Page 48 of Rescuing Baylee
“Yeah,” she said, and she knew in her heart she meant it. “Like you said, it was touch and go for a couple of days.”
“And tell me about the detective. Your voice goes all soft and mushy when you say his name.”
Baylee cringed. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Oh, yes, it does,” she laughed. “Believe me. So, what’s the story?”
Baylee sighed. This had been why she’d called Olivia. “I am totally and completely in love, Liv, and it scares the crap out of me.”
“Why does it scare the crap out of you?”
“Because it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. My tummy flips when I see him, and I lose all my common sense. Last night we were necking in the car until one of my older neighbors caught us. I need to know if it’s real, or some proximity induced fantasy.”
Olivia was laughing even harder on the other end of the line, and Baylee wished she was here in person. She could really use a Liv hug.
“This is the guy I bitched about before,” she said. “The one that was so handsome but seemed like he was mad at me. Hallway guy.”
“Oh, no way! And did you figure out why he was so mad at you?”
She sighed. “He wasn’t mad at me. He was madforme, because he knew my scars were man made. He said that every time he saw me, he wanted to kill whoever had marked my beautiful face.”
“Oh, hun,” Olivia said, her voice soft. “And did you tell him how you got the scars?”
“I did. And I told him I had killed the men who did it to me. He gave me a fist bump,” she laughed.
Liv snorted. “Sounds like our kind of guy. And how is the sex?”
A wash of heat rolled through her body as she thought about making love with Landon, and it must have taken her longer to respond than she’d thought, because Olivia was cackling on the other end of the line. Baylee felt her cheeks heat, though there was no one there to see it.
“Stop it,” she admonished her friend, but she was laughing too. “It’s really, really good, okay? I told him about my past, and he takes so much time with me. It’s pretty amazing, actually.”
“Then I would say not to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Olivia said firmly. “If he’s this amazing, and he wants to be with you, let him be with you. Enjoy your time together. If anyone needs a happy-ever-after, Baylee, it’s you. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve it. You deserve him.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she nodded to herself. She hadn’t said she loved him yet, but it had been on the tip of her tongue so many times. The next time she saw him, she would tell him her feelings. They were supposed to go out tonight, so maybe it was time.
“Is he coming to Rex’s wedding in a couple of weeks?”
Baylee frowned. “I haven’t really asked him yet.”
“Well, you’d better get on that. You know we’re going to interrogate him, make sure he’s good enough for you.”
Baylee laughed, but she knew the joke was semi-truthful. When Olivia had first gotten with Connor, she and Rex had given him a thorough screening. And when Rex had gotten with Lauren, his love, Baylee and Olivia had taken her out for a girls’ night to make sure she was the right one for their friend. Their significant others had passed the tests with flying colors, and she had a feeling Landon would as well.
The thought of the three friends being together, all with their own loves, made Baylee’s throat tighten with emotion.
“Can you believe it Liv? After everything we’ve gone through.”
“I know,” Olivia said just as softly. “I thank my stars every day that we made it out to live this life. I love you, Baylee, and I can’t wait to see you.”
“I can’t wait to see you. Give those babies a kiss for me. Later, Liv.”
“I will. Later, Bay.”
Siggy stalked up to her and sat in front of her feet. Leaning forward, Baylee scratched him under the chin. She was feeling a little weepy right now, but it was a good kind of weepy. It always reaffirmed what she was thinking when she spoke to Olivia.
She glanced at the time on her phone. She needed to get ready for her date.
Landon sighedas he jogged up the steps in the apartment building, tiredness dragging at him. This hadn’t been how the night was supposed to go.