Distractions (The Rebound Series) (8 page)

Alex shook his head slightly, shooting a look over at Olivia.
 
Now, it was starting to scare him how deeply he was beginning to feel for her.

But it scared him more that perhaps she didn’t feel the same way.

“I told my mom about you.
 
So I’m sure my father knows by now,” Olivia murmured.
 
She shifted in her seat suddenly and turned to face him.
 
“I should warn you that these family parties tend to be…crowded.
 
My family is always in each other’s business and I know it can be a bit much at times.
 
I don’t think you’ll have to worry about my mom too much, since she’ll be too busy hosting and running around, but if you feel overwhelmed at all, we can always escape early or go hide somewhere.”

“Maybe I’ll want to go hide somewhere regardless,” he said, grinning.
 
“You can show me your bedroom.”

She blushed at his implication but didn’t say no.
 
And in no time at all, Alex was pulling up to a quaint little house with one very crowded street and driveway.

“Oh jeeze,” Olivia muttered.
 
“Looks like the
whole
family was invited.”

Alex smiled comfortingly and squeezed her hand as he effortlessly parallel parked across the street from her parents’ driveway.
 
The moment Alex killed the engine and slid out of his car he heard the unmistakable sound of a party rising from the backyard.

It was late afternoon, but the Autumn sun still hung low on the horizon.
 
It would be chilly soon, so Alex grabbed an extra jacket from the back seat of his car.

Alex linked his hand with Olivia’s when he rounded to her side of the car and together they threaded their way through the multitude of cars up to the front door of the house.

Olivia let herself in without knocking and they were immediately enveloped by the warmth of the house.
 
There was loud chatter echoing down the hall and the repetitive sound of a sliding door being opened and shut at an almost constant rate.

“Hello!” a soft women’s voice called out and it amazed Alex that their entrance had been heard at all among all the commotion.

“Livy,” shrieked an excited child, who came tearing down the hallway.
 
Alex watched with a feeling of unease as Olivia wrapped her arms around the little girl, who couldn’t have been more than five or six years old.

“Stop growing, Grace,” Olivia commanded, feigning awe.
 
“You must be at least a foot taller than when I saw you last.”
 
The little girl giggled and then her curious, bright eyes were drawn to Alex.
 
He shifted in his spot, smiling.
 
But the truth was that Alex had always been uncomfortable around children.
 
He reasoned it was because he was one of the youngest of his entire family.
 
There had been no children after him and he had interacted with very few in his life.

“Is this your boyfriend?” the girl asked, with a mix of curiosity and disgust that only a child could muster.

Olivia brushed aside the question easily by asking, “Don’t you have a boyfriend yet, Grace?”

“Yuck, no!” protested the little girl and she forgot her first question.
 
Alex didn’t know how he felt about Olivia’s obvious deflection.
 
Even though they had agreed on only seeing each other, the idea of boyfriends and girlfriends seemed so juvenile to him.
 
And it was something they hadn’t really discussed.

“Whose at the door, Grace?” yelled a voice from farther inside the house and Grace turned to run back down the hall, gone as quickly as she came.

“Come on,” Olivia murmured, her warm eyes studying him.
 
If his discomfort showed on his features, she didn’t comment on it.

Alex was quickly led down the hall into a well-lit kitchen.
 
There were fewer people in the kitchen than Alex had originally thought, maybe only a half dozen.

“Oh, Livy, that
was
you,” an older woman exclaimed when they appeared in the doorway.
 
Right away, Alex figured she was Olivia’s mother.
 
They had the same bright blue eyes and even though this woman had silvering blonde hair, they shared very similar features.
 
Those blue eyes slid to Alex, observing the way her daughter’s hand was connected to his own and their proximity to one another.
 
“And you must be Alex,” she said, smiling, rounding the counter to come greet them.
 
“My daughter didn’t tell me what a looker you’d be.”

Alex’s smile came easy as he gazed down at the petite woman who stopped in front of him.
 
“I can say the same about you,” he replied smoothly, giving her a small wink.

“Oh, stop it,” she said flushing lightly as she reached out to give him a welcoming hug.
 
When she pulled away, she said, “I’m Lenore.
 
It’s nice to meet you, honey.”
 
She turned around to the rest of the group in the kitchen and announced, “Everyone, this is Alex.”
 
Alex nodded his greeting as various people called out.

Lenore turned to her daughter and gave her a hug and a kiss.
 
“Hi, baby,” she said, wiping the lipstick print she left behind on her daughter’s cheek.
 
“I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

“You just saw me a couple of weeks ago, mom,” Olivia reminded her.

“That’s too long!” Lenore decided definitively.
 
Olivia glanced up at him in exasperation, but Alex was thinking that it had been almost four months since he had last seen his own mother.
 
It had been more than seven months since he had last seen his father, but that was another matter entirely.

Lenore pulled them both outside to the noisy backyard.
 
It was a smaller backyard, but it made the celebration more intimate.
 
Alex took in the small playground set with swings and a slide for the children, perhaps the very set Olivia herself had played on when she was younger.

Children laughed and ran around, chasing one another.
 
There were perhaps two dozen people total, who were either lounging on lawn chairs or seated around plastic tables.
 
Alex spotted Miles at one of the tables, seated between a dark-haired man and a blonde woman.

Alex could smell the grill and its enticing smoky aroma.
 
Lenore called out to the man tending to it, “John!
 
Come here.”

“Hold on, woman,” grumbled the tall man, flipping over some burger patties before closing the grill top.
 
He snagged his beer bottle and made his way over.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said to Olivia, wrapping her in a tight hug before releasing her.

“Alex,” Lenore stared, “this is my husband, John.
 
John, this is Alex.”
 
