Page 59 of Faking with Three

“I’m here with my nephew,” she says, her tone clipped. “And I’d appreciate it if you stayed away from him.”

“Charlie,” Olivia begins, her voice calm but firm, “Adam approached me. We were just saying hello.”

“Funny,” Charlie snaps, her lips curling into a sneer, “how you always seem to be around causing trouble.”

“Trouble?” Olivia says, her tone sharpening. “If I recall, the only person causing trouble has been you.”

“Let’s not do this,” I interject, stepping between them. “Not here.”

“Charlie,” Olivia begins, her voice calm but firm, “Adam approached me. We were just saying hello.”

I can’t stop looking at Adam—that dark brown hair that’s shaggy on the sides, that deep blue eyes.

“We’re here for coffee, just like you,” Olivia says.

“Stay away from my nephew, all of you,” Charlie replies with more venom than I expected.

“We weren’t even doing anything,” I say. “And definitely not bothering him.”

Olivia tugs at my shirt. “Marcus, let’s go?—”

“But we…” I start.

She shakes her head. “No, let’s go.”

I give Charlie Green one last look before we walk out of the coffee shop.

Olivia pulls her coat tighter around herself, her brow furrowed in thought. She’s quiet for a moment, her steps measured, and I can almost see the wheels turning in her head.

“Did you notice something about Adam?” she asks suddenly, her voice breaking the silence.

I glance at her, raising an eyebrow. “You mean besides how overprotective she was of him?”

Olivia nods. “Exactly. But it seems like more than just a knee-jerk reaction. It was... intense.”

I think back to Charlie’s sharp tone, her almost frantic need to pull Adam away from us. “Now that you mention it,” I say slowly, “it did feel like she was guarding something.” I pause. “And the fact that Adam looks so much like someone I know…”

“Exactly!” Olivia exclaims, turning to face me, her eyes wide. “I said the same thing to Jax at the rink. It’s been bugging me ever since.”

We continue walking, but Olivia’s pace quickens, her movements more purposeful now, as if she’s chasing a thought that’s just out of reach.

“What are you getting at?” I ask, falling into step beside her.

She stops abruptly, her eyes narrowing in focus. “I think I have a suspicion.”

I frown. “A suspicion about what?”

Olivia hesitates, glancing around as if the street is suddenly teeming with spies. “I need to talk to my lawyer first,” she says, her voice dropping. “But I think I know why Charlie Green wants to hurt us so badly.”

CHAPTER 18

OLIVIA

The knockat my door is so soft that I almost miss it, buried as I am in the pages of a mystery novel. I glance at the clock on my bedside table. Nearly midnight. My heart skips for reasons I can’t quite name. Setting the book down, I get up and open the door.

Marcus stands there, looking like he just stepped out of a storm, his hair slightly disheveled, a pensive look on his face.

"Marcus?" I whisper, clutching the door. "What are you doing here? It’s late."

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