Page 146 of See You Maybe

“Um, okay?”

“Right now. Ask Cami and Dahlia to meet you there.”

“I think Dahlia left for set this morning, but I’ll call Cami.”

Declan heard Cara whisper something to who he assumed was her husband.

“Wes wants to know if he should come with me.” He could hear the eye roll in his sister’s voice.

“No. But I need you to go, now.”

“That’s all I get?”

“Please, Car-bear.”

He heard a beep. “I’m already in the car. Now hang up, so I can call Cami.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Atlanta—Present Day

“What are you doing here?”

Olivia stared at her former friend. Even before she moved out of state, Jessica had never shown up at her door unannounced. Normally, she let Olivia know weeks before she scheduled a trip to Atlanta. On the heels of Kyle’s attack and how they had left things, Olivia’s nerves were on high alert.

“Can we talk?” Jessica shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

Olivia opened the door wider, letting her former friend inside, and gave a wave to the man in the SUV at the top of her driveway.

“Who is that?” Jessica asked, angling her head toward the closed front door.

“Security.” At first, she’d balked at the idea of having someone outside her house while Declan was gone, but Olivia had to admit after her first night alone, facing the large dark windows, she felt relieved knowing help was only a shout away.

Jessica let out a heavy sigh. “Is this the Kyle thing? He called me, told me what was going on here.”

“Did he?” Olivia kept her voice neutral.

Kyle is alive!

“Don’t you think this has gone too far, Livvy? I mean, I know the divorce was ugly, but your boyfriend somehow had him banned from all the good clubs. He really embarrassed Kyle in front of his friends, not to mention this guy has stolen Kyle’s birthright from him.

“You’re happy now, right? Your dream man came back. Why can’t you leave Kyle alone?” Her eyes accused. “Kyle’s afraid to show his face. Did you know that? Terrified your thug boyfriend will hurt him. He’s not the white knight you made him out to be.”

Declan was definitely not a white knight. More like a fire-breathing dragon. Her dragon.

“What are you smiling about, Livvy? This isn’t funny.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” Olivia stared at her former friend. “When you spoke to Kyle, did he tell you he broke in and attacked me?”

That I stabbed him?

Jessica reared back. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“He would do that. He did do that. And it wasn’t even the first time. I pretended to have the flu because he split my lip and left bruises all over me. I couldn’t go into work.”

“You’re exaggerating.” Jessica shook her head, denying Olivia’s words.

“You never wanted to hear the truth. You were more than happy to explain away all of my unhappiness for years. I stayed longer than I should have because I was worried about losing you, losing a family I’d come to love, my own family’s expectations… my job.