She turned to face her husband.
 
“If you plan to keep me as your wife, honey, you’d better step it up.
 
I’ve set my sights on this one.”

Alex laughed as John rolled his eyes.
 
“Nice to meet you, Alex,” John said, shaking Alex’s outstretched hand firmly.
 
The older man saw his empty hands and declared, “You need a beer.”

And Alex immediately knew the two of them would get along.

“Livy, shame on you, not getting your man a beer,” John mumbled.
 
“I didn’t raise you right.”

Olivia rolled her eyes and let go of Alex’s hand.
 
“He’s physically capable of getting one himself,” she said sassily.
 
Alex grinned at her vexed expression, but wisely chose not to say anything.

“Come on, Alex.
 
Let’s get you one out of the cooler,” John said, gesturing near the grill.
 
Which was father-speak for ‘I’m about to interrogate you about your relationship with my daughter.’

“Sure,” Alex replied, smiling at Olivia’s vaguely alarmed expression.
 
He brushed his lips against her forehead as he passed by her, mumbling, “See you soon, darling.”

Olivia glanced out the backyard door nervously, spotting Alex easily among the crowd of relatives and friends.
 
She came back in the kitchen with her mom shortly after her dad had dragged Alex away.

Olivia relaxed when she saw Alex laugh and take a swig of his beer.
 
Her dad was talking animatedly, which Olivia thought was a good sign.
 
She knew deep down that she had nothing to worry about.
 
Alex was a charmer.
 
He always knew the right thing to say and she was sure he had been to more parties than she could ever dream of going to in her entire lifetime.
 
He was always easy to talk to and he knew the right moments to chime in without monopolizing the conversation.

But, nevertheless, Olivia was worried that her father might somehow scare him off.
 
It was an irrational fear, since her father was one of the nicest people she’d ever known, but it weighed on her mind as she helped her mom whip together potato salad.

The kitchen was cleared of people, for once.
 
Her mom had shooed everyone out in the back, saying that the food was almost off the grill.

But Olivia knew it was just an excuse.
 
Her mom was anything but subtle and it was Olivia’s turn to be poked and prodded.

As if on cue, her mother asked a little too nonchalantly, “So, where did you meet Alex?”

Olivia mentally sighed but forced herself to answer brightly.
 
“He came into my shop a couple weeks ago.
 
He was buying some cupcakes for his grandma.”
 
Olivia was sure her mother would like that last part, hence the reason why she added it in.

“Well, you two must have really hit it off,” her mom said, smiling.

Olivia nodded, “We did.
 
He came in the week after and asked me out to dinner.”

“He sure is handsome,” her mom commented.

“He is,” Olivia agreed softly, returning her gaze to him.
 
He was dressed casually…well, as casual he could be in a sweater and jeans.
 
He had shaved before they left, since he usually had a little bit of scruff around his jaw by late afternoon.
 
His black hair was neatly combed and gelled.
 
Olivia had a fierce ache to run her hands through that hair to muss it up.
 
She wanted to see it as she usually did when they were laying in bed together, talking softly and kissing.

Her mother brought her out of her thoughts when she cleared her throat.
 
“You really like him, don’t you?” she asked softly, not missing the way Olivia’s gaze lingered on Alex.
 
Her mother never missed much when it came to her.

Olivia smiled through her blush and nodded, looking down at the potato salad in front of her.
 
“I do.
 
He’s wonderful, mom,” she murmured honestly.

Her mother was silent for a moment but when Olivia looked up to see her reaction, she saw her smiling lightly.
 
“Then, I’m happy for you, baby.”
 
Her mom reached over to squeeze her hand as she gave her blessing and Olivia felt relief.

“Thanks, mom,” she said.

Her mother returned to mixing the dip, but then asked, “Is it awkward for you to see Miles here?”
 
Her tone was concerned but Olivia wished she hadn’t brought up his name because she felt some of her ease turn into anger.

“I’d rather him not be here, but it can’t be helped,” she answered truthfully.
 
“He
is
one of Brandon’s closest friends.
 
And it is his birthday.”

“Did you see the woman he brought with him?” her mother asked with a hint of incredulity.
 
“She is positively
caked
with make-up,” she gossiped.

Olivia had to smile at the scandalized tone of her mother, who raised Olivia on the belief that when it came to make-up, less was more.
 
“I noticed,” she said, her tone cool.
 
Olivia didn’t doubt that she was the woman he had cheated on her with.
 
Their familiarness with one another was plain for all to see.

Olivia flicked her gaze to observe the two of them only to find Miles’ eyes on hers.
 
He still looked the same to her.
 
Whenever she looked at him, she would probably always feel a familiarity because they had been together for so long.
 
But now, instead of feeling a comfortable dependability, she felt distaste.
 
And disgust…but only for herself.
 
Disgust for letting him walk all over her during their relationship and doing nothing about it until the end to stand up for herself.

Miles sent a small smile her way, but Olivia only nodded once to acknowledge him and then looked away.
 
In the back of her mind, she knew she would have to deal with Miles eventually.
 
But for now, she fantasized about not having to speak to him at all.
 
But given the way he had showed up at her apartment unannounced a couple of nights ago, Olivia knew he would attempt to approach her.

Olivia shifted her gaze to Alex once again and smiled when she saw a few more people had joined their group.
 
She shook her head when she noticed most of them were women, her great aunt included.
 
But for once, she didn’t feel insecure about it.

“Okay, I think we’re all set,” her mother declared loudly, placing the huge bowl of dip at the end of the counter.
 
They had the food set up along the kitchen table and spread out across the counters.
 
Olivia knew that her parents would have leftovers for weeks, judging by the sheer amount her mother had prepared.