Page 148 of See You Maybe

For a minute, Olivia felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. Her kitchen was full of three, vibrant women, and all appeared willing to accept her with open arms, whereas her oldest friend in the world thought the worst of her.

“Declan called you, didn’t he?”

Cara shrugged. “He knew I would jump at the excuse to pump you for information.” She turned her gaze to Cami. “I thought I might actually beat you here. I know your offices are around the corner but I hit every green light on Peachtree, and for once, the roads weren’t jammed.”

Olivia shook her head, biting her lip to keep it from trembling, overwhelmed by the emotion.

“Who’s the angry chick in the car parked on the street? She was yelling into her phone when I pulled up,” Dahlia asked.

Olivia took a deep breath. She felt like she owed them an explanation after they’d essentially dropped what they were doing to come to her rescue.

“Can I have a glass of wine first?” Olivia asked with a rueful smile.

An hour later, Olivia finally stopped talking and wiped a few lingering tears off her cheeks. She hadn’t meant to tell the women the entire story of her marriage, but other than her therapist, she’d never told anyone. Once she started talking, the words poured out of her. Her shoulders dropped, feeling like forty pounds had fallen off.

These women made it easy. They listened quietly, only stopping her to ask a few questions, while wiping away their own stray tears.

Dahlia’s face was tight. “I understand more than I’d like to. I was married to a weak asshole, too. When did it get physical?”

The immediate denials that usually sprang to mind evaporated in the face of Dahlia’s sympathetic eyes. “After we were married for a year. It started small… pushes, pinches, gripping my arm too hard… I left the morning after it got really bad,” Olivia admitted.

Dahlia made a soft sound. “Then you were smarter than me.”

“I didn’t know that,” Cara said, resting her hand on Dahlia’s knee where she sat next to her on the floor.

Dahlia rolled her shoulders. “It was a long time ago. My ex-husband is dead now, which is lucky for him, because when Luke found out about it, he was thinking of a more drawn-out way of ending the piece of shit than an overdose.”

“I think that’s the main reason Jessica came tonight. She doesn’t even live in the state, so it had to be serious for her to come.”

Cara’s eyes were careful. “Because Declan is hunting for your ex?”

Olivia blanked her face, and Cara sighed. “I know Declan likes to think we don’t know about things he’s done or been a part of… And I’ll admit I don’t know it all, nor do I want to. He’s my brother, and as much as he has tried to shield me, I overheard enough of my father’s meetings during the summers I spent with him. Knew the fear people had of my name, of my father, and Declan. Hell, Declan even had my stalker locked away.” She shrugged. “I’m glad he’s on our side.”

“James shot my psycho ex-friend who was obsessed with me,” Cami piped up, but then her shoulders slumped. “Fine, it was self-defense, but I was feeling left out.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

“What is wrong with us?” Cami asked.

“I don’t know about you, but I was born into this family, so it’s in my DNA. You ladies fell in love with the crazies.”

“I think I shocked Declan when he told me what he was going to do, and I didn’t get upset. Which I’m sure my therapist would have a lot to say about,” Olivia said ruefully. “I don’t know the details because his friend is handling it.”

“Friend?” Cara laughed. “Declan doesn’t have friends.”

Olivia scrunched her nose. “It sounded like they were friends. He told me they do each other favors—it kind of sounded like a game. Declan was definitely smiling when he told me about it. He said Alex was secretly thrilled to do the last favor, so it shouldn’t have counted on their tally. But also, that Alex was happy to help with the Kyle situation, because it put Alex ahead, and Alex loves when it’s Declan’s turn to owe the favor.” She shrugged. “It was more than a little confusing.”

“Alex?” Cami’s voice was strangled. “Alex Kovalyov?”

Shit. Did I say too much?

“I don’t know his last name. I might have misunderstood.”

Cami shook her head. “I bet Declan was talking about the shooting at my studio. When Trey tried to kill me, Alex shot him. But Declan told me afterward that he thought Kovalyov did it because Madison was in there with me.”

“Who’s Madison?” Olivia was totally confused. “Wait, I thought you shot Trey Crawford.”

Cami looked uncomfortable. “It’s a complicated story. You should ask Declan about it. Madison is my best friend. Kovalyov has some weird obsession with her.”