A Major Attraction

by Marie Harte

  He stalked back to the house, so angry he could barely see straight. Knowing he had to relieve this anger in a healthy way, he changed into PT gear and set out on a very long run.

  As he ran, he debated how to approach Olivia, what to say. In his mind’s eye, he saw Olivia and Becca laughing, conspiring to set him up. Anger coursed through him, surging his adrenaline to increase his pace. He continued to run, determined to tamper his out-of-control emotions. Through it all, he tried to ignore the pain that beat at him.

  Chapter Eight

  When Olivia returned to the house an hour and a half later, her spirits were so high she felt as if she were flying. Her parents and Mike and Maria spent Friday nights playing cards. Presenting Brad to them felt like Christmas come early. Laughter and hugs floated around the house, where they enjoyed “the best food in town” until she wanted to burst with joy. Only one thing marred the evening, that Kyle hadn’t been a part of it.

  The talk she’d shared with her mother on Sunday had put a new perspective on life with “the one you think you love.” She recalled the conversation with ease, needing it to bolster her confidence tonight.

  “When I first met your father,” Elizabeth had said, “I thought he was a nice but quiet boy. Not a man I envisioned living with for forty years.”

  “So it wasn’t love at first sight then?” Olivia needed to hear the truth.

  “It was for your father.” Her mother’s eyes sparkled. “But I had grand plans. I was going to be the first from our family to go to college. Then of course I’d marry a nice man and settle down.”

  “So you never wanted a career of your own?” Olivia had been disappointed in her mother’s answer.

  “Of course I did. And I had one. Raising you three children.”

  “But that’s not a career.”

  Her mother’s eagle eyes narrowed into points of anger. “Really? The day you give birth and raise your own children, I’ll remind you of this talk.” She shook herself. “The point is I grew to love your father the more I knew him. Following him around the world was difficult, yes, but our love made it all worthwhile.”

  “But how did you know he was the one for you?” The real question she’d been burning to ask.

  Her mother’s gaze pierced through her. “I’ve been waiting for this talk for a long time. You know when you know, Olivia. No one knows for certain how things will turn out in the end. Had your father and I not tried so hard to make things work, we might be divorced. Sex can’t cure everything.”

  Olivia blanched hearing her mother mention sex in context with her father.

  “We didn’t find you under a rock, you know.” Her mother laughed. “But with understanding, patience, and compromise, life with the man you love is worth more than anything, a sight more than three coffee shops.” She pointedly stared at Olivia. “It takes a lot to risk your heart. You always did like to play it safe, honey. Trust your instincts, and you can’t go wrong.”

  Trust your instincts. Olivia was fairly humming with energy when she entered the dark house. She knew she should have called Kyle earlier to let him know where she was, but she’d been so thrilled to have Brad back and so excited about what she wanted to propose to Kyle that she wanted to tell him in person.

  She had plenty of time, she knew. Twenty-seven and single was a title she had no problem advertising. No rush to get married. But everything in her pointed to Kyle being Mr. Right. Never before had she felt such passion, such caring for a man. She wanted to commit herself to Kyle, to tell him what she felt.

  She should have been more nervous, but she was confident he felt the same. His casual remarks about the future, the way he held her in his arms, the way he stroked her tenderly and possessively when he thought her asleep, all pointed to his deeper feelings.

  Olivia closed the door behind her, conscious of the darkness in the house. She had just reached the first step to climb upstairs when Kyle spoke.

  “I want you gone by tomorrow.”

  The light in the living room flared, illuminating a sweaty and strangely blank Kyle Waters standing by a corner window.

  “What?” Olivia removed her jacket and stared at him wide-eyed. “Are you all right? You look a little ill.”

  He laughed, a grating sound that had nothing to do with humor. “I feel ill. I packed your clothing, what was in the closet. I want you out of here.”

  “Excuse me?” She didn’t understand. “Are we going somewhere?”

