by T. K. Leigh
Olivia: He’s the guy from the other night. We’ll talk later, I promise!
Only a few seconds went by before she received another response.
Kiera: K. I didn’t get a good look at him. All the bartenders keep saying that there’s a hottie there (him) and I look up and you’re there. WTF?!
A few seconds later, Olivia received yet another text.
Kiera: Holy crap!!! That’s Alex Burnham! He’s like Boston’s most eligible bachelor. They totally did an instant replay of him smiling at you, asking who the mystery woman is. Dude, you’re gonna be famous! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Alexander freaking Burnham saved you, you damsel in distress, you! Ask him if he has any friends for me!!!! LOL. Text me later. Love you!
Olivia: Will do! PS – he asked me to go out with him again on Tuesday! EEK!
Within seconds, Kiera responded once again.
Kiera: I bet he has a big cock… You’ll have to tell me all about it tomorrow!
Olivia smiled as she dropped her phone into her bag. Alexander returned with their beers and they continued to watch the game. At the seventh inning stretch, the Sox were up by five runs. Olivia would be thrilled if they won. Her first time at Fenway and a home team win – What could be better than that?
The game ended with the Red Sox wining by five runs. The crowd went wild, knowing that the team was that much closer to the top spot in the division. Alexander and Olivia left their seats as Tessie blared, all the fans singing along with one of the Red Sox’s anthems, and headed out of the ballpark.
“Do you want to grab some dinner or something?” Alexander asked. “It’s not even eight and, well, I’m not ready for this day to end just yet.” He looked into Olivia’s eyes, willing her to agree to accompany him to dinner. He desperately needed that woman’s company, even for just a little while longer. He was also avoiding returning home because the only thing waiting for him there was that unopened envelope.
“Okay. I’d like that,” she replied. Nearly every thought she had since she met Alexander Friday night had been about the man standing in front of her.
He beamed at her, grabbing her hand, and led her down Yawkey Way. They walked around the corner and Martin pulled up almost immediately. Alexander opened the back passenger side door and Olivia got in before he ran around to the other side to get in beside her.
He clutched her hand and told Martin to drive to the North End, intending to take Olivia to one of his favorite Italian restaurants in the city. She looked like she was part Italian, another interesting coincidence, so he assumed she would enjoy his choice for the evening. Traffic was a little chaotic getting out of the Fenway area, but neither one was in any rush for the night to end.
“Thank you so much for taking me to the game today,” Olivia said, glancing at him. “I really enjoyed it.” She smiled.
“I enjoyed it as well, particularly the company.” He grinned at Olivia, making her heart melt with his dazzling smile.
“You’re a big baseball fan, aren’t you?” Olivia inquired, needing to focus on something other than her growing desire for him.
“I am. I love it. I love Fenway,” he answered excitedly. “When I was overseas working for the Navy, one of the few things I missed, besides my family, was watching games at Fenway.” He looked out his window, taking one last glance at the Green Monster as they drove by.
Fenway was like a second home to him. He recalled going to games all the time with his father. They rarely missed watching a game together, whether on television or live. It wasn’t until that fateful summer twenty-one years ago that his father stopped watching games with Alexander. That summer marked the end of his relationship with his father. He became distant, blaming himself for what happened. Alexander felt guilty. His father would avoid him, or so he thought, deciding to spend his summers away from his mother and the rest of the family.
“That must have been difficult, being so far away from your family and your home.” Olivia brought him back from his thoughts. “How long were you gone for?”
“What? You didn’t find that on the internet?” He laughed.
“No. I just wanted an overview.” She blushed.
“Well, I was gone for about six years. My first few years, I was able to come home on occasion to see my family. But once I went for SEAL training and started to work special ops, I really didn’t get to come home all that much. Maybe once or twice.”
“Wow. That’s admirable what you did. I mean, sacrificing your home time to do something worthwhile. Well, I just couldn’t imagine.” Alexander listened to Olivia speak, her voice soft and sweet like a song. “Most people are too selfish and self-absorbed these days to even think about putting something ahead of themselves.” She looked over at him. He was blushing. Alexander Burnham did not take compliments well either.
“It kind of runs in the family, I guess. Growing up, my dad wasn’t around a lot. He was always away on different protection detail assignments. You’d think running the company would give him wide berth to pick and choose his assignments or to manage from behind a desk, but that wasn’t my dad. And now I look at a lot of the guys I have working for me training over at our center. They’re willing to go overseas for who knows how long to work various protection details or even train foreign armies. It’s mind-boggling.”
“We’re here, Sir,” Martin said as he pulled up outside a small Italian restaurant on Hanover Street.
“Wonderful,” Alexander said, leaving the car and running around to Olivia’s side to open the door for her. He grabbed her hand, helping her out of the car, and led her into the small Italian restaurant typical of those in the North End of Boston. Olivia surveyed the quaint restaurant, the creamy yellow walls with deep mahogany trim reminding her of her trip to Tuscany just a few years before. There were only about thirty tables in the entire restaurant along with a small bar showcasing quite a few wines.
