Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“We’ve seen it,” they managed to say at the same time.
Bobby sat back up. “The girls are spectacular, but you’re right. I only appreciate them on an aesthetic level. But if you’ve known, why have you kept pretending we’re boyfriend girlfriend? Livie, where the hell are your bra and panties?”
She reached for her robe and slipped it on. “It wasn’t that kind of night.”
“Olivia, did you forget your shapewear when you left your man for the night?” Her mom seemed to be putting things together all too well. “Did you sneak out? Did you not even wait to tell the man thank you? I raised you better than that.”
“Momma, I left a thank you note. It was all very polite.” She did not want to have this conversation with her mother, but it was better than having it with her dad.
“Which one did you address it to?” Bobby asked.
Her mother stopped.
So did Olivia, and she sent her best friend a stare that could have cut him in half if she had laser eyes. Which she wanted right now.
Bobby had the grace to wince. “I mean that was nice of you.”
“I was being sarcastic,” she said between gritted teeth.
Her mom stared at her like she was glowing or something. “Olivia, did you spend the night with two men?”
“Momma, please. I had a lot of stress, and I haven’t exactly had a wild sex life lately,” Olivia began.
“Because your boyfriend is gay,” her mom said.
Bobby held up a hand. “It’s not like I haven’t tried, Mrs. Barnes-Fleetwood. I have attempted to get her laid every time we’re together. Unfortunately, most of the guys I know are total nerds, and not the hot kind. But she’s been stubborn when we’re in Bliss. I also know there are some guys at The Hideout who would love to get into her thong.”
Olivia groaned. This was everything she feared. “Mom, it was one night. I don’t even know their names.”
“I can find out their names,” her momma said.
Olivia held up a hand. “No. Momma, I wanted this night, but that’s all I want right now. I’m not ready to get into a relationship. I have work to do and a lot of things to figure out.”
“Bobby, sweetie, can I have a moment alone with my daughter?” her mom asked.
Bobby stood up and sent Olivia a sad smile. “Yes, I’ll go and make sure the buffet is right. I’m sorry, Liv.”
She rolled her eyes. “You better make sure my brothers don’t eat all the Danishes.” When the door closed behind him, she turned to her mother. “Momma, do not make more of this than there is.”
Her mother’s expression softened, and she moved in close. “Baby, we can finally talk about this. You loved that boy. You’ve loved him since you were a kid.”
“I still do. I love him so much, but he’s a friend and that means something, too.”
“It does. It means everything. But Livie, I need you to know how sorry I am that couldn’t work out the way you wanted.”
She had dealt with this. She really had, but her mother’s arms around her felt good.
“I wish you would have told me. I wish you would have let me help you through this,” her mother said.
Olivia moved back, brushing away tears. “It wasn’t my story to tell, and I know you wouldn’t have said anything, but I needed to do this for him. Honestly, I needed to do this for me. I suppose in the early days I wanted to see if it was a phase, which is horrible, but I was very young. And then I realized I simply love him and I don’t need to have sex with him to be a part of his life. He never lied to me. I was the one he told the truth to. Way before he was ready to, but he didn’t want to lead me on.”
“He’s a good man,” her momma said, stepping back and drying her eyes, too. “Like I said, I’ve known for a long time.”
Olivia huffed out a laugh as she moved to the closet where her suitcase was. She was eternally organized, so her outfit for the day was laid out. “Now that I think about it, I can see where you tried to talk to me. A few times.”
“I did, but when you didn’t want to talk, I couldn’t force you. Are you okay, baby?”
She loved her mom so much. “I’m fine. The wedding made me think a lot about the future, and I’m tired of worrying about it. I can’t force the universe to send me my soul mates, so I’m planning to concentrate on work, but I’m going to stop neglecting my own needs. I will start coming into Dallas a couple of weekends a month. I’ll reestablish myself at The Hideout and experiment without thinking about the future.”