  “We aren’t going anywhere. You are.” He shrugged, his voice bland, his face composed. “I have a date tomorrow night, and you being here is not going to get me laid.”

  “A date?” Olivia blinked, not sure she was awake. “Kyle, what are you talking about?”

  “A cute little redhead up the street and I hooked up today. I thought she might give me what you’ve been holding back. I mean, the sex is good. But there’s got to be more to it. Lisa’s got a lot more experience than you do, and she knows how to work her body into angles you wouldn’t consider possible if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes.”

  Olivia couldn’t believe this. “Is this a joke?”

  “You’re a joke,” Kyle spat. “You spread your legs and I’m supposed to fall in love?” He scoffed. “Please. Lisa’s a real woman. She knows how to really handle a man. It took me a while to wait for her, but now that she’s back, I don’t need you anymore. You’re in the way.”

  Olivia stood mute, unable to speak. She’d been on the verge of declaring her love to a man who saw her as no more than a plaything? Someone to fill the time until the real woman he wanted was available?

  After a few moments, she forced herself to speak. “When did you decide you and I were over?” Still reeling from his sudden announcement, she stared at him, waiting to wake up from this nightmare.

  “What ‘you and I?’” He pursed his lips and gave her a disdainful once-over. “You were a good fuck, honey, I admit that. But a man needs more than a needy woman clinging at his shirttails.”

  Olivia staring woodenly at the man she thought she’d loved. It was as if the man speaking were Kyle’s evil twin. She didn’t understand what had happened between them.

  “Hell, I’m not being that nice about things, am I? I’m sorry.” He gave her a tentative smile. “Maybe you want to stick around tomorrow? We could have a threesome. Yeah, that might work out just fine.” He grinned, a wolfish leer that looked completely foreign on his face.

  Olivia’s eyes blurred, and she took a step back. Not wanting to sob in front of him, she held onto her dignity by a thread. “I apologize for thinking there was more between us than there was. I guess I didn’t know you as well as I thought. I’ll have my things moved by Sunday. Just leave them in my room until then.”

  A tear slid down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away. He followed the motion, and a frown darkened his face.

  Not able to handle any more, Olivia turned and fled before she burst into tears. Sobbing in the car, she cursed him under her breath as she sped from heartache. With luck she wouldn’t remember him after she released the hurt and anger. In a few months, he’d be nothing more than a bad memory.

  Then she cried harder, because she knew luck had deserted her.

  ****

  Olivia’s tears bothered him more than he’d expected, as had her calm demeanor. She’d held her sadness with a quiet composure that ripped at his heart, even as he reminded himself not to forget her deceitful nature.

  Deciding not to confront her with the evidence of her infidelity, of falling prey to Olivia’s machinations, he had instead determined the best course to salvaging his pride would be to pretend disinterest. He would maintain control, ending the relationship on his terms. The make-believe girlfriend bit had worked, only too well.

  Olivia’s reaction to his explanation literally hurt him, making his heart ache while inside he screamed to know why. Why had she cheated on him? What about Kyle made him so damned undesirable?
>
  He’d thought he was over Becca Morris. But to see her treachery alive in the caring woman he’d so long ago fallen in love with struck him to the core. The gaping wound where his heart should have been surprised him with its depth.

  The night passed in a blur of loss and heartache, the next morning only marginally better. Kyle rose to physical pain, the reminder that physical exertion, when angry, could cause muscle strain.

  He spent the rest of the day away from the house, unable to look at Olivia’s room, at his bed without seeing her in it. Her scent dwelled in the oddest places, and he found himself looking over his shoulder as he cooked a lonely dinner for himself.

  His pride kept him company through Sunday afternoon. Sipping a beer, he morosely studied the football game on TV, waffling about his decision not to confront Olivia with the truth. Much as it pained him, he needed to hear from her lips why she had betrayed him.

