18. Olivia
OLIVIA
Olivia scanned the menu, but her thoughts were still on Leo and his brother, Kyle. She’d had no idea that he’d lost someone, or that his sadness had driven him to Vegas that fateful evening.
Wait… no. That wasn’t entirely true. A hazy memory began to form in the back of her mind, just out of reach, like a dream she couldn’t quite remember.
Something about the conversation she’d just had was familiar.
Before, when Leo had mentioned his brother, she’d thought there was something she should know — and finally, now, she was able to reach out and grasp what it was.
“Leo,” Olivia said. He looked up from his menu.
“Yes?”
“I think I remember something from the night we got married.”
“Really?” Leo sat up straighter and placed the menu on the table, the full intensity of his focus trained on Olivia. “What do you remember?”
“I remember…” Olivia squinted, as though narrowed eyes might help her see into the past. “I remember that we went into the casino after we, um, kissed.” She blushed.
She still wasn’t sure if Leo remembered the kiss, too.
He hadn’t mentioned it. “We went to the restaurant and got something to eat. Shrimp cocktails, I think. Maybe French fries. You said that, too, when you were telling me what you remembered. After we ate, I felt a little more sober, and I said it was probably time for us to say goodnight. Then you told me that you’d lost someone, and that you didn’t want to be alone.
I admitted that I didn’t really want to be alone either, so I stayed.
I think maybe you told me about your brother before. ”
“Oh. How embarrassing.” Leo rubbed a hand across his temples. “I don’t remember that at all.”
“It isn’t embarrassing,” Olivia said. “I’m happy that you opened up to me then, just like now. It means a lot.” She paused. “What is the last thing you remember, exactly? Has anything else come back?” She wanted to know if he remembered that kiss.
“I remember going to get something to eat, like I said before,” Leo said. “And before that, I remember taking you into the hallway and kissing you.”
“You remember?” Warmth pooled in Olivia’s stomach.
Leo’s deep blue eyes were fixed on hers. “How could I ever forget?”
A shiver went through Olivia at his deep voice and cool eyes. He remembered.
“What can I get you?” a waiter asked, shattering her focus. Olivia hadn’t even noticed the waiter approaching, she’d been so focused on Leo. She blinked.
“We need another minute,” Leo said.
“Of course.” The waiter swept away, and they were alone again.
“So, you do remember the kiss,” Olivia said. “That’s good. I was worried it was just me.”
“No. I remember that I won a bet, and the prize was getting to kiss you.” Leo smiled.
“I remember how I pressed you against the wall and the little sound you made when put my arms around you. I remember that you tasted like champagne and strawberries. I remember thinking that I wanted to kiss you again.”
Olivia met his gaze. “Do you still?”
She had no idea where her boldness had come from.
She’d been doing her best not to do anything to jeopardize the divorce or make a complicated situation even more complicated, but she couldn’t resist. Not when Leo was looking at her like that.
Not when his words sent shivers of desire all down her back. Not when he’d just opened up to her.
“Of course,” Leo said, not missing a beat.
“Then why don’t you?” Olivia asked.
“Do you want me to kiss you?”
“I do.”
“Last time, I won a bet. Maybe I need to win another.”
“What do you propose?” Olivia asked.
“Let’s see. I bet I can guess what number you’re thinking of.”
Olivia laughed. “Let’s see. I’m thinking of one now.”
She wasn’t. She was thinking only of Leo, of how it might feel for him to kiss her again.
“Seven,” Leo said.
“That’s the one.”
“Very well.” He stood and held out a hand. Olivia took it, letting him lead her across the restaurant. He settled up at the bar and led the way to the elevator. When it arrived, they stepped inside, both facing forward, as the doors slowly closed.
The moment the elevator began to descend, Leo turned to Olivia, she lifted onto her tiptoes, and they were kissing again.
It was nothing like the kiss in the casino — they were both sober, so Olivia was much more aware of the way it felt for Leo to hold her in his arms and kiss her gently, then more passionately, as if he couldn’t stand for there to be any distance between them.
Yet, it was everything like that kiss in the casino, too — Olivia was so filled with desire that she felt weak in the knees, wanting nothing more than to keep kissing Leo for as long as she could.
