? Like an idiot as well. What if I had killed you?”
“An angel of death, huh?” I tap my finger against my lip a couple of times. “Sounds hot. Let’s add it to the roleplay bucket list.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Ooh yes, Miss Librarian, use those big words for me.” I wink, faux fanning myself like a high-society lady in the height of summer.
Crimson flushes over her neck as she shakes her head, fighting a smile that's pulling at her lips.
“Go get ready, Killer. I’ll start working on that list. Smash it, okay?”
She heads over to the podium as the other talk finishes up. As the audience gets to their feet, I take the opportunity to get a front-row seat.
◆◆◆
Olivia shines like nothing I’ve ever seen during the talk. She’s being interviewed by the editor of a well-known fitness magazine, and the questions largely revolve around social media and the use of influencers to promote products.
She is prepared for each question, reflecting on her experience of promoting and reviewing products honestly and authentically. Unfortunately, Millie Gilbert makes an appearance during the question section of the talk, but even then, she is graceful and fair with her answers.