Suspicious Minds (Fate #3) (24 page)

“No.” She reached for his arm. “From what you’ve told me and
Rosie’s said it too, your work ethic is impeccable. I know you’re proud of that
as you should be. I don’t want you jeopardizing anything because of this. I’ll
be fine. It’s just a few days.”

“If he comes back—”

“If he comes back,” Liv said firmly, squeezing his hand, “I’ll
put my foot down. I promise. I’m letting my brothers know about this, but there’s
only so much I can tell them because, as you know, I’ve never told them the
whole truth about my past with him.” Lorenzo began to protest, but she shook
her head and went on quickly, staring straight into his eyes. “I
will
tell them about his being delusional now and insisting we were meant to be and
that I want nothing to do with him. I’ll even let them know you’ll be out of
town and worried that he might try something while you’re gone. Trust me. They’ll
be more than on it. They just don’t need to know the details of everything that
went on between Jay and me back then. It was a long time ago and irrelevant
now.”

Lorenzo stared at her for a few moments without saying anything.
He still didn’t like the idea of not being around while this guy could still be
in town and likely be coming back to see her again. But this was exactly what
he’d been counting on. He had no doubt just by what he’d seen and knew so far
of her brothers. Just as he suspected, especially after Vince mentioned her
younger brother’s nickname that first night he’d seen Liv at his brother’s
place, they were Romeros through and through. If this fucker tried anything
with or without Lorenzo around, they’d be all over it.

Left with no other choice but to accept that once again Liv was
doing and saying all the right things, Lorenzo couldn’t possibly be mad at her
about this. He’d just have to hope this guy didn’t get stupid and had gone
home. He smiled, kissing Liv’s forehead. “Maybe this little guy can take a long
nap because I need to get my fill of you tonight if I’m going to be gone for
days.”

Looking especially relieved, Liv let her tense shoulders fall, and
she wrapped her free arm his neck. “I’m beginning to think you just might be
perfect.”

“Far from it,” Lorenzo said, kissing her softly and trying not to
think about how close he’d come to losing her tonight. “But I still won’t be
pointing out any of my imperfections; that’s for sure. You’ll see them soon
enough. For now, let’s go get our fill of what always
feels
so damn
perfect.”

Sixteen

Olivia

Getting their fill of each other went on for a lot
longer than Olivia imagined. With this being Lorenzo’s last night here, she
ended up spending the night at his place as she’d been doing more and more
often lately. Olivia even offered to drop him off at the airport. She said she’d
only be a little late for her first appointment, but Lorenzo insisted he didn’t
want her being late on account of him. He’d driven himself to the airport
plenty of times.

They stood outside his place now as both their cars warmed in the
cold morning, spending their last few minutes together before they’d be
separated for days for the first time since they’d begun seeing each other.
Olivia hated being so melodramatic, but she was already feeling a little choked
up. She hadn’t even been choked up when she’d said goodbye to Jay before she
left Dallas and she’d known that was forever.

Afraid to say it for fear it was too soon, she’d held back before,
but she knew now without a doubt she’d fallen hard for this man. So she went
for it. After an especially long and very sweet kiss, he pulled away to look at
her.

“I love you.”

They’d both said it at the exact same time and each had the same
reaction. They were staring at each other wide-eyed and speechless.

“What are the odds?” she finally whispered, still feeling a bit
stunned and
completely
choked up now.

Lorenzo shook his head slowly then glanced down at her wrist. She
hadn’t taken off the bracelet since the day he’d given it to her.

“I knew it,” he said, bringing his hands around her face and leaning
his forehead against hers. “I don’t know
how
I knew. But from the moment
I met you, somehow I knew just by looking in your eyes that you’d have the
power to bring me to my knees.” Pulling his forehead away from her, he smirked
suddenly. “It’s why I ran out of there the way I did. It was my weak attempt to
not get sucked in like I knew I would if I stuck around. I’m just so glad fate intervened
or my dumb ass might’ve missed out on this.” He kissed her softly then pulled
away again and looked at her so tenderly it melted Olivia’s heart. “I love you,
baby. The crazy thing is I wasn’t even planning on telling you like this—”

“Neither was I,” she said quickly. “I decided to a few seconds
before I did. “

“Me too.” He smiled big. “It just felt like the perfect moment.”

“It did,” she agreed quickly with a smile despite still feeling
choked up then she pouted. “And now we have to say goodbye.”

His smile fell too, but he kissed her nose and tilted his head. “For
now. It’s just a few days. When I get back, we can talk about something else I’ve
been holding off on.”

“What?” she asked curiously.

A mischievous smile replaced the near frown he’d worn just
moments earlier. “You’re already staying here a few nights a week. Maybe we can
extend that a few more days? Or . . .”

