I held up a hand, stopping her. Then I put my hand on hers. “It’s fine. I’m not normally the type to invite strange chicks on my plane. It’s new for both of us.” As I spoke, I surprised myself with the realization that I was telling the truth. I wasn’t above inviting a woman up to my hotel, with no intentions beyond twenty-four hours in the future. But my plane—that was part of my life, my permanent personal life. I didn’t bring groupies on the plane. I normally didn’t invite anyone to the charity things I did, either. This was new for me.
She exhaled, obviously relieved. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who is in strange territory.”
“You’re not.” I kissed her again, and then sat back in my seat, reaching for my coffee. But I reached over with my free hand and twined my fingers with hers.
“It’s strange. I don’t really know you, but we’ve spent so much time texting, I feel like I do.”
I nodded as I took a sip. “I agree,” I said. “But let’s talk about something more fun.” I didn’t want to talk about whatever this was. Too many new things too fast. “What would you like to do in San Francisco?”
“I haven’t been. Usually, when I am in California, I’m in Los Angeles.”
“Do you have a lot of entertainment clients?” I asked.
She shook her head, smiling. “Now I’m not gonna tell you that,” she said. “I don’t talk about my clients.”
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Thirty-one,” she said.
I was surprised. She didn’t look very old, but she carried herself like someone a lot older. “When did you start the business? Or get married?” I asked before I could stop myself.
At that, she laughed. “Do you know the south at all? My momma wanted me to get married the moment I graduated, although I did notice that after Royce and I announced our engagement when I was still in college, she told me more than once I could wait,” Her brows furrowed as she stopped, thinking. Then it cleared, and she looked back up at me. “It’s amazing and pretty embarrassing, to see how many people really didn’t like your husband when your marriage finally breaks up.”
I shrugged, wanting to keep this light and not wanting her to focus on the douche. “Everyone hated my ex, too. Actually, most of my exes were disliked by the people around me.”
“Your friends?”
“My friends, my manager, my crew, everyone. I’ve always figured I was the one who had to put up with them, so the opinions of others didn’t count. But I have to admit, when Tibby doesn’t like the person I’m dating, I should just listen to her.” I sighed. Not that I would admit that to Tibby. I’d never hear the end of it.
Olivia smiled. “I feel the same way about Momma. I should, for the most part, just listen to her.”
“What’s that like, being best friends with your mom?” I asked.
“It’s not always easy. We’re both adults, and we’re partners, but she’s always my mom. Thank goodness she can put that aside when we work because it wouldn’t inspire a lot of confidence to have the person you hired be fussed at by her mother. So we have an agreement that we never disagree in front of clients, and we discuss all cases behind closed doors.”
“That sounds smart. But how did you decide to go into business?” She was young to have a business that her husband wanted to fight over. I’d have to ask Tibby or Bryant to look up her company, later sometime.
“I thought we were talking about what we were going to do in San Francisco,” she said with a smile.
“We are, but I’m a diverse conversationalist,” I said. Part of me, in spite of my nearly overwhelming desire for her, was nervous. I hadn’t checked her out. I didn’t Google her, or look her up, or set a PI into looking into her—what if she was a total flake? What if her ex wasn’t a douche, but running for his life? I actually felt a bead of sweat run down my back.
Even though I’d fired Preston, my nagging manager, I could hear his warnings in my head. Maybe he’d had more of a point than I gave him credit for. Which made no sense, as I didn’t care that there were rumors I was gay floating around. Why did I care about this all of a sudden?
Because I really liked her. I would be crushed if she was crazy pants. The thought made another bead of sweat slide down my back.
“Momma was looking for something else to do, as the main partner in her firm passed away, and she didn’t like the other two partners. I went to school for communications. Momma also had a client that could not get out of his own way, and she was telling me all about it one night because he’d called her at home. It came out of that,” she finished, waving a hand.
I could tell there was more, but she didn’t want to share. That was OK.
“Did your ex want to work with you?” I felt like I needed to know a little more of what might be going on with her divorce. If this thing with us kept going, I might end up being pulled into the court case. That kind of shit happened all the time. People saw my name and saw money, or influence, or something that would help whatever their agenda was. I was used to it. I didn’t want to interrogate her, but I wanted a little info so that I had something to give my PI.
She shook her head. “We asked him, well, I asked him. Momma said I could if I had to. He took a couple of days to think it over because he would have been helpful in setting up the logistics. He’s in IT,” she added, looking away.
I could tell she was somewhere else, but I found that I didn’t mind. I wanted to hear more about the ex, see if he really was a douche.
Olivia sighed. “He came back and said that he thought it wouldn’t be the best idea, all of us working together, that it would be too much family too close, and I accepted that. He told me later that he wasn’t sure we’d last, or that Momma and I would be successful. He was having doubts even then when we were already engaged!” Her voice rose a little.
Then she took a breath. “It was so kind of him, you know, to come to me later, and tell me he was ready to be involved. When I asked him why now, he was kind enough to share his earlier concerns.” She snorted. “He was so surprised when I told him no, thank you, that Momma and I were just fine.” She looked out the window, and then back at me. “I wonder if that’s where the first crack happened.” Her face looked sad, and for a moment, I could see what she would have looked like as a kid, vulnerable and worried.
