“She’s his sister, so I guess…”
“It’s still not fair. You have to move on, Livi, and she’s pressurizing you to stay in the past.”
Olivia looked around Nolan’s sparse and untidy apartment. Since Lenny’s death, the place was just somewhere for Nolan to hang his hat. Sparsely furnished and without a speck of color, Nolan had no interest in making it homey. Hell, he could barely bring himself to do the dishes. Olivia knew she should say something but just like she couldn’t bring herself to toss out any of Lenny’s stuff, Nolan couldn’t deal with filling in the space that his best friend left. “Guess we are both doing that, huh?’
Nolan got to his feet and shoved the last of the breakfast taco he was eating, in his mouth. “Things are gonna be different this year.”
Taken by surprise, she furrowed her eyebrows. How could they be? Without finding closure she felt condemned to live her life in this perpetual limbo. “They are?”
He yanked Olivia to her feet. “Yeah. I—we—can’t keep doing this to ourselves. We need to move forward, stop mourning. I’m making a New Year’s resolution. We are gonna get our shit together.”
“You can’t make a resolution for other people, Nolan.” She turned away from him. “I-I don’t even know how to begin to do that.”
“Then we’ll work it out together. Lenny would hate to see us putting our lives on hold like this. Jeez, it was his idea to spend the year backpacking. He wanted to live for the moment, sweetheart. He’d want you—us—to continue that for him.”
“He would.” She pulled at the taco in her hand, discarding pieces of it on her plate. Then, placing it down uneaten, she said more resolutely. “He really would. Mmm, where do we start?”
Nolan glanced around his place. “You wanna help me clean?”
“Clean?” Quite possibly, she’d misheard. Olivia couldn’t remember the last time Nolan had even run the dishwasher.
He grabbed some body building magazines off his coffee table. “I have a sudden urge to purge all the mess and make some changes. Come on, it’ll keep us busy. Huh, next week we can even go the store and I’ll let you pick out a rug and some stuff to make the place less utilitarian.”
“Can I choose cushions? You need something with some color in here.”
“Hell, why not?”
“Okay, then. But I’m not touching any of your floozy’s underwear, you hear?”
Chapter 3
Nolan
Two hours later, Nolan handed Livi a much deserved second cup of coffee. She stood at the door of his empty spare room. “Why didn’t you ever rent this out?”
The room had been Lenny’s but he’d not lived in it for more than three years. An ache settled into Nolan’s chest. The day his best friend moved out to live with Olivia had crushed him. Not that the guy had stayed at Nolan’s place much anyway, but while Lenny still hung his clothes in the closet, it felt like they were still best friends.
Nolan had taken Lenny’s leaving hard because he was jealous of what his friend had found in Olivia, and he was also crushed that his best friend was being stolen away from him. As it turned out, he was wrong to be jealous of anything. Instead of losing Lenny, Nolan found he gained another best friend—Olivia.
“I dunno. Rent is not an issue so, I figured why bother.”
“Don’t you get lonely being here by yourself?” She followed him back into the living room where he dropped a lacy red bra into his basket of women’s underwear. He must have had a dozen or more items in there now and not one of them belonged to the same date.
“Sometimes. But I guess you know what that’s like.”
Olivia sipped on her drink. “I’m thinking of moving.”
“What? I thought you loved that apartment.”
“I do, but…”
“Not the same without Len?”
She shook her head. “Partly, but I have new neighbors above me and they are driving me crazy. They have a dog that barks all day, a kid that stamps around and screams constantly, and they dump one of their cars in my parking space every damn day. They also leave their trash outside the door and the stench is invading my condo.”
“Report them.”
“Nah. I think I’ll just find somewhere else. Rumor has it the landlord is raising the rent anyway.”
“When’s your lease up?”
“Next month. I’m going to start looking but if I don’t find somewhere in time, maybe I could bunk with you for a couple of weeks. I really don’t want to go back to Mom’s.”
Nolan chewed on a nugget of an idea. “Why bother looking—just move in here. Let’s face it, you come over all the time and it’ll save you having to drive back and forth across town to your job. It’s not like I have a ton of furniture or anything and besides, your stuff is nicer than mine,” He said and then gave her a sly smile.
