He averted his gaze to his shiny black shoes. When he finally looked at her again, a flicker of wariness filled their depths. “I’ve got some stuff to run over with you about everything. Want to go for coffee?”
At that, Olivia restrained her sigh. It didn’t take a genius to get what had brought Cameron here. Noah. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m meeting Noah for lunch.”
That wariness in his expression turned to stone. “Can I walk you there?”
This time she sighed. “Sure,” Olivia acceded. She had to walk there anyway. And a little part of her—no matter that she knew it was wrong—liked his jealousy. For the first time when it came to him, she felt on top of the world instead of buried beneath it.
She moved toward the elevator and Cameron followed her. As she pressed the down button, he said, “The agent will be there tonight and tomorrow night, so we can’t be there.”
“Okay,” Olivia said with a nod. She wasn’t living there at all, but that was something that Cameron didn’t know. The elevator doors dinged open and she entered first. Once he stepped inside, she pressed the lobby button. “Is the agent hopeful something will happen?” The sale was taking a long time. Too long. Which wasn’t unusual, especially considering Olivia had dumped a bit of money into the house to fix it up, thinking she would be there forever. She had lived in an older neighborhood, so with the modern fixings, her house now held a higher value. She needed to find the right buyer, that’s all.
Cameron nodded and leaned against the side wall of the elevator. “The agent’s surprised we haven’t sold already.”
Silence fell between them as they exited the elevator and made it outside. Silence that once was comfortable. Now everything had changed. The silence felt awkward and tense, and this wasn’t the man Olivia wanted to be walking down the street with.
When they reached the curb, she waited for a clear path between the cars then hurried across the street. The silence continued, and with each step, Olivia only wanted to get farther away. Blessedly, a moment later, the restaurant came into view. She moved to the side to avoid getting in anyone’s way and turned to Cameron. “Is that all you came to tell me?”
The sun glistened against the caramel highlights in his hair, while he shoved his hands back into his pockets and frowned. “Are you dating that senator?”
Not that she totally hadn’t seen this coming, but still…“Which is your business because…?”
“Because—” He averted his gaze again to his shoes. She never noticed before how hard it was for Cameron to look at her. Maybe because of Noah being so straightforward, and such an aware kind of guy, he’d rubbed off on her. “I know you owe me nothing, Olivia. But we have history, and most of that is good history. I want to make sure you’re all right…with you know…everything.”
Aw, how sweet, nearly spilled from her lips before vomit followed.
For a month, Cameron had never checked in. He never asked her anything about herself. Or how she was feeling. Or apologized for breaking her heart. They had only, and always, talked about the sale of the house over text. Though even knowing all that, something he said made her curious. “What would give you the impression that I’m not okay?”
He lifted one shoulder in his easy way. “This guy…he’s just different than you.”
“Wow,” she breathed at the audacity of him. “Honestly, Cameron, I don’t want to have this conversation with you. We have nothing to talk about except the sale. So, next time, call. Don’t come by my work.” She turned to walk away.
“My mom misses you.”
Olivia’s heart squeezed, and she shut her eyes as emotion rushed over her. Heather, Cameron’s mother, was a kind and sweet woman. A woman who Olivia still kept in touch with on Facebook. For ten years, his family had been her family, and that was another part of this heartbreak that hurt. “Please tell her that I miss her too,” she managed, though she couldn’t seem to walk away.
“Olivia.”
The firmness in Noah’s voice had her opening her eyes. Her breath caught as she took him in standing a foot away. A stark contrast to Cameron, his tailored suit seemed to fit his wide frame even better. Where Cameron seemed to hold weakness and uneasiness in his gaze, Noah held none.
Noah’s eyes then flicked to Cameron over Olivia’s shoulder. “Cameron,” he said, his voice calm and controlled. “We seem to keep running into you.”
“I needed to talk with Livvie about the sale of our house.”
Okay, the emphasis on “our” was totally unnecessary. Noah obviously heard it too because he grinned. Like how a killer whale would grin at a seal before he completely ruined his day. Though instead of losing it, Noah appeared even more in control. “Does Olivia have the information she needs?”
Cameron gave a tight nod, fists clenched at his sides. “Yeah.”
Without another word, and leaving Olivia speechless, Noah opened the door of the restaurant and gestured Olivia inside. She moved immediately, not giving Cameron another look. When the door shut behind them, Olivia finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding, trying to catch up with all that had taken place. “I have no idea what the hell that was all about,” she admitted.
“I know exactly what that was about,” Noah said, his jaw clenching. “Cameron was making a statement.” He placed his hand possessively on her back, guiding her into the restaurant. “And that’s why I made my own statement too.”
In that moment, Olivia knew for certain that if that was Noah and Cameron’s version of a dick-measuring contest, Noah had won.
