Olivia (36 page)

“
Hurry!” he orders me as I realize
there are cars coming. When we make it across, I look back at the
crowd that’s been stopped by the traffic.

“
Smart,” I say. “Daring. I would
expect nothing less from my bodyguard.”

One corner of his lips raises into a sly smile as he
looks down at me. After a quick glimpse across the street, he puts
his hands on my neck and kisses me. As I hear the crowd become
restless–still stuck on the other side–he takes my hand in his,
running down the street next to me.

Neither of us can stop laughing by the time we reach
my car. It’s in a private lot near my school, so there’s no one
around us anymore. Jon opens the passenger door for me and helps me
inside before jogging to the other side. He takes a seat behind the
wheel and starts the car.

“
This has been an eventful
afternoon,” he comments, looking both ways out of the lot and
turning down the street, taking us in the opposite direction of my
house, away from the crowd.

“
That’s insane,” I tell him, still
stunned.

“
Kind of a rush, though,
no?”

“
I don’t know what to think,” I
admit. “I’ve never seen people like that with my
parents.”

“
You’re far more interesting than
your parents, Olivia,” he says as he searches for a street that
will take us back in the right direction. “I can’t wait to see the
headlines,” he laughs. “Livvy Holland makes out with street thug on
Madison Avenue.”

“
Yeah,” I say as the adrenaline
starts to wear off. I touch his right hand, noticing how red it is.
“Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. It’ll probably fuel the
fire.”

“
Nah,” Jon says. “You’re news
today,” he continues, “because your dad had to deal with some
police. Someone else will do something better–or
worse
–tomorrow, and you’ll be safe until the next big
thing happens.”

“
I hope you’re right.”

By the time we make it home, Mom and Trey are
peeking out the window. She opens the door for us as we get closer
to it.

“
There were people waiting around
out here a few minutes ago,” she explains. “Matty asked them to
leave. I guess they finally got bored.”

“
Yeah, we were ambushed at the
loft.”

“
This is ridiculous. Are you okay,
sweetie?” she asks as she embraces me.

“
I’m fine, Mom.”

“
I can’t believe that man would
have the nerve to do that to you,” she says. “Thank God you showed
up, Jon.” She hugs him, too, then picks up his hand. “That doesn’t
look good. Can you move it?”

“
Completely,” he says as he flexes
his fingers, wincing only a little at the motion.

“
Let’s get some ice.”

“
What did Dad say?” I ask as we
follow her into the kitchen.

“
He just told me what had happened.
He was following him to the studio when I talked to him, so I hope
he didn’t kill him while they were alone.”

“
I wouldn’t mind getting in another
punch or two,” Jon adds.

“
Honestly, I wouldn’t either,” my
mother says, pressing an icepack onto Jon’s knuckles.

“
Little Liv, you okay?” Matty says
from the doorway. Jon turns to look at him, and I watch as my mom
spots the tattoo on Jon’s shoulder. She reads it, looking a little
surprised.

“
Yeah, I’m fine.”

“
Good to see ya, Jon.” My uncle
smiles at my boyfriend, and I remember how he’d left our house the
night before. That seems like so long ago, and as much as I’d like
to ignore what had happened, I know we need to talk about
things.

“
Mom, I was crying and I got makeup
on Jon’s shirt. That’s why he’s just in his undershirt, if you’re
wondering.”

“
The thought had crossed my mind.”
Jon smiles, realizing she’s seen the tattoo, but he doesn’t explain
anything. “Need me to wash it?”

“
Could you?” I ask her, fishing it
out of my bag. She takes it, starting to walk to the
basement.

“
Can we go to my room, Mom? Just to
talk?”

“
Keep the door open.”

“
All right.” We follow her down the
stairs, veering off into my room.

“
The Ever-Elusive Bedroom of Olivia
Holland,” Jon murmurs as we walk in. “That’s what I’ll call my
memoir.”

“
Ha ha. Hurry before Dad gets
home,” I tease him. He looks around the room and starts to have a
seat on an old barstool I use when I paint. “Come here,” I
encourage him, sitting down on the bed, arranging the pillows
against the headboard.

“
You’re sure?”

“
I’m sure. We’re not going to do
anything with the door open. Mom’s two doors down,
remember?”

“
Yeah,” he agrees as he walks
around to the other side of my bed and takes a seat next to me. He
puts his right arm around me, and I take the icepack from him,
holding it against his knuckles. “So how was your day?” he asks
with a slight chuckle.

“
Why’d you walk out last night?” I
ask him pointedly. He looks away when I glance at him.

“
I was angry,” he says with a
shrug. I shake my head at his response, showing him my disapproval.
“Well, I was.”

“
You can’t just leave when you’re
mad,” I tell him. “It’s not fair.”

“
I don’t think fairness plays into
it at all.”

“
Well, then it’s childish,” I say,
biting my lip as soon as the words come out.

He huffs quietly to himself. “
That’s
fair.” I look once more and see him nodding at
me as he catches my gaze. “I’m sorry I left.”

“
You can’t keep doing that. You
can’t just threaten to walk away because you don’t get what you
want.”

“
Hold on, that’s not exactly how it
went. This was more than me not getting my way. It’s about me
accepting
handouts
–”

“
That’s
not
what it is!” I exclaim, removing his arm from my
shoulder and shifting to face him. “It’s you accepting me for who I
am.” He stares at me for a few seconds, then looks away into the
media room, frozen.

He nods in that direction as my dad clears his
throat from the door, startling me. “Can I interrupt?” he asks.

“
Yeah,” Jon says, standing up
quickly.

“
Sit down. Here,” Dad says as he
walks toward my boyfriend with a glass of water. He hands him the
drink and two pills. “You don’t think it’s broken?”