Livi chewed on her lip. “It’d be weird, wouldn’t it?”
He approached her and put his hands on her arms, rubbing them gently. “Why would it be weird?”
“Well, wouldn’t it cramp your style?” She glanced back at the sofa. “I mean, you’d have to confine your bedroom activities to the actual bedroom.”
He chuckled. “I think I can do that.”
“And I’d insist on you stacking your dishes in the dishwasher.”
“Hmm, I could probably manage that.”
“Oh, and you’d have to promise to put the toilet seat down.”
He put his hands on his hips. “Any more demands? I might have to withdraw my offer.”
She reached for her coffee. “Perhaps it’s not a good idea. We may get on each other’s nerves.”
“I put up with you when we travelled around the world, I’m sure sharing an apartment would be fine.”
She sighed. “Hmm, I was thinking you might get on my nerves. But, I’ll think about it. Will you give me a few days to decide?”
“Of course. I’m not planning on taking anyone else in, Livi. It’s yours if you want it. Now, what do you want to do next?”
“Movie?”
Nolan took her hand and led her to the couch. While Livi arranged the throw around them, he hunted through Netflix and selected Lenny’s favorite, Forrest Gump. Nolan tossed the remote on the table and settled back on the couch. Putting his arm out, she snuggled into him and rested her head on his chest. Placing a hand on her head, he listened to her breathing as it slowed. When he sensed her sleeping, he closed his own eyes and decided to join her in a nap. It was probably the only sleep they’d both get, anyway.
No sooner had Nolan’s eyes closed than he was catapulted upright. A loud rap on his door came again and he slipped out from beside Livi, disturbing her. “Sorry.”
She blinked back sleepily and watched him as he went to the door. Nolan yanked it open and was confronted by the woman from last night. She stepped around him, marching straight into his condo.
“I left my…” she stopped in the middle of room, her eyes bugging out at the sight of Olivia curled up on the sofa.
“What the fuck?” She turned her steely eyes on Nolan. “You bastard! Twelve hours ago you were fucking me and now you are cozying up with this Mexican slut!”
Olivia raised an eyebrow. “If you’re gonna insult me, at least get it freaking right. I’m Puerto Rican, sweetie.”
Nolan’s temper flared at Maria’s comment and he grabbed her bicep, spinning her around to face him. “Watch your mouth. You don’t get to talk to Livi in that way. In fact, you don’t even get to look at her.” He let go of the blonde and yanked open the coat closet. “Here,” Nolan held out the basket of women’s clothes and hooked out a pair of black panties from it. “If my memory serves me correctly, these were yours.”
Maria snatched them from his finger and the glare she gave him could have curdled milk. Her palm rushed at his face and he instinctively ducked sideways, but the flat of her hand still caught him on the cheek. “Ow, the fuck!” Maria went to slap him a second time, but he caught her wrist. “Cut it out.�
��
“You’re a bastard, Nolan Carmichael.”
“Yeah, yeah, we covered that already.” He frog-marched her to his threshold and eased her through the door.
After he closed it in her face, Maria cussed and screamed at him from the hallway. Nolan stared at the door, his hand rubbing back and forth over his buzz cut.
“Another satisfied customer?” Olivia called from the sofa. Nolan, red-faced, turned towards her and she burst into laughter. “You were right about the boobs. Jesus, I need to up my game.”
Livi glanced down at her chest and Nolan’s eyes automatically went to her breasts. “I always thought yours were just about perfect.”
His friend raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you did, did you? And what makes them so perfect?”
“Well, they’re a nice handful and I imagine I could get most of one of them in my mouth. Anymore is a waste.” Livi’s cheeks reddened and he smirked at her embarrassment. “Those out there were like sucking on unripe melons—too big and too fucking hard.”
