Max grinned at her.
“You are very good at tempting me, Olivia Monroe.”
They got in his car in the parking lot and were both quiet as they drove back to her house. Then, just as they got off the freeway, Max cleared his throat.
“I meant everything I said back there. In case you were wondering.”
Olivia turned to look at him.
“I thought you did.”
After all of her doubts over the last week, somehow she hadn’t doubted that for a moment.
“Oh. Okay. I just wanted to make sure.”
She couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said. It had been spontaneous and heartfelt and like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She’d had men fall in love with her before—or at least, tell her they had. And she’d fallen in love, too. But she’d always felt like she had to hide parts of herself with all of those men: her ambition, her enthusiasm, her body. Sometimes all of the above. But for someone to really see her, to want her, to love her, the true Olivia, like Max did . . . it all felt brand-new. She had no idea how to respond.
“I don’t want you to think . . . You took me by surprise, that’s all. I didn’t realize . . . well, any of that.”
Max reached over and took her hand.
“I know I caught you off guard. But I’m glad you know now.” He grinned at her. “How about we go back to your house, eat some ice cream, make out like those teenagers around us were all doing, and finally, at long last, I can let you drag me back to your bedroom. Does that sound good?”
She slid her hand into his. That was exactly what she needed right now.
“That sounds great.”
Chapter Eleven
A few weeks later, Max glanced through his calendar during his regular Tuesday lunchtime meeting with Kara. Everything looked normal, except for the weekend. There must be some mistake.
“Why am I on flights to and from San Francisco on Friday and Sunday? Was that some mistake?”
Kara gave him that look he hated, the one he always tried to avoid getting. The “why am I working for this man when I’m so much smarter than him?” look.
“Because, sir, you have two events this weekend in the Bay Area, remember? Friday afternoon right after you get in you have a meeting with a group of teachers and students in Oakland, then that dinner with the tech people, and Saturday night you’re doing the big party fundraiser in San Francisco.”
Kara was right, she was so much smarter than him. How the hell had he managed to forget this? He and Wes had even had conversations about it—Wes was going to be at the fundraiser, too. But this would mean he’d spend the entire weekend away from L.A. Which would mean he would have two whole weeks away from Olivia.
“Shit. Yeah, now I remember.” What if he flew down to L.A. after the fundraiser on Saturday night, and then back to DC from there on Sunday afternoon? That was, if there was a flight late enough Saturday night from San Francisco to L.A., and if the fundraiser didn’t go too long for him to get on that flight, and if Olivia didn’t mind that he’d get to her house after midnight on a Saturday night and fly out again twelve hours later. But he couldn’t make a plan like that without telling his staff why he needed a twelve-hour detour to L.A.
“Is something wrong, sir?” Kara asked him.
He shook his head.
“Nothing’s wrong. I just completely forgot I wasn’t going to be in L.A. this weekend. I left my good pair of running shoes at my house, and I was looking forward to picking them up.”
He had left his good pair of running shoes at his house, but he almost always left them in L.A.
“Oh, we can get someone in the L.A. office to pick them up and send them to meet you in the Bay Area, that’s easy.”
He brushed that away.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m sure the L.A. staff has better things to do than pick up my shoes. I should just order another pair to leave here in DC anyway. Okay, what else do we need to talk about?”
They ran through the rest of his schedule for the week, but the whole time he could feel the emptiness in the pit of his stomach. He wasn’t going to get to see Olivia this weekend. He pretended he was looking up something else and flipped through his calendar, and realized he’d seen her at least once a week for the past three months. He only wished it had been more.
The past few weeks they’d spent as much time together as possible. He almost always had at least one event to attend while he was in L.A. for the weekend, often more, but other than that, he was with her almost the whole time. They’d been at her place and at his, at the movies and at the beach, and one rainy Saturday night when they were both in bad moods, he’d ditched his previous idea for a date, told her to put on all the rain gear she had, and drove them out to Anaheim for four glorious hours at Disneyland, where the rain cleared up just in time for the fireworks. They got in the car afterward, soaking wet and freezing cold and both smiling from ear to ear.
He’d kept waiting for her to respond in some way to what he’d said that night at the bowling alley, but she hadn’t. Their night at Disneyland had been the perfect time for it—they’d held hands on the roller coasters, they’d walked around with huge smiles on their faces, they’d stood, arms wrapped around each other, during the fireworks, and he’d known the entire time that he was no longer falling in love with her—he’d fallen completely. But she hadn’t said anything, so he didn’t bring it up again.
Did she feel the same way? He had no idea. He tried to be mature about this, to not feel hurt, but he couldn’t help it. Sometimes he just wanted to say “I love you, Olivia! Do you love me?” When he’d shown up at her house wearing a red wig, she laughed so hard she’d cried, and then she looked at him with this tender, loving look in her eyes, and he was sure she was going to say it. She hadn’t, but that look from her gave him hope.
It felt like a physical ache, how much he missed her, how much he would miss her even more in the days to come, how much it would suck to get on that long flight back to California on Friday morning and know he wouldn’t see Olivia at the other side of it.
