“Hi,” she finally said.
“In the neighborhood?” I inquired.
“Yes.” She licked her red, glossy lips. “My husband is here somewhere.”
“Is he now?”
Olivia leaned closer, her voice dropping to a stage whisper. “You might’ve seen him. He’s a very big deal.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Her smoky eyelids blinked rapidly, an interesting sign of nerves. “He, um, told me not to come here, but I couldn’t help it.”
“You must be his PR manager.”
“No.” Blue eyes locked onto mine. “I’m his wife.”
There wasn’t a single weapon inMars Warsthat could devastate more than Olivia could. My blood roared in my head, and my bowtie constricted the very neck that now seemed devoid of oxygen.
I just couldn’t do this. “What are you doing here, Olivia?”
The warm night air blew her dangling earrings. “I’m Princess Serafina.”
A flash lit the space beside us. “I’m quite certain you’re not.”
“I saw the Bolivia Snake Hair woman.” She gave a dismissive shrug. “Rude, but I get it. That was another time, another me. I’m definitely Serafina now.”
“This is a bold statement.”Hey, let’s rip out Lachlan’s heart in front of a hundred cameras, shall we?
“I’m that woman waiting for you. Except you won’t answer calls or texts or the thousands of messages I’ve sent using nothing but telepathy and really bad renditions of Celine Dion songs.”
“Don’t do this here, Olivia.” I had so much riding on tonight, and after the hits I’d taken recently, I couldn’t endure one more public disaster. “I get that you needed to see our deal to the end and claim your success, but after the premiere, you and I have to go our separate ways.” The urge to reach out and touch Olivia raged. I’d missed her more than I thought possible, and seeing her tonight poleaxed what was left of my heart.
“I quit Flair,” she said. “I’m currently unemployed.”
That was… unexpected. “I’m sure you’re very hurt and confused right now.”
“Nope. Things are pretty clear. Like the fact that I’m still so enormously sorry Celeste went to the press and you think I was responsible.”
“I’ve had some time to reconsider.” Because Olivia had been right—I did know her. And, okay, I’d done a little investigating of my own, but my trust issues had been sorely tested of late.
Olivia’s posture slackened in relief. “You must believe I’d pick you over my job any day.”
It was hard not be charmed by her fervor. “Would you now?”
“Something else that’s clear is that you and I belong together, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that when you left. Face it—we’re hot stuff, Hayes. A couple for the ages. The ultimate hero and heroine. Swoon and Swagger. Trope-tastic.”
“It’s not going to work, Olivia.” We were done. I’d ripped off that Band-Aid when I’d left Olivia standing in my driveway. “That’s not how the plan goes.”
“Plans change.”
That declaration had my attention. “Yours don’t.”
“I should’ve told you how I felt sooner, but I have some baggage. Tunnel vision. Possibly a neurotic tendency or two.” Olivia brushed some lint from my tuxedo jacket. “I had a long talk with Sylvie—she sends you her love, by the way.”
Another arrow to pierce my soul. Sylvie was part of a family like I’d always wanted.
Olivia took a deep breath, then plodded on. “My grandmother reminded me that the people who were supposed to love you left. I know that’s shaped who you are—and maybe made you scared to give your heart and trust me. And while my favorite romance novels have the hero going after the heroine with some grand gesture, your heroine came for you, Lachlan. And do you know why?”