Which made me want to beat the douche’s face in. Yeah, he was a douche. Even if she was a little off, his actions were that of a self-absorbed asshole. I knew one of those when I ran into them.
“The first crack happened when he didn’t believe in you at the beginning,” I said firmly. “Don’t blame yourself, Olivia,” I finished.
“Livvie,” she said.
“What?”
“My friends call me Livvie. I think you qualify as a friend,” she smiled shyly at me.
“Well thank you, Ms. Livvie,” I said, squeezing her hand. “So now that that’s out of the way, what can we do in San Fran?”
5
Olivia
I felt like I’d run some kind of sprint. That bit of conversation felt a bit like an interrogation, but it was to be expected. If Momma had been here, she’d have put him through worse. So I suppose it wasn’t that bad.
“Food,” I said. “I’ve heard that there are a lot of really great places to eat, so definitely food. Do you have favorite places?”
He laughed. “Do I? Yes, I do. So we’ll eat. You want to see a show or something?”
“You mean outside of your show?”
To my surprise, his cheeks reddened slightly. “You want to see it?”
“Sure. You already know I’m a fan.”
“Well, OK.”
“Unless you’d rather I not,” I said. He didn’t seem overly enthused.
“No, I want you to. It’s just I don’t normally have people with me during these trips,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just being a weirdo.”
“I already knew that,” I teased. “Listen, if you’d rather I didn’t c
ome with you, I’m fine with that.”
He looked at me then. “Really? You wouldn’t get all bent out of shape?”
I shook my head. “No. I understand needing to work, and I knew this was a work trip for you.”
“That’s really awesome of you to say,” Xavier said. “But it’s not like this is a super private event. Of course, you’re welcome.”
While he smiled when he said that, I got the impression it wasn’t entirely the truth. That bothered me, but…I mentally shrugged my shoulders. This wasn’t my issue to manage. I’d been honest with him all the way from the moment we’d met, and if he couldn’t be entirely honest, as long as he didn’t hurt me, I wasn’t going to carry his water.
I’d been doing that for long enough. I wouldn’t do it again, even for a guy like Xavier, who seemed fantastic.
Of course, that could be my hormones talking, too. I felt a level of desire for him that shocked me in its intensity. I’d been all but celibate with Royce for some time, what with one thing and another. Mostly with a thing named Suzan, I thought snidely. Well, he was her problem now. Careful what you wish for, I thought, the snark taking over again. She may think he’s a great guy, but he’s mad, and when he’s mad, that makes him mean, and he lashes out. I’d feel sorry for her, but as she obviously had no problem with sleeping with my husband, I figured she earned whatever grief she’d brought on herself through that choice.
Back to Xavier. He was so…hot. So incredibly, amazingly hot. I wanted to just put my entire upbringing aside, and tear his clothes from him, and have hot and very sweaty sex, but I couldn’t.
Put my upbringing and morals aside, I mean. Although I really, really wanted to.
I also needed to be careful because I was not far out of the shock of getting divorce papers. While I didn’t have a slew of relationships behind me, I knew that people often rebounded into something unsuitable in times like this.
Would that be so bad?
I considered that. Would it really? If I was careful, what was the worst thing that could happen? I mean, getting over my mother’s shocked intake of breath I could hear in my head, what was the worst thing that could happen?
I could have really hot sex. I could laugh a lot with a guy who thought I was hot, and who was fun.
Someone like me wasn’t the type who would ever end up with someone like Xavier, XTC, Mr. I’m-all-that rapper. It just didn’t happen.
Not outside of a Hallmark movie of the week, anyway.
So why not just enjoy myself? Let whatever happened, happen. Not sweat it, and enjoy that someone as fun as Xavier wanted to hang out and spend time together. Not every relationship had to be a forever thing.
With those thoughts, I felt as though a weight had lifted off me. It helped to dispel the feeling of awkwardness that settled over us after we’d nearly attacked one another before the coffee came in.
With that resolution in mind, I leaned over so I could look into Xavier’s eyes. “Hey,” I said. “We’ll do whatever. I don’t have an agenda. I wanted to come with you because this sounded like a lot of fun. You sound like a lot of fun. That’s it, Xavier. Nothing more. Let’s just have fun.” I raised my eyebrows in a question.
I watched his expression and something I couldn’t read crossed his face. Then he smiled, and the whatever I’d just seen fell away.
“That sounds like a plan, Ms. Livvie. Let me show you the places I like to go, and then you decide, OK?” He let go of my hand as he pulled out his phone.
Xavier
I couldn’t decide how I felt at her words. Happy? Disappointed? I didn’t know. But wasn’t I just the one who was sitting here pissing and moaning internally with what if questions? Her words should make me happy, relieved. It showed she didn’t expect anything from me.
So why didn’t I feel happy and relieved?
I wasn’t going to focus on it. I studied my phone as we talked about where to go. Did I want her to come to the benefit? It made sense that she thought she would –it’s why I invited her, after all.