He tried to shake it off. This wasn’t a big deal. He’d see her the following week; it would be fine.
When Kara left his office, he put his head down to try to read through his stack of briefing papers for the hearings the next day, but he couldn’t concentrate on them. The whole reason he and Lana had broken up, shortly before he announced his run for the Senate, was because he’d been so busy he hadn’t made time for her, and he’d realized he hadn’t cared enough to make time for her. He couldn’t conceive of not making time for Olivia. He pulled his personal phone out of his bag.
Bad news—completely forgot I’m not coming to LA this weekend. I’m in the Bay Area all weekend. A school event, a dinner, and huge fundraiser I can’t believe I forgot about
Wait. He had an idea just as he sent that.
Hey—want to come with me? I could do my events, you could see your family, and in between, we could see each other
He dropped his phone in his pocket and bit his lip. Would she go for this? He hoped so.
A few hours later she texted back.
Hahaha that sounds delightful but you know it’s impossible
As soon as his meeting was over, he texted back.
Why is it impossible? You told me you were overdue for a weekend at home—you can have that! See your sister, go to your old favorite burrito places, and spend the nights with me
Plus, otherwise, we won’t get to see each other until next weekend
After only a few minutes, she texted back.
Let me think about it. Talk to you later?
He knew Olivia well enough by now to know she never made a snap decision, but God, that part of her frustrated him. He wanted her to be excited, say yes, say she loved him, and not have to stop and think about it every time.
He would just have to convince her, that was all.
Olivia could not believe she’d let Max talk her into coming
to the Bay Area this weekend. She still hadn’t told her family about Max, and there was no way she’d make it through the weekend without telling at least her sister. But as soon as she walked out onto the pavement at the Oakland airport and took a deep breath, she felt her shoulders relax. Sometimes, it was just really fucking good to go home.
She still felt conflicted about her decision to move to L.A. instead of the Bay Area. It made perfect sense business-wise: there were already a lot of firms that did what they did in the Bay Area and fewer in L.A., their handful of anchor clients was mostly based in Southern California, and, most important, Ellie was already settled in L.A. with her family.
But even though she’d lived away from the Bay Area for a long time now, it was still home, in the way New York had never been and L.A. wasn’t yet. Her whole family was here, and even though her mom drove her up the wall half the time, the rest of the time her mom was making her crack up, cooking her favorite foods, or bragging about her. And she always had fun with her sister.
That was probably why she’d finally said yes to Max. After all, Olivia had barely seen her sister since she’d moved back to California.
At first she hadn’t told Alexa about Max because she knew Alexa would have a lot of questions, and Olivia knew she didn’t have the answers. Plus, she didn’t want to get her sister all excited for nothing, and she knew Alexa would be excited about this. But if Olivia was going to stay with Max in his hotel room this weekend, and not in her sister’s guest room, she would definitely have to tell Alexa about him.
Just then, Alexa pulled up in front of her. She jumped out of her car and grinned at Olivia.
“Is that all you brought for the whole weekend?”
Olivia pulled her little sister into an enormous hug.
“It’s a deceptively large bag—looks like a briefcase, but I can fit a weekend’s worth of clothes in it. Plus, I know if I buy anything and need to bring it back, I can steal one of your many tote bags.”
They smiled at each other as Olivia tossed her bag into the back seat of Alexa’s car.
“Good to have you home. I’m a terrible little sister for not coming down to visit you yet—just give me the best weekend to come and I’m there.”
Olivia relaxed into the front seat of the car.
“You’re not terrible, but we’ll sit down with our calendars while I’m here and figure out a time. I’m just glad you were free this weekend for this last-minute visit.”
Alexa glanced at her as they drove out of the airport.
“Speaking of, that was unlike you. I’ve never known you to do a last-minute anything, unless it was for someone else, whether it’s a celebration or some sort of a crisis.” She raised her eyebrows. “What friend are you in town for this weekend?”
Damn her sister for knowing her too well.
“Um. So, actually . . . it’s not exactly . . . there’s something . . .”
Damn it, why was she struggling with this so much?
Alexa laughed.
“See, I knew it. What is it?”
Olivia took a deep breath.
“I’m dating someone. He’s in town this weekend for . . . work, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone and get to see you and him, too.”
Alexa squealed, just as Olivia knew she would.
“Livie! That’s so exciting! Who is he? How’d you meet? How long has this been going on? I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me, I need all the details.”
Olivia was glad her sister had to concentrate on the busy road in front of them and couldn’t see her face.
“So. Well. As to how we met. The thing is . . . you remember? When I first got to L.A., and I called you from my hotel, because I met this guy at the bar, and he turned out to be— ”
“YOU’RE DATING MAX POWELL? SENATOR MAX POWELL? ARE YOU SERIOUS?”
Alexa yelled so loud Olivia was sure half of Oakland heard her.
“I’m serious, and it’s . . .”
Alexa didn’t stop yelling.
“I CANNOT BELIEVE MY SISTER IS DATING MAX POWELL, HOLY FUCKING SHIT, NOT ONLY IS HE A SENATOR, BUT HE’S HOT AS HELL.”
