Liar

by Cole, Fiona

  “She what?”

  It was good to see he thought it was just as crazy as I knew it was.

  “Go. We can talk later.”

  “You okay,” he asked once he was back on his feet.

  “Please,” I scoffed. “You don’t hit that hard.”

  He rolled his eyes. Before he could walk out, he turned back and leveled me with a serious stare. “I’m going to take care of my niece, but when I’m done, we need to talk. You don’t get to just sleep with her without answering a fuck-ton of questions.”

  “I know.”

  With a nod, he was gone. I never doubted talking with Daniel would have its issues. I just knew we’d make it through it because we were both open to conversation. I hoped Olivia opened herself to hearing him too before she shut herself off completely.

  Groaning, I fell back on the floor, my mind swirling from the abuse and the hope that maybe now that Daniel knew, Olivia would change her mind. That maybe somewhere there was a place for us to work it out.

  Or maybe she’d take the out and move on with her future without me. Maybe it wasn’t just Daniel that weighed her down, but a future with me.

  Jacob’s words flooded back, fueling the doubts that maybe once she talked to Daniel, she’d figure out she didn’t want me anymore. Maybe she’d only wanted the forbidden, and now that it was gone, so was the love.

  Maybe, maybe, maybe.

  Too many to keep track of.

  Especially with the world spinning as hard as it was.

  29 Kent

  “Hit me again.”

  Jackson cocked his brow and looked down at my empty shot glass. “You sure?”

  “Do I not look sure?”

  “You look drunk.”

  That was putting it nicely.

  “Not drunk enough.”

  I’d spent the better part of two days blowing off meetings and hoping to drink enough to ignore the fact that I couldn’t get Olivia to answer any phone calls, and Daniel had ghosted me. I expected Olivia’s avoidance. I expected to have to work on her.

  I had not expected to not be able to get a hold of Daniel. Had something happened that I’d missed? Had he decided I was some perv that was preying on his niece. If he did, then he could have the decency to say it in person, so I could laugh in his face at how ridiculous that was.

  Maybe I’d played this all wrong. Maybe Olivia was right, and Daniel hadn’t understood.

  Maybe I’d drunk too much because even the thought of Daniel abandoning me without a word over loving Olivia, was ludicrous. He’d at least go out with a bang.

  “You want to talk about it?” Jackson asked, leaning his elbows on the bar.

  Voy was mostly empty. Not many people stayed past lunch to get shit-faced.

  I tossed the shot back, and maybe that was the reason I muttered my next words so easily.

  “I fucked Olivia—a lot. And I love her. And I think I fucked it all up.”

  “Uhhh…” Jackson’s eyes widened almost comically. “Daniel’s niece?”

  I gave him a wink and the gun. “One in the same.”

  He stood and whistled, pouring another shot. “Damn, Kent.”

  “Aaaaaaaand, he walked in on us. That’s how he found out.”

  “Fuck me,” he muttered, taking my shot and downing it, pouring another for me.

  “Yup.”

  “I take it D didn’t take it well?”

  “Nope.” I squinted, recalling him leaving on, not horrible terms. “Well, I’m not sure.”

  “What did Olivia do?”

  “Bolted.”

  “You go after her.”

  “Daniel did.”

  “But you didn’t?” He looked at me like I told him I kicked puppies. Which now that I was saying it out loud, maybe was just as bad as not chasing after her to be by her side.

  “She needed Daniel more than me in that moment. As much as I wanted to hold her close to me as tight as I could, she didn’t need reassurance from me right then.”

  “You love her.”

  “More than anything.”

  “Does she love you?”

  I rubbed my thumb up and down the shot glass, terrified of that answer. “She did.” Maybe she got away from Daniel before he could talk to her, and she was alone, blaming me for it all. “I wanted to tell him, and she didn’t.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t think enough people tell Olivia how brilliant she is, but Daniel always did, and she was scared to lose that if he found out, we were together.”