Her heart thumped with a sudden nervous excitement, and her eyes
must’ve been as big as they felt because he lifted a hand. “It’s just a
thought. Don’t freak out or—”

“I’m not freaking out.” Olivia laughed a bit nervously. “It just
surprises me because it feels so soon.”

Lorenzo shrugged as his brows furrowed. “It isn’t really if you
think about it. It’s been a few months now since we first met. Besides, I didn’t
know there were rules. If it feels right, why not? And telling you I love you
doesn’t just feel right. It feels perfect.”

“It felt perfect for me too,” she said, biting her lower lip. “I’ll
be looking forward to you getting back even more now.” She saw the surprise in
his eyes and she nodded. “Yes. We’ll definitely talk about me staying here more
often.”

~~~

Saying goodbye this time felt way different then when
she usually left his place or he dropped her off, not just because they’d officially
declared their love for one another and it’d happened in such an unexpected
way. Nor was it because he’d practically asked her to move in, yet another
completely unexpected twist in her morning. It felt different because she knew
she wouldn’t be seeing him again for days, and already she missed him terribly.
It was a little alarming actually. Things between them had moved so quickly,
and their relationship fell so seamlessly into place as if they’d been a couple
forever. She already had no idea what she’d do with herself tonight when she
got home from work. They’d spent every evening together since day one. Even if
she didn’t always spend the night, seeing Lorenzo was part of her evening
ritual now.

Olivia was still trying to think of things she could do—errands
she could run—then she remembered what she had to do. Frowning as she pulled
her van all the way to the back of her house, she saw Nathan’s car still in the
garage. Nathan was likely getting ready to leave for work any minute now, so
she wouldn’t have time to now, but suddenly she knew what she’d be doing
tonight—telling him about Jay—all the more reason to not anticipate her first night
away from Lorenzo.

As expected, Nathan rushed out of his room when she got inside.
He spied her strangely as she walked out of the kitchen and removed her watch.

“Hey, Livi.” He stopped short when he saw King in her arms. “Whose
dog is that?”

“Mine.” She smiled big. “He’s my new baby.”

Stepping a little closer to pet him, he peered at her curiously. “Seriously?”

“Yep,” she nodded. “He’s a Komondor.”

His eyes opened wide. “Those big ass dogs with the dreads?”

She nodded again even giddier but was glad when he seemed to
remember he was in a hurry so she didn’t have to tell him just yet who’d given
King to her. That conversation could also wait until later tonight.

“That’s cool,” he said, walking away toward the kitchen counter. “You
off today?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I just need to take a quick
shower, and then I’m out of here. I have a full schedule today actually.”

Nathan kissed her forehead as he rushed past her again. “Alright
then, I’ll see you tonight.”

Her phone pinged, and she walked over to where she’d put her
phone down, wondering if it could possibly be Margie. She actually felt a
little guilty about how easily she’d forgotten about her best friend’s ongoing
dilemma when she’d been so caught up with Lorenzo. Yet she didn’t feel guilty
enough to smile hugely when she saw the text was from him. She clicked on it,
feeling like a twelve-year-old again and read it.

Just wanted to text you one last time before I board my
plane and turn this thing off. I miss you so much already. I’ll call you as soon
as I get there and as often as I can. Love you, baby. I’ll be thinking about
you the whole time I’m gone. I can hardly wait to get back to you.

Glad no one was home, she actually squealed as she began texting
back at lightning speed. She even danced a little in place as she texted,
feeling completely silly, but she didn’t care. She knew he wasn’t going on some
dangerous mission or anything, but still, just the thought of something
happening to him made her cringe, so she tacked on a naggy girlfriend request
but kept it short. She wanted to make sure he read it before he turned his
phone off. When she was done, she reread it.

I miss you already too. Please, PLEASE, come home safely
to me. I love you SO much. I’ll be waiting anxiously to hear from you!

Adding a couple of hearts and smiley faces, she sent it off,
feeling all warm and fuzzy. Unfortunately the warm and fuzzy sensation was
short-lived. It wasn’t until after she’d stared at his text to her a little
more that she noticed the missed call from that same number she hadn’t
recognized before. Immediately she felt anxious. What if this was Margie trying
to get a hold of her?

Without giving it another thought, she hit send and called the
number back. It rang three times, and she’d almost given up when a man answered,
and she was silent.

“Hello?” he said for the second time.

Not recognizing the voice at first, she nearly hung up. Maybe it
was just a wrong number. Then he spoke again.

“Ollie, is this you?”

Olivia froze. The fact that she didn’t recognize the local number
was why it hadn’t even crossed her mind that it might be Jay. But now that he
said her name in that unmistakable way only he said it, almost in a murmur, she
knew it was him.

“What do you want?”

