I frown. “Hector? Into Olivia? No way.” The star quarterback is a known player. There’s no way my best friend is his type. Notthat Olivia isn’t pretty. She is. In fact, she’s beautiful. Something I only recently realized myself…
We’d been studying for our AP Economics final last semester when I randomly looked up from my notes and noticed how attractive my childhood best friend is. But she’s not only pretty. Olivia is smart. Funny. And interesting. And way too good for that meathead, Hector Cantu.
“Ooo,” Heather taunts in a teasing voice. “Do I detect jealousy?”
“No way.”
She grins. “Are you sure? Because you sound jealous.”
“There’s nothing to be jealous of. Olivia is my best friend. Besides, Hector is a moron. He barely passes his classes. She wouldn’t be into him.”
“But he’s cute,” Avery says.
I scowl. “So?”
“So,” Heather chimes in, “Olivia could like him because he’s cute. And popular. Didn’t you pay attention to any of the teen rom-coms Avery and I forced you to watch over the years?”
“I try to block those memories out,” I deadpan.
My sisters laugh.
I shake my head and take my keys off the hook by the front door. “Alright, take your picture now. I’m two seconds away from stepping out the door.”
Heather grabs our mom’s digital SLR camera from the end table by the couch.
“This isn’t one of your photoshoots,” I grumble as she tries to coax me into posing with my hands tucked in my suit pockets.
“If I only get one shot, then it’s going to be perfect,” she replies in a stern voice.
Not wanting to prolong this torture, I groan. “Fine.” I tuck my hands in the pockets.
“Good. Now, widen your stance. And roll back your shoulders.”
I grit my teeth but comply, but I almost walk out the door without the photo when Heather decides to “fix” my hair. Avery is there to talk me off the ledge. Two minutes later, I’m out the door with a huffed goodbye to my well-meaning, but annoying, older sisters. I’ve missed them since they moved out to go to college three years ago, but it’s times like this that remind me how much I enjoy my personal space.
The drive to Olivia’s house takes less than three minutes since we live in the same neighborhood. A text from Kyle confirms he’s on his way just as I pull into the driveway and park next to an unfamiliar black Mustang.
I turn off the engine right as the front door opens. Thinking it’s Olivia, I get out of the car with a grin. The happy expression falls the moment I see a broad figure in an expensive tuxedo walk through the doorway. Olivia’s slender arm is looped through his.
I take in my best friend’s flushed cheeks and excited smile as she stares up at Hector Cantu, and it feels like I’ve been punched in the gut.
No, scratch that.
It feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest.
Because at that exact moment, I realize my feelings for Olivia run deeper than someone I view as just a friend. Or even a best friend.
I’ve known it for months now, but I’m in love with Olivia. She’s my perfect match.
But based on the way she’s ogling our school’s star quarterback—the way she’s pressed against his muscular side, wearing a corsage that matches the boutonniere on his lapel—she doesn’t feel the same way. And for the first time in eighteen years of knowing her, I feel like I really don’t know her at all.
CHAPTER 2
PRESENT DAY
Derek
“Please don’t makeme repeat myself, Mr. Lawson. I promise I have everything in order for your leave of absence.” My assistant, Shirley Peters, stands across from me in my office, peering at me from behind her reading glasses with thinly veiled annoyance. I can’t say I blame her. I’ve been pestering her about my work calendar for weeks now, double and triple checking that all important appointments have been rescheduled or passed on to one of my qualified employees. I may be the founder and creator of my tech company, Source Solutions, but I’m heavily involved at every level of the company. In Shirley’s opinion, I’m too involved.