  Before he could think to call her, someone banged at the door. A loud, heavy fist crashed into the heavy oak, and Kyle frowned.

  He yanked open the door to find Olivia’s Mr. Right standing before him, a huge scowl on his face.

  “What the hell do you want?” Kyle growled. He saw Olivia over the man’s shoulders and stiffened.

  “I want what I’ve been told I can’t have.” The man growled back, making a fist by his side. “Now get the hell out of the way so I can collect her things.”

  Another man looking extremely similar to Olivia’s boyfriend arrived in a Jeep. He strode to the door and shoved past Kyle without a word. Before Kyle could comment, Maria exited the Jeep.

  Unease made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He studied the women, trying to piece things together.

  “You look like shit,” Maria said bluntly. She stared through him rather than at him and protectively stood between him and Olivia.

  “Who are those two?” he thumbed over his shoulder. He could hear them moving boxes on the second floor.

  Olivia said nothing and walked past him with Maria in tow, brushing his shoulder only because there was little room to pass. He felt the contact through to his toes.

  He watched her walk slowly upstairs and would have gone after her when her prickly friend poked him in the chest.

  “Listen, asshole, you broke her heart, now leave her alone. What she ever did to you besides love you is beyond me. And to think I actually liked you,” she spat, glaring at him. “If it wasn’t for Olivia, both her brothers and I would take great pleasure in pounding you into the ground.”

  Her brothers.

  His heart stopped.

  “They can’t be her brothers.” He shook his head, even as he sensed the truth. “Brad is somewhere in the Middle East for the next few months. She told me so.”

  “Yeah, well, he came back early. Now move aside before I forget what I promised Mike and—”

  “Maria!” one of the men yelled.

  “You’re lucky,” she muttered and stalked past him to the stairs.

  Kyle felt as if a stake had been hammered into his heart. He sank into the couch and stared unseeingly at the television. Her brother. Her fucking brother. No wonder she’d seemed so confused when he’d told her to leave.

  The sheer joy she’d expressed greeting Brad outside the coffee house now made sense, even if their conversation didn’t. She’d been hugging her brother, not her lover. In retrospect, their kiss on the lips had been chaste, but to Kyle’s jealous mind, it had been tantamount to sex.

  “I can’t believe this.” He ran a shaky hand through his ruffled hair. He hadn’t shaved since Friday and knew he looked terrible. But since he felt as bad, he’d figured why bother?

  Exhilaration slowly filled him as he realized Olivia had been true to him all along. Yet, with the joy loomed terror. Had he pushed her so far away she would never forgive him? He had to make her believe he loved her, had to make her see his pride had caused this downfall. Had he simply asked her about the man, she would have told him the truth.

  I should have asked. I’m such a dickless moron.

  He said nothing when the men came down with boxes. They moved most of her things already packed and a few bags of her clothing. Then the men waited at the base of the stairs for Maria and Olivia, glaring at Kyle all the while.

  Kyle wanted to kick himself for not seeing the family resemblance sooner. All three Cava siblings possessed dark hair and brown eyes. The men stood on the tall side, strong and muscular, whereas Olivia stood at average height and had a curvaceous frame, probably taking after her mother.

  Brad’s jaw clenched, and the other one, Mike apparently, looked as though he wanted to pound Kyle into next week. Both remained silent, waiting for the women. Olivia and Maria finally descended the stairs with bags in their hands.

  Kyle wanted desperately to talk to Olivia but made no move to intercept her. Now, with her being emotionally wounded and her family present, was no time to explain their misunderstanding.

  Instead, he watched her leave, praying he could win her back, that he hadn’t killed her love for good.

  ****

  A week dragged by, and Olivia went through the motions automatically. After crying most of Sunday, she settled into a numbness that had yet to disappear. Maria worried over her, constantly demanding Olivia pound Kyle to dust.

  But Olivia didn’t want to see him. She’d always been a fighter, but Kyle’s betrayal made her want to curl into a ball and cry until she had no more tears.