  “That doesn’t make sense. He’s Daniel. The most understanding guy I know.”

  “We know that.” I huffed a laugh. “Olivia is mature in too many ways to count. Hell, she’s more mature than all of us combined most of the time. It makes it easy to forget she’s still just a twenty-one-year-old girl without all the experience to get her through this.”

  “So, what does Daniel say?”

  “Wish I fucking knew. He hasn’t returned any of my calls and took yesterday off from Voyeur.”

  “He,” came from behind me, “needed time to process that his manwhore best friend was in love with his niece, who he thinks of as a daughter.” Daniel pulled out the stool next to mine and plopped down. “He needed time to wipe the sight of you two together from his eyes.”

  I sipped from my glass, taking the time to process his tone. Not angry, but not playful. We both had things to be angry about. We both had things to apologize for too.

  “I know you’re old, but there’s this thing called text messaging nowadays. All the young kids are doing it.”

  Daniel rolled his head to the side with a deadpanned glare. “You’re a fucking jokester.”

  “You know how I get when I drink.”

  “Well, let me get on your level. Jackson, pass that bottle this way.”

  Jackson sat the bottle and a glass in front of Daniel. He also placed two waters with a cocked brow. “No fighting. I just cleaned.”

  And then it was just the two of us. We both stared forward, sipping from our glasses, neither of us speaking. The silence wasn’t terrible. Daniel and I had sat in enough silences, it did most of the arguing for us. There was no need to talk.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you,” he finally said. He poured another shot and tossed it back, filling his glass again before turning to face me. I turned my head and met his serious stare. “I’m sorry I thought the worst. That was a bullshit thing to do because I know you better than I know myself and know that is the last thing that would ever happen. I was shocked, and my brain shut down. I’m the most sorry about that.”

  “I know.” I didn’t want to drag it out. Yes, it hurt my feelings and was a heavy blow to handle, but it’s not like I’m the definition of level-headed either. We’ve both had our moments. “I understand. Doesn’t mean it didn’t suck hearing all that shit, but I get it.”

  He slapped his hand on my shoulder and went back to facing forward. “How’s your head? Obviously, I held back on your face because you’re barely bruised.”

  “Nice lump back there, and you might have cracked a rib. I guess I’m thankful you’re too weak to hurt my face.”

  “Fuck you,” he laughed.

  Another silence. Another drink.

  It was my turn.

  “I’m not going to apologize for being with Olivia because I’ve never been happier than when I’m with her. But I am sorry for how you found out. I should have told you.”

  “But you didn’t, for her.”

  “I love her.” I couldn’t meet his eyes when I said it. What if he didn’t believe me? What if he thought this was another fling for me and was only there to warn me off his niece? I couldn’t take seeing it on his face, so instead, I kept my eyes glued to my glass.

  “I know you do.”

  That had me jerking his way, but he was staring into his own glass.

  “I’ve seen you changing these past few months, calming down a little from your usually rowdy ways. I’ve seen yo
u wanting to settle down in one spot.”

  “You have a problem with how rowdy I’ve been all our lives?”

  “Hell, no, but I have to admit, we’re getting old, and I’m getting a little tired. And I don’t hate the idea of you being here more than you’re not.”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “I never thought I’d see the day where you wanted to settle down.”

  “Listen,” he said, cocking a brow. “I didn’t say anything about settling down. I still want to enjoy the variety the world has to offer. I just wouldn’t mind doing it at a slower pace.”

  I tapped my glass to his, then switched out the bottle for the glass of water.

  “Did you talk to her?”

  I knew the answer from his heavy sigh before he spoke. “She got away too quick, and she’s nowhere to be found. Actually, I know where she is, but Oaklyn has threatened bodily harm if I showed up at their house.”

  “Do you know if she’s okay, at least?”

  “Oaklyn assured me she’s taking care of her. I let her know she had a couple more days before I would happily fight her to get to Olivia.”

