He's So Fine Read online

  Chapter 26

  Olivia went for a very long walk, and when she got back to her place, it was empty.

  She ignored the little pang of disappointment.

  After all, she’d been the one to walk out. Again.

  She’d work on it. But she wasn’t used to being in this position, which was falling for a guy. It was damned uncomfortable.

  And so not smart, because it meant letting him inside her carefully protected heart after a long period of disuse, never mind the fact that she’d jumped the gun, and instead of waiting for him to walk out on her, she’d done the walking.

  God. She was such an idiot.

  She tried to get another hour of sleep, but it was a lost cause. She got into the shower, scrubbing her hands over her face, wishing she could take last night back. She refused to let herself cry. But the good thing about a shower was that she could tell herself the drops on her face were just hot water.

  Not tears.

  Never tears. She didn’t cry over people anymore. This was just exhaustion from spending her night staring up at her ceiling wishing she’d done things differently.

  So differently.

  As in maybe told Cole the truth about her past. The problem wasn’t him.

  It was her.

  She was afraid. That was the bottom line. She was a coward.

  Lots of people had shitty childhoods and had managed to overcome them. She’d thought she’d done exactly that. After all, she’d picked herself up, dusted herself off, and gone on, creating her own story, giving herself her fantasy identity. It’d meant freedom.

  She’d been happy. Or she’d thought so. But for the first time, she was regretting what she’d done, how she’d chosen to escape her past.

  Other people faced their demons by accepting them and moving on. Not making shit up. That she’d done just that suddenly felt…childish. Like maybe she hadn’t grown up at all.

  She dressed, grabbed her purse, and headed out with no real destination in mind, just knowing she needed a change of scenery.

  “Hey. Right on time.”

  Olivia turned in the hallway and came face-to-face with Becca and Callie, clearly on their way to breakfast.

  “You’re joining us, right?” Becca asked.

  “If there’s a short stack of pancakes in my immediate future,” Olivia said.

  Becca looked at her for a long moment. “Whatever you want,” she finally said. “You okay?”

  As okay as she could be. “Just hungry.”

  Becca nodded. “Me too. Have you seen Cole, by any chance?”

  Seen. Touched. Kissed. Hurt…But he’d given as good as he’d gotten, hadn’t he? “Yes, I saw him last night.”

  “Is he okay?” Becca asked. “I guess there was some sort of misunderstanding between the guys, and he took off.”

  There’d been a lot of misunderstandings last night, as it turned out. But Olivia wasn’t about to air Cole’s dirty laundry, no matter how much she liked Becca, who was watching her with care and concern.

  “Sam felt really bad about what happened,” Becca went on. “He thought maybe the best thing to do was give Cole some space. Which is of course the opposite of how women would’ve handled the situation. We’d have talked it out.”

  Olivia would have liked to help the guys reconcile, but she didn’t know how to do that without betraying Cole’s confidence, which was just about the last thing he needed at this point. “In this case,” she said carefully, “maybe a little space and then talk.”

  Becca nodded. “Good advice. I’ll pass it on.”

  Olivia just wished that same advice would apply to her. But in her experience, people who walked out stayed out, burning bridges while they were at it. Cole wouldn’t welcome her back.

  And damn, there went that pain in her chest again.

  The three women hit the diner, and while they were waiting for their order, Becca slapped her own forehead. “Forgot to tell you, someone came looking for you yesterday afternoon. Knocked on your door and seemed pissed off that you weren’t around.”

  “Who?” Olivia asked.

  Becca shrugged. “She wouldn’t say. I offered to leave you a message, and she refused.”

  A bad feeling curled through Olivia’s gut. “She?”

  “Mid-twenties. Long blond weave, but going by her roots, she was born a dark brunette. Dark eyes.” Becca blinked. “And actually, come to think of it, she kinda looked like you.”

  Yep. There was a damn good reason for the bad feeling in her gut.

  Her sister had shown up in Lucky Harbor. “What did you tell her?”

  “Nothing,” Becca said firmly. “She kinda stormed off before I could find out who she was. I hope she’s not a crazy person. Maybe we should get a security camera in that hallway.”

  “It’s okay,” Olivia said. “I’ve got a feeling I know who she is.”

  “Who?” Callie asked.

  Olivia stood up, dropped some money on the table, and gave a short shake of her head. “Nobody to worry about. I’ve gotta get to the shop. See you guys later.”

  Becca caught her wrist and met her gaze, her own very serious. “You know I’m your wingman, right?”

  Olivia laughed. “You’re not single.”

  “I’m talking about in life.” Becca tugged until Olivia sat back down. “I’m your wingman in life.”

  Olivia had spent most of her adult life excelling at controlling her emotions. Or better yet, not having any. She’d done this by going solo. No expectations. No one to fail or disappoint.

  And in return, no one to stand at her back and fail or disappoint her.

  But Lucky Harbor, and the people in it, had sneaked in past her boundaries. With shocking difficulty, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “That’s sweet,” she said. “But unnecessary. I’ve got my own back.”

  “Well, duh,” Becca said. “But it’s so much nicer to have backup. Besides, I’m cute and hard to resist. And while Cole’s much more hot than cute, he’s also hard to resist. And Callie here, she seems like the solid sort, too. I bet she’d take a place at our backs.”

  Callie nodded. “Absolutely. I’m really good at having people’s backs.”

  “But you only just met us,” Olivia said.

  “Some things don’t take long to figure out,” Callie told her. “Like recognizing a really good person when you see her.”

  “But you don’t know me,” Olivia said. Whispered. Because her throat had gone tight again. Damn it. “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Not true,” Callie said. “I know you cry at those Humane Society commercials late at night and then call and donate money. I know that you trash-talk other bidders when you’re on eBay—which I love about you—and that in spite of being white on white, you can really rap in the shower.” She shrugged at Olivia’s surprise. “No insulation, remember?”

  “Now me,” Becca said, grinning. “What do you know about me?”

  “Waaaay too much,” Callie said. “Did you ever stuff the pipes near your bed? ’Cause last night you and Sam—”

  “That wasn’t me,” Becca said on a laugh. “Not last night, I swear.”

  Crap, Olivia thought, and grimaced. “That might’ve been me. Sorry.”

  “Are you kidding? Don’t be sorry,” Callie said. “I’m jealous as hell. Everyone’s getting some except me.”

  Becca hadn’t taken her eyes off Olivia. “You’re getting some? It’s gone that far?”

  There was no good answer to that question, but apparently one wasn’t required.

  Becca grinned. “Yeah, you are. You’re getting some.”

  “It’s not like you and Sam,” Olivia said quickly. “It was just…well, I don’t know exactly. But it’s over now.”

  “Because of last night and what happened on the boat with the guys?” Becca asked.

  “No, it’s because of me,” Olivia admitted. She stood again. “Listen, I’m sorry. But I can’t talk about this, and also, I really do have to go.