* * *
—
Tension rippled through Noah as he guided Olivia farther into the Italian restaurant. He preferred the open and airy feel in the clean and modern space. Dark wood tables were spread out, giving enough space to avoid most eavesdropping. They followed behind the hostess through the tables, Noah giving his obligatory smile to the people of New York City that he served who recognized him. Though with each and every step, he also recognized that texting Olivia this morning and asking her out to lunch was one more thing he never would have done before. But the truth was, he wanted to see her again. Tonight was too far away. And the second he’d seen her outside, his day had improved tremendously.
Until Cameron, of course.
When they reached their table, he pulled out Olivia’s chair and waited for her to sit before taking a seat across from her. He immediately grabbed his menu, knowing she had only an hour for lunch. The last thing he wanted to do was waste time today. “I’ll take the roasted chicken sandwich and a lemon water,” he told the blond server who sidled up to their table.
Olivia smiled and handed the waiter her menu. “Actually, that sounds really good. I’ll take the same.”
With the waiter headed back toward the kitchen, Noah kept his attention focused on the woman in front of him. He understood that emotions often made situations complicated, but he did not understand why he’d found Olivia with Cameron outside the restaurant. He wasn’t particularly happy about it either. Not interested in skimming the issue, he asked her directly, “Does Cameron have part ownership in your house?”
“Not really.” She grabbed her napkin off the plate and settled it onto her lap. “When Cameron moved in with me right after I finished college, my dad had us sign a cohabitation agreement that kept the house as my asset until—and if—we married. My grandmother gave me a substantial inheritance when she passed, so my dad wanted to make sure that stayed mine. But when the house sells, he’ll get half of whatever we paid on the mortgage during the time we lived together.”
At that curious bit of information, Noah arched a brow. “Is your father a lawyer?”
“How’d you guess?” Olivia laughed softly. “He practices family law at a small firm in the Bronx. After all the stuff he sees every day, you can’t really blame him for living on the edge of caution.”
Noah wouldn’t blame him one bit. “Considering the outcome, that choice was a smart one.”
“No kidding,” she agreed with a nod.
Noah watched her intently and pondered what she’d told him. Perhaps her father had known that Cameron was a bastard, and he anticipated that one day Olivia would leave him. That said a lot about Olivia’s father. He supported his daughter above all else. Not telling her to stay away from Cameron but protecting her nonetheless. Noah respected that, finding himself wanting to meet that man. In fact, he found himself wanting to meet the people who had raised this amazing woman he couldn’t take his eyes off when the waiter returned, placing Olivia’s glass of water down first. Noah waited until the waiter left before getting right back to the conversation. “If you don’t mind explaining this to me, why is Cameron handling your sale if he has no investment in the house?”
She’d been drinking her water and slowly lowered her glass to the white linen covering the table. “Because when everything went down, and the dust settled, he offered to handle the sale for me.”
The tightness in her voice told him there was more to that story. His instincts told him to push, albeit gently. “Talk to me.” He leaned forward and held her hand on top of the table. “Help me understand this. In my mind, I cannot imagine taking the help of someone who betrayed me. So why did you, a strong and smart woman who ran them out of your house when you caught them, take his help?”
She bowed her head and her voice thickened. “I know I should have I handled the sale myself, but I can’t go back there. So, it was either take his help or get my parents to sell the house or ask Paige to help.” She gave him a quick look and an even quicker shrug. “His help seemed like the best option out of the three. I didn’t want to depend on anyone else. And I figured he owed me.”
Things began to make sense now. And he felt for her. Damn, did he feel for her. Because she didn’t deserve any of this. “You can’t go back to the house because it’s too painful?”
“They are all I see. All I hear. All I feel the second I walk through the door.” She took another sip of her water, her hand trembling slightly. “I know that makes me sound weak. I know that the last thing I should do is let him help or talk to me. But it’s an evil I endure so I don’t have to go back there.” She paused. Then her eyes welled up with tears. “That house is a reminder of how much they broke me.”
Noah’s jaw muscles clenched, his blood burning red-hot. He could count on one hand the times he had wanted to hurt someone. This was one of those times. And had Cameron been there, Noah would not have trusted himself not to make Cameron feel some of the pain Olivia endured. Squeezing her hand, he said, “Let me take over handling the sale.”
She pulled her hand away and adamantly shook her head. “God no. I mean, that’s so super nice of you, Noah, but you don’t need to do that. Hopefully the house will get an offer tomorrow, and that’ll be the beginning of the end. I can put this chapter behind me and move on.” She paused then added, “Cameron coming by today was really unusual. We’ve always talked over text.”
Noah leaned in and said, deadly serious, “If the house doesn’t sell—”
She placed her other hand over his and gave a sweet smile. “Let’s not even go there. It’s going to sell.”
The heat of her hand on his flesh burned through him. His cock hardened for more reasons than lust alone. This was the adrenaline pumping through him to protect her and to defend her. “I don’t like that he’s involved in your life,” he told her honestly. “He shouldn’t be.”
She gave him a tender smile. “You are so incredibly sweet to look out for me. Really. It feels amazing for someone to do that. But I have a good feeling about tomorrow. The house will sell and that will be that.”
Noah didn’t have a good feeling about any of this. Cameron deserved a punch in the face, not time with her. “All right,” he succumbed, only because it was what she wanted. “Do me one favor though?”
