Page 98 of See You Maybe
Something flickered in Chris’s eyes. “Being a good liar is imbedded in their DNA.” He looked thoughtful. “In fact, the last time I was in this restaurant, I was with Cara.”
Olivia’s mouth fell open. “Really?”
“Last spring. Even then, I was trying to help Declan. I thought we were still friends.”
Olivia kept her expression blank as she did some rapid mental math. Wouldn’t Chris already have been involved with Courtney last spring? That didn’t sound like he was interested in being friends. Was his story self-serving because of his arrogance, or because he had an ulterior motive in inviting her here tonight?
Unaware of where her thoughts had gone, Chris continued. “Declan was worried about what was happening with Cara. She had been in the press after her father’s death…”
Olivia had a vague memory of something about nude pictures of the socialite being sold to online tabloids.
“Cara is like a little sister to me. I watched her grow up,” Chris said sadly. “All the Blooms were like family, but when they were cut out of the will, they wanted someone to blame.” He drained the last of his wine and reached for the bottle. “I guess because I was one of the witnesses to the will, some of the resentment toward their father spilled over to me. Then when I started seeing Courtney…”
Chris made a face. “I know it’s probably hard to believe, but because she and my father were friends, we spent time together, and I saw she wasn’t the monster the Blooms portrayed her as. She was their step-mother—the only woman their father ever married—and I’m sure that stung. Particularly when he left his fortune to her. But she’s misunderstood. Courtney has her problems, but she isn’t evil.”
“I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” He reached forward and clasped her hand where it lay on the table, his eyes warm. “You’re really a good listener.”
Olivia forced herself not to yank her hand free, instead she slid it slowly out from under his.
A loud exclamation had both of their heads swiveling in the sound’s direction. The pregnant redhead was being helped to her feet, an uncomfortable look on her face, and she made the pained sound again. The man with her put his arm around her waist for support as Fiona waved goodbye.
Across the room, Fiona’s eyes collided with hers, and Olivia almost recoiled from the malice on the woman’s face. A calculated smile lifted Fiona’s lips, and she grabbed Declan’s jaw, turning his face to hers before she kissed him. Olivia’s stomach wrenched.
Olivia turned back to Chris and tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but all she wanted to do was run away. She felt like a fool.
“Is everything all right? You’re a little pale,” Chris observed.
Olivia seized the excuse. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room.” She gave him a polite smile before she grabbed her purse and slipped through the tables, avoiding a glance in Declan’s direction.
She found the small bathroom at the back of a dim hallway. The purple, velvet-covered walls of the anteroom matched the rest of the restaurant, with another door leading to the toilet. Olivia tossed her clutch onto a large ottoman in the corner.
Her body was feverish, and the pressure in her chest made it hard to breathe. Declan was going to marry that woman. Olivia didn’t believe he loved Fiona. She knew what Declan in love looked like, but he was going to marry Fiona anyway. All that mattered to Declan was getting his father’s company back.
Sensation pricked behind her eyes, and she ran her wrists under the cold water, trying to bring her temperature down. Drying her hands, Olivia pulled the outer door open, only for a large body to push her back into the room. Sandalwood and bergamot filled her nose, setting her nerves on fire again.
Before she had a chance to even gasp, Declan reached behind him to flip the lock and backed her against the velvet wall. His chest heaved hard against her, his eyes burning black into hers.
“You are trying to torture me, is that it? Or do you want me to kill him?”
Olivia’s blood ignited, and her nipples peaked at the raw expression on his face as he trapped her against the wall. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His fingers bit almost painfully into her hips. “You’re on a fucking date with him,” Declan growled.
“What if I am?” Olivia tilted her chin back. It was reckless, and she knew she was playing a dangerous game, but she didn’t care. She wanted Declan to feel as out of control as she was. “You’re on a date too.”
A gravelly sound came from low in his chest, and when her tongue flicked out to wet her lips, Declan’s eyes fell to her mouth.
“If he touches you again, I’ll cut off his hands.” The threat rumbled from his chest into hers.
It should have frightened her, instead it gave her an almost feral satisfaction.
“And I won’t even care that it ruins everything I’ve planned. It will be worth it,” he said against her lips. His foot slid between hers moving her legs apart, as his hips thrust her harder into the wall.
“Why? It’s in the past, isn’t it?”
Olivia bit back a moan as she rocked her hips into him, the movement scraping the buttons of his black dress shirt along the bare skin exposed by her neckline. She was deliberately taunting him, and Declan’s eyes flared, his fingers gripping tighter, holding her still against his rigid length.
“Why do you care?” Olivia breathed into his ear before she closed her teeth on the sensitive flesh and bit down.