Little or not, rich girl or not, Sophie could be scary as hell when she wanted to be. “Got it. Thanks.” A quick glance at the clock on my phone told me if I didn’t hurry, I’d miss Olive. Again. My feet began to move toward the door. “Thank you, ladies! I owe you!”
“Get the girl first,” Eva called out with a good-natured laugh.
“Good luck,” Sophie yelled just as the door shut behind me and I took off at a run down the street, jumped in my truck, and gunned it to the medical center.Olive“We’ll see you next month, mama. Take care.” The bubbly receptionist and her bright smile were about the only things that could pull a smile from me, even if it was a half-hearted one.
“Thank you. See you soon.” I waved with the hand that held the appointment card, clutching the sonogram images in my other hand. Get used to doing things on your own, Olive. You are all you have. That thought brought on another wave of sadness, but I shook it off and made my way out of the lobby filled with happy and nervous couples, eagerly awaiting the newest member of their family. I was happy for them, truly. It wasn’t their fault that I had bad taste in men.
No family to offer my baby.
That’s all right. We’re gonna be fine. Just you and me.
It was a sad thought but I was determined not to cry, so I took a deep breath, slid my sunglasses over my eyes, and pushed out into the sunny day. Things would be all right—not because they had to be and not because I believed things would work out in the end, but because I would make sure they were. That was my job now, and that was what I would focus on.
In time, the ache in my chest would lessen, the grip Liam had on me would loosen. And I had so much on my plate to keep me busy and distracted that I wouldn’t have time to miss Liam.
Hell, I wouldn’t have time to think of him at all.
“Olive.” I froze mid-stride at the sound of Liam’s voice but I blocked it out, knowing I would need time before every voice stopped sounding like his voice. I shook it off with a laugh, berating myself for sounding like some romance movie heroine seeing her lost love everywhere. Except Liam isn’t your lost love, he doesn’t want to be your anything. Clearly.
That was a sobering thought and I shook away the momentary hallucination, my gaze focused on my car just a few spots away. One foot in front of the other, I gave my feet a little pep talk until my hand was on the driver’s side door. See, that wasn’t so hard.
“Olive.” The second time was no hallucination and if it was, I needed to head to the closest shrink and have my head examined.
As much as I didn’t want to do it, I knew I had to turn around if, for no other reason, than to give myself peace of mind. About losing my mind. I turned, slowly, and there was Liam. Looking handsome and angry, and maybe even just a little bit sorry. “Yes?”
When I spoke, he released a rush of air and raked a hand through his hair, which was in need of a trim. “I’m sorry I missed the appointment.”
Right. “Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t expecting you to show up.” I didn’t mean that as bitchy as it sounded, but the words hit their mark.
“Ouch,” he said with a slow grin. “Can we talk?”
Of course, he wanted to talk, probably thought a few charming words would make this all right again. Not this time. “I can’t right now, gotta get back to work.”Before he could even attempt to change my mind, I slid behind the steering wheel and pulled the door closed harder than I needed to, but I was desperate and hormonal. The engine roared to life and I stomped on the gas, peeling out of the parking lot like I was being chased. One quick look in the mirror said I wasn’t, because of course Liam wasn’t the type to chase, and I slowed down. Precious cargo and all that. “Whoa, it’s hot!”
I flipped the air conditioner on because, holy hell, it was hot even for Texas. And it was most definitely the weather and not the man.
Absolutely not the man.
“Olive.” Liam’s deep voice boomed from my speakers on full blast, instead of the Beyoncé song I’d been jamming to on my way to the medical center. “I don’t even know where or how to begin, so I’ll just start by saying that I’m sorry. I am so fucking sorry about—hell, about everything, really.”
My finger hovered over the power button, the urge to silence his voice just as strong as the one urging me to listen.