“We need to talk,” he said then added quickly, “here in my hotel
room, or I can meet you somewhere.”

“No,” she shook her head, unwavering, as if he could see her. “No
way. I already told you what you came here to find out. I have no idea where
Margie is. There’s nothing else you and I have to talk about, especially not in
person and certainly not in your hotel room.”

“But there’s more I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night.”

“About Margie?” she asked, refusing to get sucked into his crap
ever again. “Because if it’s about anything else, it’s nothing I need to hear.”

Jay was quiet for a moment. Olivia was sure she’d nailed it. He’d
come all this way to play his stupid mind games again. Then he spoke again. “You
and I have a lot more to talk about, and we will, but first things first. I
have something to tell you about Margie. I just think I should talk to you in
person. There’s a lot—”

“No,” she said firmly. “I have no desire to be around you or even
talk to you again. You disgust me now, Jay. I told my boyfriend about you
showing up last night, and he wasn’t happy about it. The only reason I haven’t
hung up on you yet is because of Margie. Whatever it is you have to tell me you
can do it on the phone. I
will not
be meeting you anywhere.”

“Fair enough. I’ll tell you first, but I’m pretty sure you’ll want
to meet with me afterward.”

Olivia continued to shake her head defiantly. She couldn’t think
of a single thing that would make her give into meeting with him and risk
upsetting Lorenzo. Not one. She’d seen the fire in Lorenzo’s eyes last night.
He’d been this close to telling her to go to hell. As sweet and perfect as she
thought him and despite his telling her he was in love with her now, she
believed without a doubt he’d send her packing in a heartbeat if she gave into
Jay’s bullshit.

“I don’t know if she told you or not, but she’d started
experimenting with drugs.”

Jay didn’t go on, as if he were waiting for a reaction to that,
but Olivia had none. She was flabbergasted and therefore at a loss for words.
Just like Olivia, Margie barely drank. Since they’d begun talking again, Margie
did mention she’d done a little drinking with him, but she hadn’t mentioned
drugs.

“What kind of drugs?”

“First, it was just weed; then she tried meth,” he said as Olivia’s
jaw dropped
. No way
. “She said she liked how calm it made her feel,” he
went on, “like she didn’t have a worry in the world when in fact she’d been
real worried and down about losing your friendship.”

Olivia squeezed her eyes shut as he paused on that last statement.
This didn’t sound like anything Margie would do. This was Jay playing mind
games again. He was turning this around on her, trying to make this her fault,
and she wasn’t going to let him. Before she could retort that she wasn’t buying
any of his crap anymore, he went on.

“Remember what we did? What you said you wouldn’t even tell
Margie about?”

“Why are you bringing that up?” she asked through her teeth,
feeling the wave of shame overwhelm her as it had for so long. “I told you
unless it’s about Margie—”

“Listen to me, Ollie. She did it too,” he said, shutting Olivia
up immediately. “She was high but willing when we tried the threesome with
another girl. But like you, she said she’d never want to with two guys. We
started spending a lot of time down in my brother’s basement, not just when he
wasn’t there, but when we had friends over partying. Sometimes . . .”

He stopped and Olivia felt the air sucked out of her as she
clutched her chest. Was this true or were these all lies? All the ugliness she’d
felt for so long when she’d finally opened her eyes and realized how stupid she’d
been for letting Jay drag her down as he had for so long, inundated her.

“Sometimes I had to leave. I had drops to make.” He continued. “When
people want their fix, they want it now. They don’t like waiting. But I knew
she couldn’t go home high, so she’d stay at my brother’s place and sleep it
off. Last month one of the times I left her there, partying with my brother and
his friends, she wasn’t the only girl there, so she said she’d be okay. When
she’s on weed, she’s different, Ollie, way braver and outgoing. Things between
her and me were never like they were with you and me either. I didn’t tell any
of the guys she was off limits, so I’d seen a few of them flirt before, and
they knew I didn’t care. I was gone longer than usual, and when I got back, she
was passed out naked in bed with two of my brother’s friends. My brother
assured me she’d been the one who instigated the whole thing. It wasn’t rape.
He said he even tried talking her out of it—that she’d regret it in the next
day—but she was pissed that I’d left her for so long and was sure I was with
another girl.”

“Were you?” Olivia asked as if she didn’t already know the
answer.

She could hardly believe she’d ever cared about such a monster.
How could he leave Margie in that place with all those lowlife losers for so
long?

“No! That’s the thing, babe—”

“Don’t call me that!”

Olivia was livid now, but she still wasn’t sure if she believed
it all. Two guys? Not Margie. Up until she’d been with Jay, she’d been a
virgin!

“That’s the thing, he said again. “You know me. Even with
everything we went through, I looked after you. I did the same with her. I was
trying to get back, but I got caught up. It happens.”