  She’d spent her days surrounded by work, her nights with Maria and Mike, living in their spare bedroom until she summoned the energy to find a new place to live. She tried to maintain an upbeat attitude around her brothers, as if she’d come to the realization Kyle Waters was no good. But Maria saw through the act to the hurt buried inside. Her best friend constantly tried to buoy her spirits. Without her, Olivia feared she’d be a bawling mess twenty-four seven.

  Kyle, at least, hadn’t bothered her at all. She hadn’t seen him since Sunday when he’d given her that strange look before she left. She wanted to think he regretted the way he’d handled their breakup but knew it was only in her mind.

  She wished for the hundredth time she hadn’t gotten involved with him. As she took advantage of the lull in business, preparing for the evening rush, she mentally reviewed her to-do list for tomorrow.

  “Olivia?”

  She froze hearing that deep voice. Slowly turning, she saw Kyle standing uncertainly in the doorway. The love inside her bloomed, still full despite the pain dragging it down. She wanted to throw something, to hurt him the way he’d hurt her.

  That he looked awful gave her some comfort. He wore a pair of jeans and a jacket over a blue shirt, but his face looked haggard, his eyes bleak.

  “Yes?” she asked coolly, stilling the affection that refused to fade. After all he had done, an idiotic part of her wanted to kiss him, to soothe the ache that pained him. And her tender feelings stirred the righteous anger that had been missing these last few days.

  “I just wanted to let you know I’ll be out tonight and tomorrow if you wanted to gather the rest of your things,” he said quietly. He stood with his hands in his pockets, as if trying to look less threatening despite his huge size.

  “Oh?”

  “I know you’ve still got some small furniture and other items to pack. I haven’t messed with anything.” He looked uncomfortable, and sad.

  “Good. Because my rent is paid through the end of this month.” She stared at him, wondering who the real Kyle Waters was. The gorgeous, wonderful man she’d fallen in love with? The womanizing jerk she’d confronted earlier? Or this wounded man who stared at her as if he regretted what he’d said?

  “I didn’t want to keep you away any longer if that’s why you haven’t been to the house since Sunday.” He ran a hand through his hair in agitation. “I’m so sorry about Sunday. You just don’t understand…” He paused and moved out of the way of new customers, muttering s
omething under his breath. “Like I said, the house will be empty tonight if you wanted to pack the rest of your things. I’m going out of town until tomorrow. But I’ll be back, so if you need help moving them, I could—”

  “Don’t bother,” she interrupted. Then she turned her back on him and smiled at the people waiting to be served.

  ****

  Kyle watched her interact with the customers. Despite her pleasant voice, her smile looked brittle, her eyes both angry and miserable.

  He wanted to kick himself for being such an ass and decided then and there to make things right, regardless of Olivia’s present feelings.

  He stared at her a moment longer then left the shop, praying she’d take him up on his offer. If she showed tonight, he could put part two of his plan in action. He only hoped part three would bring him to the end state he desperately desired.

  Chapter Nine

  Later that night, Olivia entered the house and stood quietly, making sure she was alone. The house creaked from the sudden wind, but other than that, nothing stirred.

  Glad yet heartsick, she tried to ignore the signs of him all over the place and moved straight to her room. She looked around, seeing the remaining items she would need to pack.

  She’d thought about bringing Maria to help but needed the time to herself, to come to some closure about her failed relationship with Kyle. She intended to stay the night and had told Maria she’d call tomorrow for help moving the last of her things.

  So now she had time. Olivia stared morosely at her bed. Instead of packing her remaining books, knickknacks, and linens, she sat on the edge of the bed and gazed unseeingly at the floor. Her chest hurt, an ache brought on by misery.

  She still wanted to know why everything had gone so wrong. “Just what did I do?” she asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

  “Nothing,” Kyle answered softly from the doorway.