Antonio, the Maitre D’, saw Alexander and recognized him immediately. “Buonasera, Signori Alex!” he exclaimed in a thick Italian accent, running up to Alexander and shaking his hand. “And who is this beautiful young lady?” Antonio turned to Olivia, wide-eyed and looking rather excited that Alexander was accompanied by such a beautiful young woman. Actually, Antonio was thrilled to see Alexander with a date at all, that being the first time he was not entertaining clients.
“Antonio, this is Miss Olivia Adler,” Alexander said, placing his hand on the small of her back.
“Olivia, what a pleasure to meet you!” Antonio exclaimed, kissing both of her cheeks. “Please, follow me. I have the perfect table for you both.”
Antonio led them past the bar and into a small dining room. They followed him to a table in a rather private window alcove. It was intimate and quiet. Alexander held Olivia’s chair out for her before taking his own seat.
“Would you like a bottle of wine, Signori? The usual?” Antonio asked as he placed menus in front of Olivia and Alexander.
“That would be wonderful, Antonio. Thank you.”
Antonio left to get the bottle of wine Alexander ordered. “The wine list here is fantastic. I ordered a Super Tuscan. It’s amazing. I hope you like red.”
“I do. Particularly chiantis.” She smiled at him as she opened the menu, noting that they had a rather eclectic menu. She glanced around the restaurant to see what the food looked like. Everything looked and smelled amazing.
Antonio returned with the wine. “Bella Olivia, you will love this wine! Oh, I’m so happy Signori Alex is accompanied by such a beautiful young woman!” He poured the wine and left, giving Alexander and Olivia some privacy.
Olivia eyed Alexander as she tasted the delicious wine. “So, Antonio seems excited that you’re here with me. Any reason for that?”
Alexander placed his wine glass on the table and grabbed Olivia’s hand. “To be honest, it seems we have a little something in common, Miss Adler. I don’t really do the relationship thing either. I like to fuck and leave all those emotional attachments
out of it. I’ve certainly never taken a woman out like this before, apart from the obligatory charity functions I am expected to be at.”
Olivia looked down, not wanting to hear what he was going to say next. She actually enjoyed spending time with Alexander and, for once, wanted more than just an occasional hook-up, but it sounded as though that was all he was interested in. But why the Red Sox game? Why the wine and dine? And why didn’t he make his move at Beer Works when Olivia made it rather clear that she wanted him to kiss her?
Alexander continued speaking, breaking her away from her growing unsettled emotions. “But, there’s just something about you, Olivia. You make me want to break all my rules. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m beginning to not care.”
Butterflies erupted in Olivia’s stomach at his words. She felt the same way. Looking up, she smiled as she met Alexander’s eyes. “That doesn’t mean that I still don’t want to fuck you senseless, Miss Adler,” he winked as the waiter arrived to take their order, leaving Olivia completely shocked.
“So, I have to ask,” Alexander said abruptly after the waiter left. “Your house. Do you own that?” That would be another piece of the puzzle.
“I do,” she replied, still reeling from Alexander’s admission. “My parents left me a lot of money when they died. Mom came from money. My uncle took care of all my expenses when I was growing up. Once I turned eighteen, I was handed more money than I could imagine. My uncle helped me get in touch with a money manager, who is helping me manage some of my investments. I really don’t have to work the rest of my life if I don’t want to. But I’d be bored out of my mind, so I work part-time at the wellness center.”
“What do you do there?”
“I teach a couple of classes. Circuit training, yoga and pilates. Stuff like that. I actually helped start the center. My partner, Linda, had a really great idea. We not only have a regular fitness center, but we also offer nutritional counseling, one-on-one private gym sessions, and menu planning, among other things. I loved the idea so much that I provided a good chunk of the startup capital, so I’m a partner.” Olivia took another sip of her wine before continuing.
“Linda always hated to see a personal trainer or workout at the gym when she was trying to lose weight. She felt so out of place. So we offer private personal training in small studio gyms. We teach our clients different workouts to do and help them feel more at ease with different gym equipment and exercises so that eventually they don’t feel overwhelmed when they actually go to the gym. Our goal is to help people get on the right track to living a healthier lifestyle. She’s the brains behind the operation and I’m the bank.” Olivia smiled at Alexander.
“Do you work a lot? I just find it odd that I’ve never seen you in the building before…” his voice dropped.
She grabbed his hands across the table. “It’s okay. I’m okay, Alexander. I promise.” She gave him a reassuring smile before dropping her hands in her lap. “I don’t work a whole lot. Just when I’m teaching a class or I feel like going into the office. I have enough outside commitments to keep me fairly busy during the week.” She laughed.
There was a brief silence before Olivia started drilling Alexander with her own questions. “So, tell me about your family. What are they like? I have none, so I need to live vicariously through you.” She knew she shouldn’t joke about the fact that the only family she had ever known was gone, but it was her way of dealing with it.
“Well, not much to tell. Mom is great. She does a lot of volunteer work these days. Lots of help with victims of domestic violence. Dad died a little over five years ago.” He looked down, trying to figure out what to say next.
“I’m sorry. It sucks to lose a parent, doesn’t it?”
