Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100086 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
He was probably telling the truth, but that didn’t really change anything. The fact of the matter was that she’d been right before—no matter how connected she’d felt to him during that night, he wasn’t all that different from Sergei—or every other man in her life up to this point. He would always put his family obligations before her.
She couldn’t go through that again. She refused to.
And to drag Hadley along with her? Unthinkable.
She passed the apple juice over. “Chalk my accepting your offer up to temporary insanity. I’m not going out with you.”
“Olivia—”
“That’ll be three-fifty.”
He sighed. “I thought we’d gotten past this.”
Hell, she’d thought so, too. But that night was a mistake, and a mistake she didn’t plan on repeating. No matter how delicious he looked tonight in that three-piece suit. Who the hell wore a three-piece suit to a pub?
You’re being petty and you damn well know it.
So what? I’m entitled to being petty.
She really needed to stop having conversations with herself. At this point, she was a few short steps from buying ten cats and holing up in her crappy apartment with Hadley while they waited for the end of the world.
“I’d like to talk.”
She shook herself out of her insanity spiral. “There’s really nothing to talk about.” She hesitated. “I am glad you’re doing better, though.”
“There you go again, making me think you might actually like me.” His smile was wan. “A drink, sweetheart. That’s all I’m asking for.”
It wasn’t, though. Because it wouldn’t stop with a drink. She’d get drawn in by the chemistry that was still sparking between them and, next thing she knew, she’d be crawling into his lap and getting into all sorts of trouble. Olivia knew herself well enough to know that. There was something about Cillian that was like catnip. Common sense didn’t have a hold there.
Which was exactly why she needed to keep him at a distance. “No, thank you.” A girl a few feet down the bar caught her eye and she moved away to fill that drink order, but she could feel Cillian watching her the entire time. It made her skin hot and tingly and, holy hell, it made her want.
Having sex with him had been a mistake. After over a year of celibacy, she should have known there was no way to keep her neat little boundaries in place, no matter how sure she was that she didn’t particularly like Cillian. That was why she was responding so strongly to him. It had to be.
She turned around and nearly ran into Benji. He stopped her from mowing him over—or, more likely, bouncing off his chest—with his hands on her shoulders. “Whoa, there. You look a little out of it. Why don’t you take a break?”
Taking a break would just give her more time to think, which was exactly what she didn’t need. She was about to tell him that, but the girl behind her squawked. “This isn’t a Cosmo! I ordered a Cosmo!”
Well, hell, there went all her arguments that she was fine. She never screwed up orders. Olivia glanced at the drink in the girl’s hand, but she couldn’t figure out what it was that she’d actually made. Shit. She forced a smile. “I think a break is a great idea.” Some air. I just need some air. “I’ll be back in ten.”
“Make it fifteen.” He softened the command with a smile. “You work hard, Olivia. Sit down and take a breather. I can hold down the fort.”
Of course he could. He’d been doing it for years. She managed something closer to a real smile. “You’re a good guy, Benji.”
“Don’t go saying that where people can hear you.” He gave her a nudge. “Go on.”
She went.
As soon as she stepped out into the cool night—a welcome relief from the heat wave that had hit during the last few days—she tilted her head back and took what felt like her first deep breath in a week. Cillian wasn’t dead on the street or something equally awful. He was okay—an ass, but okay. Great, now that you know that, you can move on with your life.
Easier said than done.
“Olivia.”
She turned; a secret part of herself that she’d never admit existed was simply thrilled at the sight of him. Cillian had cut quite the figure with his tattoos and expensive clothing every time they’d met, but knowing the meaning of those tattoos—and how extensive they were beneath his clothing—only made him more attractive. It really wasn’t fair. She drank in the sight of him like a woman in the desert who finally caught sight of an oasis, not sure when she’d be able to do it again.
You’re putting distance between you two, remember? Distance. “You shouldn’t be back here.”
“Neither should you.” He glanced at the spot where he’d been beaten. “I would have thought that would go without saying.”