Perfectly Inappropriate

For a month, Cameron had never checked in. He never asked her anything about herself. Or how she was feeling. Or apologized for breaking her heart. They had only, and always, talked about the sale of the house over text. Though even knowing all that, something he said made her curious. “What would give you the impression that I’m not okay?”

He lifted one shoulder in his easy way. “This guy…he’s just different than you.”

“Wow,” she breathed at the audacity of him. “Honestly, Cameron, I don’t want to have this conversation with you. We have nothing to talk about except the sale. So, next time, call. Don’t come by my work.” She turned to walk away.

“My mom misses you.”

Olivia’s heart squeezed, and she shut her eyes as emotion rushed over her. Heather, Cameron’s mother, was a kind and sweet woman. A woman who Olivia still kept in touch with on Facebook. For ten years, his family had been her family, and that was another part of this heartbreak that hurt. “Please tell her that I miss her too,” she managed, though she couldn’t seem to walk away.

“Olivia.”

The firmness in Noah’s voice had her opening her eyes. Her breath caught as she took him in standing a foot away. A stark contrast to Cameron, his tailored suit seemed to fit his wide frame even better. Where Cameron seemed to hold weakness and uneasiness in his gaze, Noah held none.

Noah’s eyes then flicked to Cameron over Olivia’s shoulder. “Cameron,” he said, his voice calm and controlled. “We seem to keep running into you.”

“I needed to talk with Livvie about the sale of our house.”

Okay, the emphasis on “our” was totally unnecessary. Noah obviously heard it too because he grinned. Like how a killer whale would grin at a seal before he completely ruined his day. Though instead of losing it, Noah appeared even more in control. “Does Olivia have the information she needs?”

Cameron gave a tight nod, fists clenched at his sides. “Yeah.”

Without another word, and leaving Olivia speechless, Noah opened the door of the restaurant and gestured Olivia inside. She moved immediately, not giving Cameron another look. When the door shut behind them, Olivia finally exhaled the breath she’d been holding, trying to catch up with all that had taken place. “I have no idea what the hell that was all about,” she admitted.

“I know exactly what that was about,” Noah said, his jaw clenching. “Cameron was making a statement.” He placed his hand possessively on her back, guiding her into the restaurant. “And that’s why I made my own statement too.”

In that moment, Olivia knew for certain that if that was Noah and Cameron’s version of a dick-measuring contest, Noah had won.

* * *

—

Tension rippled through Noah as he guided Olivia farther into the Italian restaurant. He preferred the open and airy feel in the clean and modern space. Dark wood tables were spread out, giving enough space to avoid most eavesdropping. They followed behind the hostess through the tables, Noah giving his obligatory smile to the people of New York City that he served who recognized him. Though with each and every step, he also recognized that texting Olivia this morning and asking her out to lunch was one more thing he never would have done before. But the truth was, he wanted to see her again. Tonight was too far away. And the second he’d seen her outside, his day had improved tremendously.

Until Cameron, of course.

When they reached their table, he pulled out Olivia’s chair and waited for her to sit before taking a seat across from her. He immediately grabbed his menu, knowing she had only an hour for lunch. The last thing he wanted to do was waste time today. “I’ll take the roasted chicken sandwich and a lemon water,” he told the blond server who sidled up to their table.

Olivia smiled and handed the waiter her menu. “Actually, that sounds really good. I’ll take the same.”

With the waiter headed back toward the kitchen, Noah kept his attention focused on the woman in front of him. He understood that emotions often made situations complicated, but he did not understand why he’d found Olivia with Cameron outside the restaurant. He wasn’t particularly happy about it either. Not interested in skimming the issue, he asked her directly, “Does Cameron have part ownership in your house?”

“Not really.” She grabbed her napkin off the plate and settled it onto her lap. “When Cameron moved in with me right after I finished college, my dad had us sign a cohabitation agreement that kept the house as my asset until—and if—we married. My grandmother gave me a substantial inheritance when she passed, so my dad wanted to make sure that stayed mine. But when the house sells, he’ll get half of whatever we paid on the mortgage during the time we lived together.”

At that curious bit of information, Noah arched a brow. “Is your father a lawyer?”

“How’d you guess?” Olivia laughed softly. “He practices family law at a small firm in the Bronx. After all the stuff he sees every day, you can’t really blame him for living on the edge of caution.”

Noah wouldn’t blame him one bit. “Considering the outcome, that choice was a smart one.”

“No kidding,” she agreed with a nod.

Noah watched her intently and pondered what she’d told him. Perhaps her father had known that Cameron was a bastard, and he anticipated that one day Olivia would leave him. That said a lot about Olivia’s father. He supported his daughter above all else. Not telling her to stay away from Cameron but protecting her nonetheless. Noah respected that, finding himself wanting to meet that man. In fact, he found himself wanting to meet the people who had raised this amazing woman he couldn’t take his eyes off when the waiter returned, placing Olivia’s glass of water down first. Noah waited until the waiter left before getting right back to the conversation. “If you don’t mind explaining this to me, why is Cameron handling your sale if he has no investment in the house?”

She’d been drinking her water and slowly lowered her glass to the white linen covering the table. “Because when everything went down, and the dust settled, he offered to handle the sale for me.”

The tightness in her voice told him there was more to that story. His instincts told him to push, albeit gently. “Talk to me.” He leaned forward and held her hand on top of the table. “Help me understand this. In my mind, I cannot imagine taking the help of someone who betrayed me. So why did you, a strong and smart woman who ran them out of your house when you caught them, take his help?”

She bowed her head and her voice thickened. “I know I should have I handled the sale myself, but I can’t go back there. So, it was either take his help or get my parents to sell the house or ask Paige to help.” She gave him a quick look and an even quicker shrug. “His help seemed like the best option out of the three. I didn’t want to depend on anyone else. And I figured he owed me.”