When I get to the café, Liv is already there, and I join her at the table, sitting down across from her and hanging my purse on my knee.
“So, dearest, how’s the library?”
Olivia grins, waving me off. “Eh, same old. The new guy is working out nicely, though. Far less work for yours truly when it comes to reshelving the books.”
“That’s good! I know that’s been taking you a long time.” Liv nods, and I set down the menu, having only stared at it for a few seconds. I always get the same thing. “And your clients?”
“They’re doing well, no issues, thankfully. It’s been a wholly uneventful week, which is, of course, how I like it.”
We laugh together before the waitress comes, and we put in our order. When the woman leaves us, I take a sip of the water she brought for me and sigh.
This is exactly what I needed.
“And you? How’s it going at Easton’s?” Liv sips at her own water, her brows raised in curiosity because we both know this is the real tea.
“It’s going fine. It’s nice to be surrounded by security features, I’ll admit.”
“Well, you’ve been doing something right because the hot gossip is everything you and Easton. The entire town is buzzing about the latest couple to be spotted shopping together and evenkissing.”
My face heats, and I duck my stare so I don’t have to face Olivia. I blindly reach for my water, sipping at it desperately in hopes that it’ll cool me off.
“Oh, no. You’re not getting out of this that easily, missy. Spill.” I look up at her, and Liv is pegging me with a stare that’s all business. “He kissed you?”
“It wasn’t serious. We were in the grocery store. He was trying to make it believable in front of his friend, Hudson.”
“You’re meeting his friends?” The corners of Olivia’s mouth turn down, and she makes a face that has me squirming in my chair.
“It’s not like that, Liv. We ran into him in the grocery store while we were shopping for supplies with Jade. Hudson is like Easton’sbestfriend. The guy would be able to tell if we weren’ttotallycommitted to the façade.”
“And are you? Totally committed?”
My stomach flip-flops, and thankfully, the waitress comes back with our food so I have a few minutes to think about how I want to respond.
When it’s quiet again, Liv eyes me, not having forgotten about what we were talking about in the slightest.
“I’m committed to whatever will keep me safe. And I really like Jade. I want to be there for her, too. I know she needs help after everything, and so does Easton.”
Olivia sticks her fork into her salad, pulling out a bite and chewing it up while she stares at me.This woman does not hold back. Damn.
I don’t indulge her, though. Instead, I munch at my couscous salad and pretend like I’ve answered all her questions.
It doesn’t work. Liv just eyes me harder, letting the silence work its magic against me until I’m all but bursting to fill it.
“Olivia, I’m okay, truly. I’m really grateful that I have you looking after me. You’re my best friend in the world, and I’d be lost without you. I know that. But I promise that I’m safe with Easton. He knows everything you do about Neil, and he’s devoted to keeping us all safe.”
“Alright, I hear you.” Liv nods, setting her fork down and reaching across the table to take my hand. “I just care about you. You…you loved him, Hazel. I could see it on your face the first time you talked about him, and I’m worried that those feelings are coming back and you won’t get the ending you want. The one you deserve.”
I’m at a loss for words, my mouth hanging open slightly as my eyes burn just a bit.
“I mean, is this something you’re ready for? I know how upset you were when he left the last time.” Olivia squints at me, squeezing my hand. “I mean, once the danger’s gone, what’s left? Will you be okay calling this ‘fake’ relationship quits?”
I think about the night Easton left. All I got was a note on my pillow and a promise that he’d return.
Every day, I’ve told myself that I wasn’t waiting for him, that I just took so long to date afterward because I was heartbroken.
But those words ring with falsehood.
You didn’t…you’re not admitting anything, Hazel.
