Chasing Olivia (Trace + Olivia #2) (16 page)

“I know you have them,” he stated, which surprised me. He ran his fingers down my neck, causing me to shiver.

“You do?” I had thought I’d done a pretty good job of hiding my continual nightmares from him. Early on, after it happened, it had been impossible to keep them from him. But as time passed, I thought I had been sneaky enough that he didn’t know. I should of known though, that Trace being Trace, he knew everything.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Sometimes, while you’re sleeping…you whimper and break out in a sweat and I
know
you’re dreaming about what he did to you. When you have those nightmares, no matter what I do, I can’t get you to wake up.”

I frowned, staring at the bonfire. “Why do you think that is?”

It had been a few weeks since I’d had the last nightmare, but they were always the same. Aaron was above me, his foot kicking into my side and his fists battering my face. Trace never came to save me in my nightmares and I couldn’t wake up until Aaron had delivered the fatal blow.

“I don’t know,” I felt him shrug, “I guess you’re in such a deep sleep that you can’t wake up.”

“We’re one messed up pair,” I mumbled.

He chuckled, playing with a piece of my hair. “We’re not messed up. We’re perfect for each other, Olivia. Absolutely perfect.”

“And why is that?” I asked, tilting my head back to smile up at him.

He kissed the end of my nose. “Because there’s perfection in everything.”

“I thought you told me perfection doesn’t exist,” I flattened the collar of his shirt as I remembered a conversation we’d had several years ago when we were crossing things off of my list.

“It doesn’t…not in the way people believe.”

“What do you mean?” I gazed at him quizzically.

He took a deep breath, gazing at the fire for a moment, before looking down at me. “There’s beauty in everything, Olivia. So why can’t there be perfection too?” His tongue flicked out, moistening his lips. “People spend too much time dwelling on the bad in a situation…when if they dug a little deeper they could find something good in it.”

“Does that mean you found something good in what happened to your dad? To me?” I asked. I wasn’t asking the question to be mean, I was curious.

His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed but eventually he answered. “It took me a while, but yes.”

“And what was it you found?”

He tightened his arms around me. “If my dad hadn’t—died,” he choked, “I would’ve probably been at some party or doing something stupid, and I wouldn’t have been there to help you with your tire. Hell, I wouldn’t have even been a mechanic.” He brushed his nose against my hair. “I miss my dad
every single day
, but I know that if he hadn’t died I wouldn’t have
you
.” I was surprised that he was being so open with me. Trace wasn’t one to talk about his feelings, I knew that and I respected it, but it was nice to hear how much he cared. But I hated that he felt he had to lose his dad in order to gain me.

“And what good did you find in what Aaron did to me?”

“This is going to sound so cheesy,” a smile played on his lips as he looked to our right where there was a forest and Marcus’ kids were playing hide and seek.

“I promise not to mock you for your cheesiness,” I rested my head against his chest, looking up at the stars.

“Mhmm, sure,” he hummed.

“Tell me.”

“I knew I was in love with you before that day, I was just a pussy and wouldn’t tell you,” he chuckled. “But what Aaron did to you, made me fall even more in love with you, because after that I knew we could get through anything…together.”

“That
is
cheesy,” I giggled.

“Woman, you said you wouldn’t mock me,” he nibbled on my earlobe.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” My eyes fluttered closed as he trailed light kisses down my neck.

“Hey, lovebirds!” Marcus called over to us, waving his hands. “Come get something to eat!”

I scooted out from between Trace’s legs and stood, dusting the grass and dirt off my legs. I shivered as a breeze gusted around us. Being on the water, the night’s here were cool. It was nicer than the heart attack inducing humidity I had grown used to in Virginia, but I hadn’t packed for cooler weather. Which was dumb, since we were heading all the way up to Maine.

“Here,” Trace shrugged out of the plaid shirt he was wearing and draped it across my shoulders. I’d ditched the shirt I’d borrowed from him earlier and left it in the car.

“Thanks,” I smiled as I pushed my arms through the large sleeves.

“Can’t have you getting sick,” he kissed my forehead, placing a hand on my waist and guiding me towards Marcus.