  “Let me know when you do that because I’d love to watch you get your ass kicked by a little girl.”

  He glared but laughed a little too.

  “What are you going to do? We can’t leave her this way. She needs you.”

  “I know.” He worked his jaw back and forth. “Family dinner is this weekend, and I’m working with Oaklyn to make sure Olivia is there. She can’t avoid me forever.”

  “Good. Will you—” the lump that had been buried in my throat the past few days tried to make its way back up, choking off my words. “Will you let me know she’s okay?”

  He nodded, rolling his lips between his teeth. “Was I the only thing standing between you two being together?”

  “I think it was the main reason Olivia held back, but I think deep down she was scared to give in completely. I know she’s been hurt once, and she didn’t want to put herself out there again.” I gave Daniel a side-eye. “Must run in the family.”

  “She may not be my daughter, but she’s more like me than she is David. I have to admit, it’s a little scary.” He ran a hand over his face. “If I send her your way, you’ll take care of her?”

  “You know, I will.”

  “There are rules.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked, laughing.

  “No PDA in front of me. I don’t want to know about any of it.”

  “Tell her that,” I muttered, and he glared. “Okay, okay. I’ll make it happen.”

  “And don’t ever bring her to Voyeur. At least not while I’m there and again, I never want to know about it. I give you full permission to lie to me.”

  He stretched his fist out, and I hit mine against it. “Done.”

  “Good. Now, have another drink and wish me luck. Olivia is like me in how stubborn she can be, and I’m going to need every ounce of luck I can get to get through to her.”

  30 Olivia

  “You’re going to your family dinner tonight,” Oaklyn proclaimed.

  “No.”

  “Yes. Callum and I haven’t had sex since you got here. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and we almost got caught in his office before we could finish. I love you, but I need you gone.”

  “What if Daniel and Kent are there?”

  I hadn’t seen either since that day in the hotel. God, what a mess it had been. I’d replayed every nightmare-ish moment over and over. I was haunted by the look on Daniel’s face when he realized it was all my fault. That I’d seduced Kent. The moment he realized everyone was right and Olivia Witt was good at being pretty and using her body to get what she wanted.

  I shuddered at the thought of having to see that face again.

  “Then you act like the mature adult I know you can be, and you face them. I’ve held your hand and let you mope, doing my best to support you, but it’s time for tough love.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  “Oh, shit is right, Olivia. You’re better than this. You’re stronger than this. You’re smarter than this. You know Daniel loves you and thinks the world of you. You know he would never think less of you. The only person who thinks less of you is you. So, be honest with yourself. If you want to feel sorry for yourself, feel sorry for yourself about the right thing.”

  “And what’s that, miss know-it-all?” God, I was snotty.

  “You’re scared.”

  “Of course, I’m scared. I don’t want to lose Daniel.”

  I’d already lost Kent. He’d made it clear more than once that he always chose his best friend over any woman, and I’d been a bitch and pushed him too far. Hell, watching Daniel attack Kent, I may have been the catalyst to end their friendship. All because I wanted to sleep with Kent.

  Of course, I was scared. All the outcomes of that night, I could imagine, never ended well, and I wasn’t ready to face the consequences.

  Oaklyn rolled her eyes, looking like she wanted to bang her head on a wall. “You’re scared of being hurt by Kent.”

  “I’m already hurting because of Kent.”

  “Yes, but you’re controlling it. If you give in—really give in—that opens up a world of possibilities outside of your control. Possibilities that could leave you hurting more than you are now.” She gave me a sad smile. “And you’re scared.”

  I tried to scoff, but she wasn’t wrong. Leave it up to Oaklyn to shine a light on my darkest corners.

  I really was scared of losing Daniel’s support. Who would I be without it? It was why I hadn’t wanted to tell Daniel about Kent and me. I didn’t want to give him an opportunity to look at me differently.