“What’s that?” she asked as the waiter returned to the table and set her meal in front of her.
Noah waited until the waiter placed his plate down and then moved out of sight before finishing, “Don’t let that bastard prey on your gentle heart.”
“Prey on me?” She froze halfway from picking up her fork. “What do you mean?”
“When I first walked up, I heard Cameron talking you.” Noah reached for his napkin, settling it over his lap. “He mentioned his mother to weaken you and to make you feel bad. See that for the manipulation it was.”
His advice obviously registered. She remained statue-still except for her furrowing brows. “How would mentioning his mom weaken me?”
“Because he’s playing with your emotions.” Noah set his wrists on the table and gave her a leveled look. “What is motivating him is up for debate, but mentioning his mother is a ploy to get you to soften toward him. Do not mistake that for anything else.”
She parted her lips then shut them. A moment later, she asked, “How do you know that?”
“I see men like Cameron every day. He has an agenda, of that I am certain. He wants what he can’t have, and he’ll use any means necessary to get it back.”
She scoffed and dismissed him, finally picking up her fork. “He does not want me back.”
“Of course he does,” Noah retorted, reaching for one piece of his sandwich. “I imagine he never thought he’d lose you in the first place. He wanted to have it all. The wife, the exciting fantasy, and now he’s lost everything. I am sure in his mind he thinks helping you with the house will get him closer to you.”
She shook her head slowly. “That makes no sense. He cheated on me.”
Noah gave a slow nod. “I never said Cameron’s logic made sense. Usually men like him don’t do things that add up.”
“Well that’s just stupid.” She stabbed some lettuce in her side salad then chewed it like they were Cameron’s testicles she wanted to squish.
He ate a few good bites of his sandwich before realizing something else was bothering him about the exchange outside. “Cameron called you Livvie.”
She swallowed and nodded. “It’s a nickname that my mom calls me.”
“Do you like it?”
“I like when my mom calls me Livvie.” She reached for her sandwich and nearly bit into the bun but hesitated again, raising her brows. “Why do you ask?”
“Just making sure I’m calling you by the right name.”
Softness reached her eyes and heat burned in her smile. “I like when you call me Olivia. It’s so…you.”
“So, me?”
She leaned forward a little, inviting him to see so much. “Powerful. Important. Sexy.” A beautiful flush brushed across her cheeks and lingered all the way down to her chest. “So don’t change that, okay? I like us just the way we are.”
Desire rushed across him, filling heat into his groin. He rose a little, then pressed his mouth against hers, taking her up on her invitation. When she melted beneath his mouth, he leaned away and so there was no confusion between them, he told her, “I agree completely, angel. We’re perfect just the way we are.”
Chapter 10
Later that day and ready to either drink three strong martinis to forget her hellish workday or go give Isaac a knee to the groin, Olivia escaped out of the elevator with her coworkers. The meeting with the new client had gone well and they loved the idea for the website. Olivia’s idea. Which, of course, Isaac gave her zero credit for. With her mood in a downward spiral, she was ready to forget it all with Noah.
When she made it outside, she gave Mateo a wave goodbye then stopped short, her breath catching in her throat. In the herd of people and the noise of the busy street of honking horns and revving engines, one person stood out among them.
Noah.
He leaned against his Porsche, wearing his crisp black suit with a shiny silver-
and-black-striped tie. As easy as it was to spot him within the crowd, she became damp and needy, wanting to rip that suit right off his muscular body.
“Hi,” she said when she reached him.
His smile warmed. “Hi, angel.” He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Did you have a good day?”
“Not particularly,” she admitted. Though when he leaned away and brushed his knuckles across her cheeks, she smiled, all her irritation at Isaac melting away at the potent heat in his eyes. “But my day is most definitely improving.”
“I’m glad.” He returned the smile before he opened the car door and took something off the seat. “Hopefully, this will improve your mood even more.” He handed her a black gift bag with gold tissue paper. “For you.”
She accepted the bag. “What are we celebrating?”
“You.” His voice had lowered into that sexy low rumble that usually happened before playtime.
Her insides quivered in response, but that was soon replaced by a racing heartbeat when she peeked inside the gift bag. Nothing could have prepared her for what she found. Her fingers trembled when she reached in and took out the Leica M7 Rangefinder camera. “Oh, Noah….” Her breath caught, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “This is incredibly sweet of you, but I can’t accept this camera. It’s too much.” Thousands of dollars too much. Which was exactly why she used her old—but reliable—Canon AE-1.
Noah’s eyes softened as he placed his hand over hers that was holding the camera. “You can accept this.” Then in classic Noah style of avoiding conversations he refused to have, he plucked the gift bag from her hand and placed it back into the car before pressing the key fob. With a loud beep, the doors locked, and he took her hand. “Come on, angel, let’s walk.”
This time, she wouldn’t let him distract her. She could never repay him. Digging in her heels, she pulled against his hand. “Please hear me out. I cannot accept something so extravagant. It’s too much.”
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