Page 6 of See You Maybe
Jessica frowned. “You’ve got that faraway look in your eyes again. This is why you shouldn’t read romance novels. You think all those book boyfriends are real. That’s not real life.”
“How can you say that? Do you remember when you met Gavin?”
A soft smile crossed Jessica’s face. “Fair enough. But we’re not perfect, and sometimes he eats potato chips, and I want to strangle him for chewing so loudly.” She waved a hand in the air. “Have you kissed him yet?”
“Jessica! He’s your cousin.”
Jessica waved her hand. “Meh. I’ll pretend we aren’t close. How did it feel?”
As people hugged her at the picnic, Olivia knew the root of her dilemma. Jessica, like the rest of the Armstrongs, was extremely close to her family, and they would close ranks against an outsider—her.
Olivia would lose her career and her best friend if she turned Kyle down. In a daze, she’d let the excitement sweep her along, telling herself that everything was fine and that it was time to let go, once and for all, of the fairy tale she’d clung to.
Just as Olivia predicted, within months of the wedding, Richard informed her that now that she was officially family, he could finally promote her to the executive suite.
She’d smiled and convinced herself she was happy—that it was worth it. Sure, Kyle got on her nerves, and in the bedroom she usually had to finish herself, but it was a pleasant enough existence. She had the job of her dreams, a nice house, and her parents finally looked at her like she’d done something right.
Did it matter that sometimes Olivia dreamed of violet eyes, dark curls, and an Irish accent that called her Petal?
As time went on though, the downhill slide of her marriage picked up speed. Kyle no longer hid his affairs, blaming her for their lack of sex life and her inability to get pregnant. Once Kyle decided she was the problem, it only got worse. Olivia worked too much, he accused. And his favorite refrain: Olivia’s success emasculated him in front of the rest of the company.
In his eyes, and her parents’, she was a failure as a wife.
“You act like your job is more important than him.”
“There’s more to life than ambition.”
“Stop being so selfish. You need to see it from his side.”
“It’s unnatural for a woman to not want to be home more.”
“You should try harder to make your husband happy.”
Soon, Olivia was to blame for anything and everything that went wrong in Kyle’s life. Perceived slights became intentional insults in Kyle’s world, and he was determined to make Olivia pay for them. Until the day he went too far. When she lay bruised and bleeding on the kitchen floor because the Chinese take-out she’d brought home was missing his spicy mustard, Olivia knew it was time to leave.
The elevator doors opened with a quiet whoosh, pulling her from the unpleasant memories. Everyone stepped on. But she hesitated, her stomach suddenly rolled and sweat broke out at the base of her spine. Adrenaline crash. The reality of what had transpired in that conference room for the past hour was finally hitting her.
Don’t throw up, Olivia told herself, breathing through her nose as she joined the others. The elevator jerked into motion, and the momentary weightlessness as they descended perfectly mirrored her thoughts. Watching Declan, oblivious to her, had felt like falling. As if she’d somehow simultaneously become untethered from reality only to also need to be present at what could be the most career-defining meeting of her life.
For twelve years, she’d held on to the memory of that week in Ireland. Whenever things seemed bleak, or Kyle told her she was unlovable, or her mother looked at her with open disappointment that she wasn’t more like her sister, she’d clung to those memories. Declan loved her, and she’d been lucky to have that connection with him. Even if it only lasted for that perfect week, it was more than some people got in a lifetime.
Now, Olivia was forced to acknowledge that Jessica was right all those years ago when she urged Olivia to move on. It wasn’t real. She’d over romanticized it. Olivia rubbed at her sternum.
“You okay, Olivia?” Stuart stayed back as the others disappeared into the parking lot. The plan was to reconvene at the office to go over the Bloom Capital offer.
“I’m fine,” she lied.
“You’re really quiet, and you’ve been pale ever since the meeting started. Have you eaten today?” He peered at her through his round tortoise-shell glasses.
“No.” She latched onto the excuse. “I skipped breakfast because I was nervous about the meeting.”
He frowned. “You shouldn’t skip meals. I see your uneaten lunch in the break room almost every day.”
It was true, the stress of the last few years had taken its toll on her, but she hadn’t realized anyone was paying attention.
Olivia gave him a grateful smile. “I know. Once we sell, I’m planning on a long vacation full of frozen cocktails on a beach somewhere. Completely unplugged.”
Stuart snorted. “You won’t last twenty-four hours.”