He slumped on the sofa beside Livi, his eyes still on her cleavage. It had been some time since he’d seen Olivia in a bathing suit but, from what he remembered, she had a cute figure. Soft curves, a nipped in waist, and a sensuous flare of the hips that led to a perfectly rounded bottom. Mmm, an image sprung to mind from a beach in Thailand over two years ago. Livi was wearing a yellow bikini that looked gorgeous against her olive skin. The view had been so stunning, Nolan had to sit with his paperback in his lap while he got himself under control. He’d been relieved when she’d covered up with a sarong, but the image had stayed with him for most of the trip. He was embarrassed to say that it also served him well in a few erotic fantasies when the nights got a little too lonely. Nolan shook the memory out of his head.
“You are such a perv.” Livi lightened the mood, giving him a playful slap across his chest. He caught her hand and held it there.
“I’m not a pervert, I’m just appreciative of beautiful things.” Their eyes met and, for a second, he was lost in those hazel eyes. Goddamn, if Len had lived then he and Livi would have made the most beautiful babies. The African-American and Puerto Rican combination would have been spectacular, whether they had a boy or girl.
“What... what are you doing?” Livi’s hand shook inside his and he let it go.
Nolan realized he was leaning toward her and all that thinking about Olivia in that yellow bikini was having an effect on him. He turned sideways and leaned his elbows on his knees, hoping she hadn’t noticed the bulge in his jeans.
“You’re right.” He glanced at the door. The yelling had stopped and he presumed Maria had given up berating him. “I’m out of control.” He snatched up his phone from the table. “I’m gonna delete Tinder. I’m getting too old for one-night stands.” Nolan fiddled with his phone pretending that he didn’t notice Olivia composing herself.
“You’re deleting the app? Who are you kidding? You’ll reopen your account before the end of the week.”
He shook his head. “You have so little faith.”
“I have every faith in you, Nolan…” she tried to stifle her laughter. “But you’re not in charge, your dick is.”
“Ouch. Seriously? That is what you think of me?”
She folded her arms across her chest and tried to keep a straight face. “For as long as I have known you, you have had a revolving door regarding women. I’d bet a hundred bucks you can’t go a month without sex.”
Nolan hesitated and a smirk appeared on his lips. He liked a challenge. “Does that include self-satisfaction?”
She rolled her eyes. “I said sex, not orgasms. I’m not that cruel.” She winked at him. “One month, and you don’t get to stick your best friend in anyone else.”
“What, not even a B.J.?”
“All orifices are off the menu.”
Livi put out her hand and he hesitated before taking it. “You are a cruel woman.”
“If I was being cruel, I would have made the bet for a year.”
He shook her hand. “One month? Easy-peasy.” Though his voice sounded confident, he was already sure he was going to be out of pocket.
Later that afternoon, Nolan walked with Olivia down to The Presidio. Gravitating from the park and on to Baker Beach, they pulled off their shoes and walked along the sand with their coat collars pulled up against the wind blowing off the sea. Ahead of them, Golden Gate Bridge loomed, the lights of the cars crossing it, twinkling in the twilight. This was one of Lenny’s favorite places and a spot the three of them used to frequent most weeks. Now, Nolan only went there with Livi once a year. It held too many memories for him to visit more often.
The beach was littered with ghostly images of the three of them—drinking sodas while the sun was setting, playing frisbee or keepie-uppie, Nolan’s shoulders burning while Len’s chocolate skin grew ever darker and Olivia’s olive one took on a deeper, more golden hue. They’d celebrated birthdays there, Len and Olivia’s rehearsal dinner, and pretty much every Fourth of July that Nolan could remember.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and watched Olivia as she stood by the ocean looking out at the horizon. Her long hair whipped around her, reminding him of that afternoon when they’d been watching Hurricane Nina thundering toward them. A lump formed in his throat and he let the tears flow.
Olivia turned and began to walk back to him, her head bent, her hand rubbing at red puffy eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face into his jacket. Leaning his chin on the top of her head, they stood like that until Nolan’s feet grew too numb to ignore. By then, the sky was dark and the lights from the traffic and the city blurred all around them. Livi lifted her head and shivered. Pulling her coat tighter around her, Nolan took her hand and they silently walked back along the beach.
Back at the condo, he collected a couple of shot glasses and a bottle of tequila he’d purchased for the occasion. Pouring two shots, he handed one to Livi. “To Len. The greatest fucking best friend that ever walked this earth.”
