The Truce

by Becca Steele

  When I got to the part where Olivia had sobbed in Avery’s arms, my voice cracked and I had to stop. Breathing deeply, I tried to get myself under control. Alex took over for me, telling Ethan what he’d seen.

  “This is a mess.” Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose in distress. “Mate, you need to talk about it. If not to us or to Liv, maybe a trained professional.”

  “Fuck that,” I growled. “I don’t need to see anyone.”

  “Alright, it was only a suggestion.”

  I buried my head in my hands again and heard Ethan speak to Alex in a low tone.

  “Drink this.” Ethan handed me a glass of amber liquid. “Delny’s finest single malt, aged for thirty years.”

  Delny. Another reminder of Liv. Pain arrowed through me, and it took a little while for my brain to catch up, but when it did, I was temporarily taken aback. “Hang on, this stuff costs a bomb. You sure you want to drink it now?”

  Ethan shrugged. “I’ve been saving it for a special occasion. I think this calls for it.”

  “Hardly a special occasion,” I muttered but raised the glass to my lips. “Bloody hell, Eth. This is amazing.”

  “It sure is,” he agreed, raising his own glass. Alex joined him, and the three of us clinked our glasses together.

  “Cheers.” Alex grinned, saluting us with his tumbler.

  All too soon my glass was empty, and Ethan was quick to pour another. The whisky worked its magic, calming and soothing me, and I began to relax.

  “You ready to talk?” Ethan asked after a while.

  “Yeah.”

  Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the sofa and let go. Pushing away the numbness that I’d used as a stopper on my emotions, I allowed myself to feel. Pain rushed through me, filling me until it was the only thing that existed.

  I battled to stay in control.

  Taking a deep, fortifying breath, I told them everything.

  How everyone I loved left me. My mum, then my dad, then Martha.

  How my parents’ toxic relationship had affected me, given me a messed-up view of relationships.

  How my darkest fear, deep down, was that Olivia would leave me. And that was why I’d pushed her away. She deserved better than me, a man who was too afraid to commit his heart to someone else’s care.

  My hoarse words echoed through the room. “Everyone leaves me in the end. I knew that eventually Liv would realise she was too good for me and she’d do the same.”

  I ran out of steam, Alex and Ethan sitting in silence, letting me finish. I opened my eyes, feeling raw and exposed, impatiently brushing away a single tear that tracked down my cheek.

  “Mate,” Alex eventually said, looking shaken. “Fuck.” He hung his head. “I had no clue.”

  Ethan visibly gathered his composure and looked into my eyes.

  “Okay, I’m going to be as upfront with you as I can be. First of all, mate, thanks for trusting us with all that. I appreciate it wasn’t easy for you. You’ve been bottling it up a long time.” He stated the words simply, and I nodded in agreement.

  “I want to go through a few of the things you told us. Firstly, your parents did a real number on you. Their own stupidity and weakness fucked up their own lives and affected yours in the process. But do you know what? I don’t see any of that in you. You’re strong. You care. We wouldn’t be here like this, right now, if that were untrue.”

  “He’s right,” Alex chimed in. “There’s nothing of those two in you.”

  “My next point. You’re not alone in this. You’ve got us. We’ve been best mates almost from the minute we met, and that’s not going to change, okay? We stick together. We don’t leave each other.”

  “Yeah. You’re not a one-man wolf pack. There’s three of us wolves, running around together,” Alex announced, throwing back his head and howling.

  Ethan rolled his eyes. “Thanks for ruining our moment there with your Hangover reference, Alex.”

  Alex smirked at him. “You love it, really.”

  “Do I?” A corner of Ethan’s mouth turned up in amusement, and I couldn’t stop a small chuckle escaping.

  Alex grinned at me.

  “Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The other point I wanted to bring up is arguably the most important one. Listen to me carefully.” Ethan leaned closer, more serious than I’d ever seen him. “You’re a good man. You could have a happy, fulfilled relationship with Olivia. But if you don’t take a chance, you’ll never experience it.”