He laughed. “It was difficult. Particularly because I was overseas for so long and I didn’t exactly leave on the best terms with him. He was running the security company at the time and he died in the line of duty protecting the identity of a client. I think he knew it was going to happen because a few days before he was killed, he got in touch with me overseas and almost seemed like he was trying to warn me about it. When I heard what happened, I was able to secure an honorable discharge and I came home to run the company.”
“That must be difficult, knowing your dad died for someone else. I’d be pissed if that were me. But you don’t seem like the selfish type.”
Alexander just stared. He never understood why his father abandoned the family in order to protect other people. Why weren’t they good enough for him? But if his Dad died protecting her, if his suspicions were right, then maybe he could understand it. He would have done the same thing.
Before Alexander could respond, their food arrived. It looked absolutely delicious.
“How is it?” Alexander asked after Olivia had taken a few bites of her seafood risotto.
“It’s amazing. Thank you.” She took another bite, trying not to stuff too much food into her mouth.
“I hope you like Italian,” Alexander said as he brought a piece of pasta Bolognese up to his lips. “I didn’t mean to be presumptuous, but who doesn’t like Italian?”
“You’re right. I do like Italian. Dad was actually Italian.” She looked out the window. “Is it strange that it feels weird to refer to him as ‘Dad?’ I mean, I would usually refer to him as my father. Never really Dad. I guess Dad would make him a person and I just don’t really remember him as a person.”
“Hey,” Alexander said, grabbing Olivia’s hand. “It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about this. What helped me get over my dad’s death was to think about all the good memories I had. The moments we shared together. Even if all you can remember is one small sliver of time, hang on to that. It’s better to have known your parents and to have loved them, than to have never known them at all, don’t you think?”
Olivia looked at him. He had a point. Why was she so intent on dwelling in the past, holding on to her anger of losing them? Was it anger, though, or was it something else entirely?
~~~~~~~~~~
“I think I am the selfish type,” Alexander said out of nowhere on the car ride home after they finished their dinner.
“What do you mean?” Olivia asked.
“Well, when we were talking about my dad before. I was so pissed at him growing up. He was never around. He always put his work before his family. Before me. It drove me crazy. I left Harvard to spite him. He wanted me to go there. That’s where he went. So after one semester, I joined the Navy just to piss him off. Then I decided I wanted to go for SEAL training and I was one of the few that made it through. I was good at special ops like my Dad, I guess.” He smiled at Olivia as she reached for his hand, squeezing it.
“Like I said before, the last several years of his life, he was working on a protection detail. No one in the office knew what he was working on. When he was killed, none of us got any closure. A few months after I returned home and took over the company, a letter arrived that he had sent to me overseas. It was probably written a few days before he died. I still haven’t opened it. I am not ready for his apologies just yet.” He looked out his window, deep in thought. Alexander hoped the only thing in the letter were apologies and not information. He wasn’t ready to face that letter. He didn’t know if he ever would be.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s worse, growing up without parents or growing up knowing your dad is too busy to even spend time with you.” Olivia seriously considered who had it worse. At least she had good memories of her mother. Wonderful memories. Learning to play the piano and sing with her. All the fun they used to have at the beach house. After all these years, it still upset her that her parents were taken from her so early in her life.
The car pulled up to Olivia’s house and Alexander ran around to open the car door for her before walking her up the steps to the front door.
Another awkward moment, Olivia thought as she unlocked the door. “Would you like to come in?” she asked, her eyes brimming with hope.
&
nbsp; “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
His response was like a knife to Olivia’s heart. She had never been rejected before.
Alexander noticed the disappointed look on her face and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “If you invite me in, I’m not so sure I can be held entirely responsible for what happens afterward.” His eyes became hooded and he looked as though he was ready to devour her. Olivia’s nerves stood on end from the intense look in his eyes, causing a strange sensation deep down in her stomach.
“I had a lovely time today, Olivia.” He reached down and grabbed her hand gently with his own and, ever so softly, placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles. “Oysters, Tuesday. I’ll pick you up at seven.” It wasn’t a question. It was more of a demand. And before she had time to respond, he turned, leaving her totally unsatisfied and wanting him, standing on her front stoop.
She watched as his car pulled away and noticed him blow her a kiss. Feeling like a teenager on her first date, she caught the kiss. It would have to do for the time being.
CHAPTER EIGHT
FALLING IN LIKE
OLIVIA woke up the following morning after having the same dream again. The boy with the green eyes was now a permanent fixture. With these dreams returning, she decided it was probably time to talk to her overpriced therapist again and get her take. She made a mental note to call her office sometime that week.
Shortly after nine, she left her house, making her way to catch the subway out to the local animal shelter where she volunteered every Monday. As she waited for the T beneath the busy Boston streets, the screeching sound of metal wheels on the train tracks echoing throughout the dark tunnels, she checked her phone for the first time since the previous afternoon. Mo had called and left a voicemail telling her that the band would be rehearsing on Wednesday and he wanted her to be there. She became excited during her short ride to the animal shelter as she thought about singing with the band again.