Apparently Marcus had a bonfire once a week, where he grilled and hung out with his friends and family. He was a nice guy and his wife, Rebecca, seemed sweet but I’d only been introduced to her briefly. She was pretty with short light blonde hair and kind blue eyes. She almost seemed too calm to handle Marcus’ boisterous personality. Their two kids, Sarah and Jamie, were adorable and reminded me of their dad. Both were currently trying to climb the trees to see who could make it the highest.

“Sarah! Jamie! Get down from there!” Rebecca scolded, looking like she might pass out if they climbed any higher.

“Becks, they’re kids. Let them play,” Marcus waved his hand in dismissal, flipping a burger on his portable grill.

“Tell me that when we end up spending the night in the emergency room,” she glared at her husband. “Tell them to get down. They’ll listen to you.”

“Kids!” Marcus yelled. He didn’t have to say anything else. They immediately started climbing down. “Sorry about that,” Marcus shrugged, smiling at us. “The burgers will be ready in a minute. Buns are over there and Rebecca made some side dishes,” he nodded to the open trunk of the SUV parked behind him.

I grabbed a plate and a hamburger bun, squirting a dollop of mayonnaise on it and adding lettuce and tomato. Rebecca had made macaroni salad and coleslaw. I scooped a spoonful of each onto my plate. Trace took enough to feed at least two other people. I looked his athletic body up and down. Seriously, where did he put all that food?

“What?” He glanced over at me. A slow smile—the panty dropping one—lit his face. “Are you checking me out?”

I snorted. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You are,” he smirked, licking some mayonnaise off his finger.

“Not for the reason you think,” I shook my head.

“You mean, you’re
not
undressing me with your eyes? Damn.”

“I heard that,” Marcus interrupted before I had a chance to retort. “Keep it clean,” he eyed Trace sternly. “My kids are here and they still think the opposite sex has cooties. I’d like to keep it that way until I’m dead.”

“Sorry,” Trace hung his head to hide his laughter. “Won’t happen again.”

“You bet it won’t,” Marcus laughed. “I
am
offering you a place to stay tonight that doesn’t look like it belongs in a horror movie.”

When we first arrived at the bonfire and accepted Marcus’ invitation for a place to stay, we’d told him about the first place we’d stopped at in Philadelphia. He’d gotten quite a laugh from that. I’m happy we didn’t end up staying there. I shuddered at the thought. The place probably had roaches crawling out of the drains.

“Yeah, thanks for that,” Trace chuckled.

Marcus turned back to the grill, removing the burgers and stacking them on a plate. He put it in the trunk with the rest of the food.

I grabbed a plastic fork and used it to lift one of the burgers onto my plate.

“I can’t believe you had a cheeseburger for lunch, and now you’re having one for dinner,” I shook my head.

“I need protein,” he smirked. Sobering, he added, “I didn’t really eat my lunch anyway.”

That was true. After the conversation about taking over his family’s business, neither of us had much of an appetite. I hated that Trace felt…obligated to take over the business. His family—they were good people—and I knew they’d respect his decision if he chose to carry on as he was.

We found a spot close to the edge of the lake and sat side by side.

With the darkness the lake appeared to go on forever. The only disruption in the surface was the reflection of the crescent moon. It was beautiful. Peaceful even.

Marcus had set up small outdoor lanterns and spread them around so that we weren’t completely in the dark.

I wasn’t used to eating dinner this late—at home Trace and I usually ate dinner around four or five, not nine-thirty—but it was nice to do something different.

Someone sat down beside me and I turned to see one of the guys from the bungee jumping group. I couldn’t remember his name though.

“Hey,” he smiled at me and then Trace. “What did you think of your jump?”

“It was pretty awesome,” Trace grinned. “That adrenaline rush I got when we fell—there’s nothing else like it.”

“It’s addicting,” the guy agreed. “What about you?” He nodded at me.

“I’m glad I did it. It was pretty spectacular.”

“Marcus said you guys were just passing through?” He questioned.

“Road trip,” Trace replied.

“I’ve always wanted to go on a road trip,” the guy said, stretching his legs out in front of him. “Never had the time though.” He stared out at the water for a moment and then jumped up. “Well, I’ll leave you two alone.” And with that, he sauntered off.

“That was…weird,” I mumbled.

Trace chuckled. “He thought you were hot and wanted to talk to you. You’re lucky I’m not the jealous type.”