  I lowered my eyes, scrubbing a hand across my face.

  “I love you, man,” Ethan said gruffly.

  I couldn’t speak.

  Ethan looked pointedly at Alex, who shuffled in his seat, then sighed.

  “Yeah, same.”

  I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat.

  “I…I love you guys,” I managed to choke out. Slumping down, I reached for my whisky and downed the liquid remaining in my glass.

  The three words I’d never said to anyone but Martha tore something open in me. Olivia’s beautiful face filled my mind. I’d thrown her love away, broken her heart as if it meant nothing to me. What had I done?

  “Shit.” I reeled back, stunned by the revelation.

  Alex and Ethan turned to me, identical expressions of concern marring their features.

  “What is it?”

  “I think I might love Olivia.”

  “You only just worked it out?” Alex shook his head, despair written all over his face. “I could’ve told you that weeks ago.”

  “What do I do? How do I begin to fix this?”

  “Let go of your anger and bitterness, and don’t let your past cloud your judgement. Remember, she loves you. It won’t be easy—you broke her heart when you ended things with her—but don’t lose sight of that fact.” Ethan looked at me steadily, conviction in his eyes.

  “Okay. I can try. I just hope she’ll let me explain.”

  “Course she will, mate.” Alex grinned. “You love each other.” He shrugged, as if it were that simple. Slapping his thighs, he stood. “Right. I dunno about you boys, but I need another drink. Let’s watch Die Hard.”

  “I messed everything up, Martha.” My voice fractured. Sitting on the cold grass next to her grave, I allowed the chill to seep into me, right through my bones. Placing the flowers I’d brought with me down, I touched a hand to the smooth headstone, tracing the lines of her name.

  “I wish you were still here,” I continued. “I could do with your advice.” Shuffling on the ground, I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my forehead on my arms. “I got scared and I panicked, and ended up losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Olivia gave me the gift of her love, and I threw it back in her face.” Ethan’s words echoed through me. “I know I need to let go of the past. I love her, and I want to be with her. All I can do is try my hardest to be a better man, and hope and pray that she gives me a chance to explain.”

  And I was going to give it everything. I had the woman I loved to win back.

  32

  Olivia

  “This is going to be so hard, Aves. Seeing Luke. I mean, seeing him in the first place will be difficult enough, outside a professional working environment, not to mention I haven’t seen him in the office at all this week since he’s been working remotely. But seeing him looking so good, in a suit…no doubt with another woman…”

  “Hang on—what makes you think he’s going to be there with someone else?”

  “Have you seen him?” I sighed, sadness filling me. “He’s so sexy, he won’t have any trouble finding a date.”

  Avery scrutinised my reflection in the full-length mirror that leaned against the wall in the corner of my bedroom. “Yes, but do you think he wants to bring anyone else, Liv? I know you don’t want to hear it, but he’s still cut up over you, from the bits I’ve heard from Ethan.”

  “Ha. Well, he ripped my heart out, so anything he feels is his own fault. I just wish I didn’t feel anything for him. I
wish…I wish I’d never started working at Barrett London.” I applied mascara to my lashes with a shaking hand, frowning at myself unhappily.

  “No, you don’t wish that. You wouldn’t have met me, or Eddie, for a start.”

  “That’s true. Okay, I wish I’d never let myself fall for Luke Davenport.”

  “Oh, Liv.”

  “And, Aves, do you know what? Thinking about it, I’m still angry with him, too. How dare he treat me like that?” I huffed in frustration, before gathering myself. “I’m sorry—I know you’ve heard enough about him to last a lifetime. I guess I must be more worried about seeing him tonight than I realised.”

  Avery stepped closer to the mirror, slipping a pair of diamond studs into her ears. “Never, ever apologise. And I’d much rather you said how you were feeling than keep it all bottled up inside. Luke’s a fool. He should never have let you go.”

  “It was hard for him.” My voice was only just above a whisper, my anger gone as quickly as it had appeared.