“
It’s fine. Thanks.” Jon takes the
medicine as he sits back down. He’s not relaxed this time,
though.

“
Thank
you
,” my father says. “I don’t think I would have had
the guts to do what needed to be done. So thank you for handling
it.”

“
It was reflexive,” he explains.
“Instinctive, even. I was actually surprised myself. I’ve never hit
anyone before.”

“
Well, let’s not let it happen
often,” Dad says with a gentle smile. “He’ll be out of the public
eye for awhile. No pun intended,” he laughs. “Did you have any
trouble leaving the building?”

“
It was crazy, Dad,” I tell him.
“People taking pictures and videos, yelling things... we just tried
to get out of there as soon as we could.”

His mood instantly changes. “I hate that. I don’t
want that type of attention on you. I always vowed that I’d leave
the city the second you or your brother started living under a
microscope.”

“
We’re not moving,” I tell him.
“This is our home, and I’m sure it’ll pass. Like Jon said earlier,
someone will do something worse and they’ll have all the press
next.”

“
I hope. It might make Yale look
that much more attractive.”

“
You planned this, didn’t you?” I
tease him, and he smiles once more.

“
I’d never do that,” he assures me.
“If Abram tries to contact you at all, I want to know about it,
okay? I’ll get a restraining order if I have to.”

“
Surely that won’t be necessary,” I
respond. “He seemed genuinely remorseful.”

“
I don’t care how he seemed. I
don’t want him coming near you.”

“
I don’t either,” Jon
says.

“
Well, that makes three of us,
then. I’ll tell you, Dad, don’t worry. But I don’t think he’ll
try.”

“
He still has one painting of yours
that I’m getting back. He said you gave it to him as a gift?”
The painting I did last year. I do want that
back.
I nod, letting him know I know to which one he’s
referring. “I’m going to his apartment tomorrow to pick it up.
Anything else?”

“
That’s it.”

“
For the record, there was no
client tonight,” Dad says. “And I’m glad you went to the loft. If
you hadn’t, I’m not sure anyone would have been there to help you.”
His voice is strained with worry.

“
Daddy, I’m fine. I don’t hold you
responsible.”

“
Do you
need
an agent?” he asks sheepishly.

“
Find a woman,” I encourage him.
“I’ll need one. Soon,” I tell him, hopeful.

“
That’s a great suggestion. Matty’s
making dinner. Since you’re here, you might as well stay,” Dad says
to Jon.

“
Sure.” He finally settles back
against the headboard again. Dad looks at his watch on the way out
of my room, letting us know it will be ready in about a half-hour.
Dad pulls the door with him, leaving a gap of a few
inches.

“
That’s about as private as it’s
gonna get,” I tell Jon as I settle against him. I pick up the
icepack he’d discarded and examine his hand closely. I kiss the
knuckles of his first two fingers, which look the worst. He takes
the ice and puts it back on his hand.

“
Where were we?” he
asks.

“
You weren’t accepting me for me,”
I tell him without looking at him.

“
Olivia, I love you, you know I
do.”

“
But can you live with all of
this?” I ask, motioning to the room around me. “My Dad is a part of
my life. The money will always be a part of this equation. Like it
or not, it’s made me who I am–”

“
I don’t believe that,” he says.
“You’d be the same person without it all. In fact, I can forget
about your wealth most of the time we’re together. But when I’m
reminded of it, it just...”

“
It just... what?”

“
It just makes me feel like I’m not
good enough for you. I’ll never be able to give you what your
family can.”

“
You don’t know that–”

“
Money doesn’t motivate me,” he
argues.

“
It never motivated my father,
either. It was just a byproduct of his instinct and ingenuity...
and his drive. You have all of those things.”

“
Liv, are you really thinking that
I might become a millionaire someday?” he asks
sarcastically.

“
No, that’s not what I’m thinking.
I’m just trying to get you to see that it could happen to
you.”

“
I don’t want you sitting back,
hoping for that. This is about you accepting me, too.”

“
Never once have I dreamed of you
being rich,” I tell him. “You don’t need to be, for me. I’m set.
And whoever I end up with is set, too, by association. Whether
that’s you or someone else, I don’t know... but I
hope
it’s you.”

“
You could have anyone,” he
whispers.

“
I want
you
. I want a guy who’s not going to live off of my
wealth, and I know you won’t. I know it’s there. You know it’s
there. And you have enough ambition to make a life for yourself,
too. So do I. But you have to accept the help of my family when
times get tough... especially now, while we’re young and don’t
personally have a dime between us.”

“
It’s just not that easy,” he says
argumentatively.

I play with the ring on my finger, staring at it
intently. “And walking away from me is?” When he doesn’t answer, I
look back at him once more. “We are bound by things other than
words or promises, Jon.”

I kneel on my bed and face him so I can talk softly
and still say what needs to be said, what he needs to hear. I pray
that we’re alone in the basement, but take a chance anyway.

“
There are a handful of words in my
vocabulary, Jon, that I didn’t truly know the meanings of until
that night in Mykonos.” Jon shifts his focus back to his hand as I
continue quietly. “Vulnerability. Passion. Heaven. Soul. Safety.
Intimacy. Love. Devotion. Fate.
Olivia
.”

His eyes meet mine at the mention of my name.

“
And it wasn’t you that defined
those words for me, Jon.
We
did that,
together
. I know I couldn’t have known any
of those things without you. I like to think that you couldn’t
have, either.”

“
I couldn’t,” he says as he pushes
the ice aside and puts his swollen hand on the back of my neck. He
plays with the curls at the nape, and slowly pulls my head to his
for a long kiss. “As for
Olivia
,” he says
as he nuzzles his nose to mine, “the most beautiful thing about you
is that you
do
know who you are. You did
before I came around. You know your purpose. I didn’t do
that.”