Page 65 of Game on, Love

I dropped Hazel a note that I’d gotten what I could from the shoot before I started wrapping up my things to go back up.

“Hey,” I heard a voice next to me, making me jump. “Sorry.”

I turned around to Oliver standing so near, I felt the warmth of his presence hug me as his eyes searched mine with an amused expression.

“You going for lunch?” He asked, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“No, I had an early brunch just before the shoot. I’m gonna go back to work,” I replied, as I noticed a loose thread on his Christmas jumper and as though I’d done it before a hundred times, I reached out to pull it off. He stilled under my touch but stayed silent. “I’m sorry I’ve gone quiet on you.”

The guilt had stayed with me the whole time I watched him work effortlessly, so I couldn’t help but take the chance to voice it.

“It’s okay,” He replied softly, and a knot loosened a little in my chest. He shifted, his hand finding mine for a minute, like it was more for him rather than me, before he let go. “I’m not going anywhere just because you get in your head.”

His amber eyes held on so much sincerity and understanding, and the overwhelming feeling was back, flooding me. He had so much going on for him, yet somehow, he was still standing here, repeating the same words he had said only days before without so much of a question or without me having toask.It made me feel like I could finally breathe while making me question everything all at the same time.

“You should go with them for lunch, it gets quite busy in the cafeteria,” I gestured to the door and saw Rihaan watching us with curious eyes. But as his eyes met mine, he looked away and followed everyone out.

“Is he the reason why you’re overthinking?” I looked at Oliver, his head over his shoulder as he watched Rihaan’s disappearing figure.

“Part of it,” I replied, honestly.

He gave me a look to continue, and I shook my head.

“Not here.”

He stared at me for a heartbeat, two, before nodding.

“Will you be done by the time we are?”

“I’m not too sure.”

“Here,” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll text you.”

A smile played on my lips as I programmed my number in his phone, before calling myself so I’d have his too.

“If I am here, can I take you home?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I’ll be here.”

Something told me that he’d be there even if it took me hours after he was done.

And when I walked downstairs three hours later, he was waiting for me in the reception, scrolling mindlessly on his phone. When he noticed me walking up to him, his eyes lit up as he told me he hadn’t been waiting long without realising Ophelia came back up the minute the shoot was over.

An hour ago.

20

Oliver

SHUTTING THE DOOR BEHINDher, I rounded my car—a sleek navy blue Ascari, still polished to perfection—to get in the driver’s seat. I didn’t drive my car often, the thought of driving around in the London traffic when it wasn’t absolutely needed gave me a headache and a half, but something told me that Raina would appreciate it. I’d pulled it out of the garage last night in the hopes that I could give her a ride if she was planning on being in the office, considering I had to be there too.

It was a good excuse to spend time with her, even if it was only just a few extra minutes. But I’d come back from my morning run, and she was already gone. Without thinking much of it, I stepped into the shower when I remembered she wasn’t a morning person and had been working from home to avoid the awkwardness in the office, and I realised that her having her head down and working on the Race report yesterday had nothing to do with a chaotic race—well, maybe it was a little bit—but it was also because she was avoiding me.

To my luck, she was part of the production team. She’d walked towards me in a dark knit fitted sweater that she paired with some trousers as she hugged her laptop. She’d barely talked to me before walking away. The studio was small and yet, she had managed to stay on the furthest end from the entire team, silently making notes in a tense posture.

Not that it stopped me from constantly finding small moments to watch her. If anything, to me, it only made her stand out more. The way she observed everyone as she bit her lip, furrowed her brows when the rest of the team did something as if confused, and the way she focused on her notes—with thetip of her tongue sticking out slightly, distracting me each time I noticed it. And the times when her eyes met mine made my heart beat faster.