  “I know, Liv, but he treated you horribly. There’s no excuse for the way he acted.”

  Smoothing my dress down, I twisted to try to see the back in the mirror. “I need to mentally prepare myself for this. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to face him without falling apart.”

  “You can. I’m going to be there with you, every step of the way.”

  She bit her lip, unsure. “Uh…I’m not sure if I should tell you this…I know Ethan and Alex had a bit of a heart-to-heart with him the evening we went to the theatre. Ethan didn’t give me any of the details, and I didn’t ask, but he did say it was pretty emotional for Luke.”

  My heart stuttered painfully.

  “I hope he’s alright,” I sighed. I knew he would have found it so difficult to open up. “Hold on, Alex had a heart-to-heart with him?” As my brain caught up with Avery’s words, I couldn’t help the amusement showing on my face, and Avery let out a small laugh. Our eyes met each other’s reflections.

  “Yeah, can you imagine? He’s probably traumatised for life.” She glanced at her phone. “Sorry to change the subject, but the taxi’s due in about five minutes. Are you ready?”

  “I think so. Are you?” I stood back, taking her in. “I love your dress. Red is such a good colour on you.”

  She smiled, doing a graceful twirl, her long scarlet gown flowing around her. “Thanks. It’s kind of my signature colour now. You look bloody gorgeous, by the way. Eddie has a great eye for clothing.”

  Grabbing my clutch bag from the bed, I nodded. “He did well. I had no clue.”

  My midnight-blue, floor-length gown clung to my curves as I made my way across the hotel function room. The clingy, off-the-shoulder design, flowing down to a skirt with a split that went almost to the top of my thigh, was classy but sexy—according to Eddie, anyway.

  Hyperaware, constantly checking for Luke’s presence, I glanced around the large space, dimly lit by soft magenta-hued spotlights. Clusters of circular tables, covered in white fabric, congregated in front of a stage area with a huge projector screen playing images of campaigns by the agencies nominated for awards. A bar ran along one side of the room, and Avery and I headed over, spotting Ethan ordering a drink. He was alone, Luke nowhere to be seen.

  His face broke into a smile when he spotted us. He pulled Avery into an embrace, and their lips met. I turned towards the bar to give them a moment. Both bartenders were busy serving other patrons, so I clambered onto a stool to wait, adjusting my dress so I didn’t show too much of my legs to the people milling around.

  “Liv,” Ethan rumbled, disentangling himself from Avery with a kiss and striding the few steps towards me. I smiled at him.

  “I need to talk to you quickly,” he murmured, his face turning serious. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Of course.” I raised an eyebrow, but deep down, I already knew who the subject of the conversation would be. With a glance at Avery, he led me over to the far corner of the bar.

  “I’ve spoken to Luke. It’s not my place to interfere—”

  “Not that it’s ever stopped you.” I rolled my eyes but gave him a fond smile.

  “Ha. Anyway, he’s coming tonight, but he asked if I would be okay with him waiting until after the actual awards ceremony.” Ethan leaned down, gently gripping my shoulders, his gaze imploring. “He really wants to speak to you, to give you the explanation you deserve. I’ve spoken to him, and I believe it’s worth listening to him, at least.”

  “Do we have to do this tonight?” I stared at him.

  “Please, Liv. Look, I’m sorry to put you in this position. I need to let him speak for himself, but from everything he’s told me, I feel that you need to hear what he has to say.”

  “I suppose I can hear him out.” My voice was small. “But why is he waiting until after the awards have finished?”

  Ethan exhaled on a weary sigh. “He didn’t want to have to sit at a table with you while the awards dragged on, unable to speak to you until they were over.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Conflicting feelings raced through me, making my stomach churn; anticipation, worry, anger, and excitement, all combined to send me on an emotional roller coaster.

  Closing my eyes, I took several slow, deliberate breaths, counting in my head.

  “Liv? Are you alright?” Ethan’s concerned voice sounded close to my ear.