Just like then, Leo kissed her as though he wanted to express something he couldn’t find the words to say.
The kiss ended all too soon, because the elevator doors sprung open after what felt like no more than a heartbeat, and they broke apart. Leo’s lips looked a little swollen, and Olivia’s heart raced at the thought that she’d caused that.
“Well,” Leo said, his voice deeper than before, his eyes still on her, “shall we?”
They stepped out of the elevator and crossed the lobby. Olivia was very aware of Leo beside her, his hand brushing against hers once as they walked. Had the kiss been a one-off? Or would it happen again?
They exited into the cooling evening. It was dark outside now, making the neon signs and bright streetlights look even brighter. Somehow, the streets were just as full as they’d been at any other time of day.
The cool air brought clarity to Olivia. Perhaps it was a mistake to kiss this man, who she still barely knew (even though it didn’t feel that way). After all, she was here to get a divorce, not to fall?—
She didn’t let herself finish that sentence, not even in her head.
“Should we get something to eat?” Leo asked. The cool evening air must have brought clarity to him, as well.
"Maybe,” Olivia agreed. Though she couldn’t help feeling a stab of disappointment that he didn’t kiss her again.
He turned to her, and their eyes met. Instantly, any clear-headedness she’d found disappeared like a soap bubble in the wind.
Thoughts of dinner faded. Wonderings about whether it was wise to let herself become more entangled with Leo disappeared.
All that mattered was this moment, which stretched between them like pulled taffy.
Leo’s lips parted slightly, as if he was going to say something.
He didn’t speak, though. Neither did Olivia.
She just looked up into those clear blue eyes, traced the line of his jaw with her gaze, noticed the five-o’clock shadow that had brushed against her cheek in the elevator.
She thought of Leo, the man she’d been getting to know the last few days, the man who was kind.
Funny. Hardworking (perhaps to a fault). Generous. Thoughtful. Sexy.
That last one stood out now, and Olivia’s heart rate increased.
Later, she’d have trouble figuring out who initiated that next kiss, whether she’d lifted onto her tiptoes or Leo had bent his head to hers.
All she knew was that they were kissing again, on the street this time.
Leo pulled her close, one hand splayed against her lower back, and Olivia wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
She was flush against his firm chest, inhaling his masculine scent, losing herself in a kiss that was as powerful as it was passionate.
“Olivia,” he breathed against her cheek, and her name sounded different on his lips. Special. She was sure no one had said her name in quite that way before.
“Leo,” she replied, and her voice came out breathless. That was no surprise, not with the way they’d been kissing.
“Would you like to go home now?” Leo asked.
Olivia didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely,” she replied.
With one arm still around her, Leo raised his free hand for a taxi.
One pulled over after just a moment. Leo opened the door, letting Olivia in first. She scooted over to make room for him.
They didn’t kiss again in the cab, but they did sit close enough that the length of Olivia’s leg pressed against Leo’s, from her hip to her ankle. Either of them could have moved over.
Neither of them did.
The electricity between them continued to build.
Back in Leo’s building, they kissed again in the elevator, then in the hallway. They stopped only to kick off their shoes.
“Should we slow down?” Leo asked.
“No,” Olivia said. “We should go to your bedroom.”
Leo’s blue eyes darkened at her words, and he swept her into his arms, lifting her as though she weighed no more than a feather.
She wrapped her legs around him, kissing him as he carried her to his bedroom.
When she’d first arrived, Olivia had peered into the room, intrigued, and now, she was inside it.
Leo set her on the bed, and Olivia pulled him to her.
He followed willingly, pausing only to pull off his shirt.
His chest was rippled with muscle, and Olivia ran her hands along his torso. He groaned deeply at her touch.
“Olivia,” he said again, but there was more than desire in his words this time. He was asking for her.
She didn’t hesitate this time, either.
They’d only known each other for a few days, but it felt much longer. It felt like a lifetime. Anyway, they were already married, a thought that made Olivia smile as she pulled off her own shirt.
Finally, they both gave in to that magnetic pull that had brought her to his table in the casino, that had sparked their first electric kiss, that had kept Leo in Olivia’s thoughts since the moment they met.
For a long time, they were in perfect harmony.