Olivia held up a hand.
“Alexa! You’re married!”
Alexa glared at her.
“I may be married, but I’m not dead! Hold on, I can’t have this conversation while I’m driving.”
She pulled into the parking lot of a Dollar store and turned off the car.
“Okay.” She took off her seat belt and turned to face Olivia. “Someone finally kept a secret from me. Now, tell me everything.”
Olivia shook her head and laughed. And then she told her. Everything.
“He told you he loved you?” Alexa yelled. “And? What did you say? Do you love him?”
Olivia didn’t meet her sister’s eyes.
“He said he was falling in love with me, not that he loves me.”
Alexa brushed that aside.
“That’s a distinction without a difference. Answer the question.”
Why had she let her sister go to law school, damn it?
“I . . . I didn’t say anything. That was around a month ago, and I still haven’t said anything.” She dropped her head in her hands at the expression on her sister’s face. “I know, I know. I KNOW. But even he acknowledged that it was early, you know! And you know I need time to make my mind up about these things! He said he didn’t need me to say anything back, but . . .” She looked at her sister, a tiny smile on her face. “I might. Soon.”
Alexa threw her arms around her.
“Oh, Liv, I’m so happy for you!”
Olivia let her smile get bigger.
“I’m still not ready to say . . . that, but, Lex, I really like him. More than I’ve liked anyone in a long time. I’ve been hesitant, not just in telling you, but in everything about him. It was just . . . it all seemed too good to be true, everything about him did. I think I’m starting to believe it’s all actually true.”
It felt scary to say that. But over the past few weeks, she’d finally let herself think it.
“Even though it’s hard for me to really . . . let go in that way.”
Alexa nodded.
“I get that. It was hard for me, too. Even after Drew moved up here and everything. It was hard to really trust him. Trust us. I’d had so many bad experiences before, I guess I started to believe that kind of love wasn’t for me—that no one would fall in love with me. So when Drew did, it took me a while to really believe it.”
Olivia looked at her little sister. She’d had no idea.
“That sounds . . . familiar.” She laughed. “It’s weird, but he gets me in a way no one has really seemed to. And the more he sees the real me, the more he seems to like me, which is pretty incredible—I can talk to him about work, or volunteering, or how much I love using power tools, or things I’m worried about, and where other men wouldn’t like all of those sides of me, or get bored, or talk down to me, he listens, really listens and wants to know more. The two of us are very different—he’s sort of an idealist, while I’m the conventional one, which is funny enough in itself—but it feels like we complement each other?” She bit her lip. “Things feel good.” She let herself smile. “Really good. I’m not sure I knew things could feel this good, actually.” She shook her head. “Oh God, I hate that I said that out loud, I feel like I’m jinxing things, but . . .”
Alexa shook a finger at her.
“No such thing. But . . . I do have another question. Who else knows about you two? And . . . are you ready for what might happen if and when it’s not secret anymore?”
Leave it to her sister to ask the hard questions.
“I know, it’s going to be a big whole thing when we get there, but I’m not going to worry about that yet. And in answer to your other question, only Ellie knows.”
Alexa started the car and smiled.
“You said when, you know.”
Olivia put her seat belt back on and raised her eyebrow
s at her sister.
“What do you mean, when?”
Alexa smiled.
“ ‘When we get there.’ Not ‘if.’ ‘When.’ I like it.”
Olivia opened her mouth to protest. Then she closed it without saying anything. Alexa drove on, a smug look on her face.
Before they walked into Alexa’s house, Alexa nudged her.
“Can I tell Drew about this? He won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
Olivia laughed.
“Yes, of course you can tell him, but no one else. And definitely not Mom and Dad, not yet!”
Drew had Olivia’s favorite Chinese takeout waiting for her, so they all sat down to eat. And then Olivia told an edited version of her Max story, this time to Drew, whose eyes just got wider and wider.
Right when Olivia finished, Alexa dropped her chopsticks.
“Oh my God. I just realized something. You said he’s in town for a fundraiser?” A wide smile spread across her face. “I’m pretty sure that the mayor of Berkeley—and his chief of staff—will be at that same fundraiser tomorrow night.”
Olivia dropped her head onto the table, barely missing the chow fun.
“Oh no. Oh no oh no. Is this some sort of anxiety dream? My little sister is going to be at the party with my boyfriend tomorrow and I can’t go?”
Alexa looked gleeful.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be good. I promise.”
Drew stood up to go into the kitchen.
“Hold on. I think we need more wine for this conversation. I’ll be right back.”
Alexa jumped up.
“Oh, wait, I know just the bottle, I’ll help you find it.”
While they were gone, Olivia checked her phone, which she hadn’t done since she’d gotten in Alexa’s car.
At dinner with these tech dudes; almost done, thank god, they’re so annoying. Can’t wait to see you soon. I hope you’re having fun with your sister!
She looked up from her phone to find her little sister pointing and laughing at her. It felt like she was back in high school.
Party of Two: The brilliant opposites-attract rom-com from the author of The Proposal! Page 15