  “Yes,” I said, straightening up and meeting his gaze. “Yes.” My voice rang out, firm and clear. “This is long overdue. We need to at least clear the air, and I’m willing to hear him out.”

  The awards ceremony seemed to last forever. I fidgeted in my seat restlessly, unable to concentrate, my gaze constantly straying to the empty chair where Luke should have been sitting.

  Eddie, who was sitting next to me, nudged me to pay attention as the compère announced the nominees for best ad campaign. When Barrett London’s name was read out, our whole table erupted into cheers. For a boutique company, to even be nominated alongside the giants in the digital marketing industry was such an honour.

  We didn’t win. As the winner’s name was read out, Ethan shrugged, unconcerned, looking around the table at each of us in turn.

  “I want you to know that I’m so proud of each and every one of you. This is the first time that a small company like ours has been nominated in this category, and it’s all thanks to your hard work. We’re a team, and you all played a part in making this happen.” Eyeing the award winners up on stage, he waited until they’d finished their speech and turned back to us. “Drinks are on me.”

  I watched detachedly as my colleagues exchanged delighted glances. Ordinarily, I’d be excited with the thought of free drinks, but as the awards ceremony came to a close, only one thought filled my mind.

  “Come with me,” Avery spoke in my ear, making me jump. She inclined her head to the doorway. “Let’s go and get some air while they clear the tables and set up the dance floor.”

  Walking back inside from the hotel grounds, my steps faltered. James Arthur’s “Naked” was playing through the sound system as we re-entered the room, where some of the tables had been pushed aside to form a dance floor area. The magenta spotlights had been replaced by tiny white lights that sparkled around the room, reminding me of the night sky.

  I took a slow step. Then another.

  Awareness prickled over my skin.

  Helpless, my eyes were drawn across the dance floor and met his, like every fucking movie cliché ever. He was so unbearably handsome, it hurt to look at him and know he wasn’t mine.

  He stared at me, his molten gaze searing my skin, his mouth unsmiling.

  “Avery, I don’t think I can do this,” I said shakily.

  “Yes, you can.”

  Giving my arm a reassuring squeeze, she melted away, and it was just us.

  My feet carried me forward, closer and closer until I was within touching distance.

  No. I can’t do this. It’s too hard.

  I turned on my he
el.

  “Wait.” His hand touched my arm.

  “I can’t do this,” I whispered. I shook his arm off, heading for the exit doors as quickly as I could in my ridiculous heels.

  “Liv.” His husky voice rang through me. In a few short strides he’d caught up with me, grasping my wrist and spinning me around to face him. “I need to talk to you.” His tone was hushed, urgent.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry. Please let go of me.”

  He kept hold of me but loosened his grip, running a thumb over the tiny veins on the inside of my wrist. His touch lit me on fire.

  Fuck.

  I was nowhere near being over this man.

  “Five minutes. Please. That’s all I’m asking.”

  “Let. Go. Of. Me. Now,” I gritted out, noticing that people around us were starting to pay attention to us.

  “Olivia. Listen to me. Please. You need to hear what I have to say.” His insistent tone sent my eyes flying up to meet his.

  I was taken aback by his serious gaze. As we stared at each other, his eyes softened and he took a step forward, so I had to tilt my head back to keep looking into his eyes. “You deserve an explanation.”

  My shoulders slumped in defeat. I had promised Ethan I’d listen, and Luke was right, I did deserve an explanation. Even if it would kill me to hear it. The sooner I heard what he had to say, the sooner I could leave.

  “Okay, fine. You’ve got five minutes.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me yet.”

  We stared at one another, his thumb still caressing my wrist. My heart rate sped up, and I gulped, trying to get more air into my lungs.

  He released my wrist and took my hand. “Let’s talk.”

  He led me from the room, keeping my hand clasped tightly in his. We walked through the lobby and out of the doors to the same deserted courtyard area I’d been in with Avery a short time ago. Strings of outdoor lights wound around a wooden pergola, casting a dim glow, and he moved over to it, stopping and leaning against the wooden frame. He stared off into the distance, his expression troubled.