“Oh please,” I rolled my eyes. “He did not think I was hot.”

“Trust me, he did. I’m a guy, I know these things,” he set his empty plate to the side. “He was trying not to look at your breasts. At least he didn’t look at your ass, ‘cause that’s
all
mine.”

“You are…” I shook my head, looking out at the lake. There were no words to describe Trace. He was one of a kind and I wouldn’t have him any other way.

“I’m what?” He prodded. “Sexy? Amazing? A great singer? Because I already know all of that,” he turned on his side, looking up at me.

“You’re just…you,” I shrugged, wrapping my arms around my legs.

“And there’s no one else I’d rather be,” he winked.

Sarah, Marcus’ six year old daughter, walked up behind Trace and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hi,” she waved at him.

“Hello, Princess Sarah,” Trace grinned crookedly as he rolled over to face her. “What can I do for you?”

“Will you dance with me?” She asked sweetly, holding out a small hand for Trace to take.

Marcus had turned on his iPod and hooked it up to a docking station. Music pumped around us and I found my head bobbing along as I smiled at the scene playing out before me.

“Sure, sweetie,” he smiled at her and I swear she blushed. Apparently, even small children weren’t immune to Trace’s charms.

He turned to me and whispered, “Don’t be jealous,” before hopping up and taking Sarah’s small hand. She led him away and I heard Trace tell her she was a bit too short for him. He swept her up into his arms, holding her close. Her giggle filled the air. She wrapped her arms around his neck as they swayed to the music. My heart swelled. In my mind, Trace wasn’t holding Sarah. Instead he was holding our daughter. I had always known Trace would make an amazing father, but I’d never seen him around kids before. He was a natural.

I watched them closely, choked up on an emotion I couldn’t begin to describe. If it was possible, I fell a little bit more in love with him in that moment.

Jamie appeared in front of me, blocking my view of Trace and Sarah. He smiled, displaying a gap in his mouth from missing teeth.

“Come on,” he grabbed my hand, trying to pull me up, “they’re dancing. We should too.”

I laughed, taking his hand. Jamie was eight but he was almost my height. That’s what I got for being short.

“You’re pretty,” he said to me.

I laughed. “Thank you, Jamie. You’re quite handsome yourself.”

He beamed at that. “Dad says you’re staying the night at our house. You can sleep in my bed. I promise I don’t snore like my dad.”

I laughed. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think that will be possible.”

“Why not?” He frowned, his nose crinkling.

“I think my fiancé might not like that very much,” I whispered, like I was letting him in on a secret.

Jamie glanced to his right, where Trace and Sarah were currently spinning in circles, and looked Trace up and down as if sizing him up.

After a moment, he looked back at me. “I can take him,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

I threw my head back in laughter. “I’m sure you could,” I assured him, before I hurt the little boy’s feelings with my outburst.

“I’m very strong,” he boasted. “My dad says I’m going to be a fighter one day. He doesn’t like it when I fight with my sister though.”

“Fighting with sisters isn’t very nice,” I told him.

“I know,” he shrugged, “but she’s always taking my stuff. Doesn’t she know my toys are for boys and hers are for girls?” He looked at me seriously, waiting for an answer.

I smiled down at the eight-year-old boy. “Sometimes, siblings take each other’s stuff just to make the other one mad.”

Jamie glared at his little sister in Trace’s arms. “Well, that’s not very nice. I don’t touch her Barbie’s. Those things are gross.”

“I’m sure you’re not always nice to your sister.”

“Well,” he shrugged, frowning, “there was that one time I colored on her dolls. But she stole my Pokémon cards. So it was only fair,” he reasoned.

Ah, sibling logic. I hadn’t had to deal with that growing up, but I’d learned a few things being around Trace and Trent, as well as Avery and her brothers. Even as adults they were still picking on each other. I mean, Trace was twenty-four and Trent was nineteen, and those two were always arguing over something goofy and irrelevant.

“Do you have a brother or sister?” Jamie asked me.

“Not yet,” I shook my head. “But I will soon.”

“How?” He tilted his head. “You’re old.”

I frowned. I would’ve been better off to have told him no. Now, I was stuck explaining my complicated life to an eight year old. “It’s a long story,” I finally said, hoping that sufficed.