  But with Oaklyn’s overly bright flashlight glaring down at me, I had to face the other fear. If Daniel gave us his blessing, I’d have nothing stopping me from going all-in with Kent. Nothing from stopping me from falling headfirst and being consumed by the amount of love I have for him. And what if I lost that. I’d been changed and hurt by Aaron, and he was nothing. What would happen if I loved Kent without hesitation and lost it? What would happen to me, then?

  That fear was the bigger shadow lurking behind all the others.

  “You’re a bitch,” I said without any heat.

  “A bitch that loves you and wants you to be happy. Sometimes that happy comes with a crap-ton of holding our breath and hoping it works out. If you think I’m not doing the same thing with Callum, you’re delusional.”

  “Callum loves you. He’d never hurt you.”

  “No, he wouldn’t. But sometimes life happens, and we have to embrace it. Stop hiding, Olivia. Put yourself out there and grab it. Be the bold bitch I know you can be and take it.”

  I crossed my arms and sank back into the couch, doing my best to pout. But it was hard to pout when your friend was right. “I hate you.”

  She plopped down next to me and squeezed me too tight. “I love you too. Now get out because I’m going to be naked when Callum gets home.”

  “Hot.” I waggled my brows. “Need a third? You did work at Voyeur. Maybe I could watch.”

  She scrunched her nose. “Ew.”

  For the first time all week, I laughed. Maybe going to dinner and facing this once and for all would be better than hiding. Because the first step in being the fearless Olivia Witt I wanted to be, was to face your fears. And that’s what I planned on doing.

  * * *

  That bravery lasted all of an hour to get ready and head to the house.

  Now, I stood on the front step, wondering if maybe running away would be better. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, pacing, practicing what I would say for every scenario, but eventually, the door swung open and I froze.

  “Okay, I tried to let you come in at your own time, but you’ve been out here for almost ten minutes now,” Daniel said.

  I barely held his gaze for the sentence to be over before dropping them to my feet, clasping my sweaty palms together.

  “Olivia.”

 
I didn’t want to look up, but I didn’t want to be this person. I didn’t want to be this scared little girl. I wanted to be the woman he expected me to be. So, slowly, I lifted my chin and met his eyes.

  He smiled softly. “Hey, kiddo.” With a nod, he stepped back, waiting for me to go in.

  The house was eerily quiet. Where was Mom greeting me at the foyer? Where was the sound of ice rattling in a glass?

  “Where’s Mom and Dad? Am I late?’

  “On a date.”

  I whipped around. “What?”

  He stood there with his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “Just you and me tonight.”

  “Oh.”

  “Don’t look so happy. You used to love when it was just you and me.”

  “That was before.”

  “Before what?”

  God, why did he have to make me say it? “Before the hotel.” I dropped my eyes to the black and white tiles, rolling my lips between my teeth. “Before you saw me the way everyone else does.”

  His steps clipped across the floor until the tips came into view. He used a finger to lift my chin, making me look at him again. “Olivia, I’ve always seen what everyone else does.”

  My heart dropped to the floor, and I wasn’t sure how I was still standing. The words vibrated through me, rattling the loosely held armor, shattering it to nothing.

  “I see it because that’s what you show everyone. But I also see so much more. I see the real you. The determined you. The scared but fierce you.”

  Tears burned the backs of my eyes, and I bit my trembling lip. “Really?”

  “It’s easier to show the world what they want to see, but it doesn’t change who we really are. And there will be people who come and go and never see past the veneer you wear. There will be people who try to see deeper but are easily convinced there is nothing but the shell.” He dipped his head to make sure I could meet his eyes. “Then there are people like me who know who you are, inside and out, and there is nothing that would ever change that. No mistake, no atrocity, nothing. You may not be my daughter, but I love you like one.”

  I couldn’t help it, the tears broke free and slipped down my cheeks. “I love you too, Uncle Daniel.”