When she tried to put her arm around him, he stepped away.
“See you in two weeks,” he muttered.
“Two weeks?”
“Book club. I’ll be sure to wear my kilt, since you like it so much.” He paused at the door and when his eyes touched hers they seemed armored with ice. “You…and all the others.”
He left quietly, the door closing with only a whisper as he stepped into the blank dark.
Olivia stood there for a hundred heartbeats. A thousand. She stood and stared until the curtains began to glow with the sunrise. Then she took a deep breath and walked to the office. She closed the file and shut down the computer and turned off the lights. Then she stripped down her bed and loaded the sheets into the washer.
By 6:00 a.m. she was dressed and out the door for her daily run, right on schedule. Things were back to the way they used to be, and she tried not to hate the thought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
HE SHOWED UP FOR CLASS.
Olivia couldn’t believe it. She’d thought he would avoid her, thought he wouldn’t want to see her. But there he was, typing away as he always did. Although now, when she stole looks at him, he wasn’t looking back. Maybe her first instinct had been right. He didn’t want to see her, so he didn’t bother looking.
But she couldn’t stop herself. He might be smiling a little less today, but he was no less handsome. And ironically…today, without that mischievous grin and flirtatious sparkle in his eyes, he looked older. More mature. Just as he’d wanted. But it hurt Olivia’s heart to see him like this, as serious and boxed-in as everyone else.
By the end of the class, she was staring at the clock with the strong suspicion that it was deliberately dragging its hands.
“Ms. Bishop?”
She looked past the student in front of her to steal another glance at Jamie. He was talking with the girl sitting next to him. “Hmm?”
“The numbers?”
Olivia forced her attention to the boy leaning over her table. “I’m sorry. Yes, you’ve done a great job. How many sources did you check?” She made herself concentrate on the student and his project, but the shuffling of papers around her spoke of impatience. She glanced up at the clock.
“All right. You may—” But her eyes found Jamie again and she stuttered. He was already moving up the stairs, his back a wide wall against her. “If you haven’t finished your estimates, please do so before the next class. And be sure to review the new information I’ve posted online. You’ll need to know it before Thursday.”
Several students moved toward her with questions, but Jamie didn’t even look back. The door closed behind him and she had to swallow a heavy lump in her throat.
She didn’t know what this grief was. She couldn’t love him, not so quickly. She couldn’t feel betrayed; he’d never promised her anything. So what was this awful ache? And why did she feel so guilty? He’d spoken just as carelessly as she had. Though it was possible she’d been more than careless. He’d wounded and shocked her, and she’d lashed out.
Olivia faked enough enthusiasm to get through the students’ questions, but she breathed a huge sigh of relief when the last one left. She quickly packed up her papers and her computer and hurried toward her office.
If she just kept moving forward, she’d leave this behind. There had never been a future for them. It had only been temporary. And in all honesty, they’d both gotten what they’d wanted. Olivia had discovered her fun side, and Jamie had gotten his plans. He just hadn’t wanted her.
That was fine. She was keeping busy. She just hadn’t expected to see him.
Now she wanted to go home and hide, but after her divorce she’d never allowed herself to spend any time wallowing and she wasn’t going to start now. There were plans to be made. Her plans.
Setting her mouth in a determined line, Olivia opened her office door, but the sight of the man sitting there m
ade her yelp in shock.
“Hell of a way to greet me,” Victor said.
“I wasn’t expecting you.” She narrowed her eyes. “And I wasn’t expecting anyone to be waiting in my private office.”
He winked. “I thought tongues would wag if I waited outside.”
She shoved the last of her shock away and sat down as if his presence didn’t bother her. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”