I didn’t have to decide until the day after tomorrow. We had the entire day to do whatever tomorrow.
“Oh, let’s do that!” She took the phone from me to widen something she’d seen on Google. “Doesn’t this look like fun?”
I peered at the phone. “The Exploratorium? What is it?”
“It’s a science museum,” she looked up, her face alight.
I wasn’t a horrible student in school, but school wasn’t a fun time for me. Mostly because of non-school related things, but still. I didn’t have fond memories or anything.
“If you say so. But you’ll have to hold my hand, “ I said with a smile.
“Deal,” she said.
* * *
It turned out that Olivia—Livvie—was right. The Exploratorium had been a lot of fun. Everything yesterday was a lot of fun. We’d walked all over the piers, and stopped and eaten when we felt like it, being the basic tourists.
I’d contacted one of my PR people and gotten us tickets on the night tour to Alcatraz for tonight. The benefit was during the day, so we’d be free at night.
I loved how comfortable I felt with her, how she treated me like a normal person, not really making any references or allowances to the other side of my life. No fawning, but no studied indifference, either. I’d seen both in women I was interested in.
With every passing moment, I wanted her more and more. I could almost feel an ache in my bones—and not just the one in my groin—with how much I wanted her.
The trouble was, I couldn’t tell if she and I were on the same page with that. We hadn’t kissed again like we’d done on the plane. When we’d gotten back last night, she’d taken the other room. She’d kissed me before she walked through the connecting door, and it had been hot as hell. But she hadn’t hesitated when she walked away, or when she’d shut the door behind her.
Was that good or bad? I realized I had no idea. The women I normally dated were ready to be naked about twelve seconds into our dates, so they weren’t a good comparison.
I stretched, walking out into the dining area of the suite. I’d gotten up and ordered breakfast right away. I found that I was starving, in spite of all that I’d eaten yesterday when we walked miles together.
A light knock on the door sent me to the door quickly. Livvie wasn’t up yet, and I didn’t want to wake her. The attendant brought in the cart and headed for the table on the balcony. It was sunny out, with mist on the other side of the bay. A nice day for San Francisco, and it was too gorgeous to stay in.
I loved New York, but I always enjoyed being out here. There was something about this city that drew you in, and wrapped itself around you, without you even being aware of it.
After the room service guy left, I sat and leaned back in the chair, enjoying the peace of the moment. The coffee was hot—what was that coffee Livvie had asked about? Community coffee? I’d have to get some, see why she liked it so much.
Then I wondered why I was so interested.
My train of thought was halted when Livvie appeared, looking delectable in pajamas. They were striped, and crisp looking like cotton PJs look, and she was adorable. She rubbed her eyes, and then stretched her arms out.
“Were you really going to sit out here with this delicious-smelling coffee and not get me up?” She asked as she walked around to sit down across from me.
I poured her a cup by way of an apology. “I didn’t want to wake you. We walked a marathon yesterday.”
Livvie laughed. “It feels like it, doesn’t it?” She added cream to the coffee and took a sip, looking out at the view. “This is lovely, Xavier. Thank you for asking me to come with you.” She turned back to me, smiling over the rim of her cup.
The flush that raced through me was unfamiliar, but I liked it.
As I was about to speak, the phone rang with Tibby’s ring.
“I’m sorry, I have to take this,” I said.
She nodded, still drinking her coffee.
“Bryant told me you were firing Preston,” Tibby said. She had her business voice on.
“Already did it.”
“Where are you?”
“In San Francisco?”
“Why?”
There was a time when Tibby knew my schedule as well as I did, and I felt a pang for what we used to have, when it was just the two of us.
But that wasn’t fair of me. She and I would never be a couple, and she deserved a great guy like Seth. Plus, I got Seth and Bryant as a family because they were her family. So I really had no room to bitch. There was something to be said for not feeling it was you against the whole world.
Tibby had helped me, and herself, to feel otherwise.
“Y benefit.”
“Make sure you get all the records—”
“—to the accountant,” I finished for her. “Yeah, yeah, I always do, Mom. How was the honeymoon?”
“It was amazing. I can only hope that you can finally find some woman to put up with you and your shit so that you can have this kind of happiness. You’re a pain in my ass, but you deserve it.”
“Tib, you are getting soft.”
“I am, but since it benefits you, shut up. Why’d you fire Preston?”
“He wouldn’t stop nagging. It was worse than my mom, Tib.“
“That bad?”
She knew I didn’t bring up my mom often. She also knew my mom, so she knew what the comparison meant.
“Yes. And he was convinced that I was ruined with going out the other night, and just harped on the whole gay club aspect to the point that I wanted to punch him.”
“Oh?” Tibby’s voice changed. “You think he was carrying his own baggage there?”
“For sure. I won’t put up with that shit.”
“Well, good decision on your part, but it means that you don’t have anyone on site for you. “
“You could—”
“No. That’s a big ol’ nope from me, X. You know that. You need someone who can devote a lot of time to you and all the things that come along with managing your life. It’s not me. Nice statement, by the way. I think you might have made Bryant cry.”
Forgotten Wishes: Djinn Everlasting Book Two Page 9