They clinked their glasses together and he gulped down the burning liquid in one go. One shot became two, and then three. By the time Nolan poured the fifth drink, they were both slumped on the floor leaning against the couch, his photograph album between them as they flicked through and reminisced over all the places they’d been together during the backpacking trip. Livi’s tears flowed freely, and she didn’t even bother to try to swipe them away. Nolan kept his buried inside, she’d cry enough for the both of them.
As the clock ticked closer to midnight, Livi got shakily to her feet. She swayed a little and caught hold of the couch. “Woah.” She giggled as she stumbled. “I should go.” Olivia looked around the room. “You see where I dumped my keys?”
Nolan got up and cupped his hand around her neck. “Stay. It’s too late and you’re far too drunk to go home.”
She laughed and sat down heavily on the sofa, almost pulling Nolan down on top of her. “Huh, you’re right, I’ll take the couch.”
He steadied himself and pulled her back to her feet. “No, take my bed.”
Frowning, she waggled her finger back and forth at him. “I can’t take your bed. You had that woman with the fake tits in there last night.”
He shook his head. “Actually, I had her on the couch. Or rather she held onto the back of it while we, you know.”
“God! You’re such an animal, Nolan.”
He winked at her. “That’s me. Take the bed, sweetheart, I promise it’s only been my ass in there.”
Standing on tip-toe, she reached up and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Nolan. I couldn’t have gotten through today without you.”
“Nor me without you, now go and lay down before you fall over.”
At some point in the middle of the night, Nolan was woken by the sound of Olivia crying. He padded into his room and found her sobbing into the pillow. “Hey, you need some company?”
She scooted over and pulled aside the blankets and Nolan climbed in, stretchin
g his arm across the pillow. Snuggling into him, she wrapped her arms around his bare chest and closed her eyes. Nolan squeezed her tight and they drifted off to sleep, the emotion of the day exhausting them both.
Chapter 4
Olivia
Olivia’s laugh floated on the wind as she skipped through a Thai temple. The sun glinted off the golden statues creating ethereal starbursts and shimmering mirage-like images. Billowing swathes of white organza clouded about her and her hair shone a deep chestnut as she flipped her head around, searching for Lenny.
Leaning against a temple wall, his six-two frame was hidden in shadows. All she could see was his right hand and the light bounced off the platinum wedding band. A pure white shirt was cuffed at his wrist contrasting against his deep black Nigerian skin. She tried to peer into the shadows, wanting—needing—to see his face but it was impossible to make out his handsome features.
Calling out to him, she ran across the white marbled floor of the temple and he turned to her voice, his cotton shirt billowing open, the breeze tantalizing her with flashes of his toned physique. His hair was short—not shaved, but close to his skin, strengthening his profile. Drawing closer, she wondered why he’d cut off his wild short dreadlocks, as she’d loved their craziness.
She reached the pillar Lenny was standing by and ducked behind it. As she jumped out from behind, he vanished into a shining mist. Olivia stepped through the strange fog after him, and found they were no longer in the Bangkok temple, but thousands of miles away underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Cars honked their horns and a crowd of people swirled around them waltzing. Long, colorful skirts swished as dinner jacket-clad men twirled chiffon wrapped women to the sound of a big band. Lenny looked over his shoulder at her and before Olivia could call out to him, he melted away.
Something caught Olivia’s eye and she ran across the Champs de Mars and the landscape changed again, the cobbled stones of Covent Garden appearing beneath her feet. Lenny disappeared down steps into the London underground, his face obscured by a Mind The Gap sign at street level. Taking off after her husband, Olivia’s feet splashed through puddles on gum-stained sidewalks, her bare feet making no sound as they reached the subway entrance. At the bottom of the steps, instead of opening out into Covent Garden Tube station, she was surprised to see swathes of white sand and a turquoise ocean. She furrowed her brows, knowing exactly where this place was—Es Pujols in Formentara on the idyllic balletic island of Ibiza where they’d spent their honeymoon. Lenny paddled in the clear blue water as the gentle waves lapped around his ankles.
After Hurricane Nina, Nolan's Resolution (Hot Hunks-Steamy Romance Collection Book 2) Page 3
