Page 113 of Gone for You

“You heard me. Don’t pretend you didn’t. And don’t deny it.”

“I…” I have no idea what I was about to say so instead of putting my foot in my mouth, I down the rest of my beer without stopping for a breath.

“Cat got your tongue?”

I press a fist to my chest as I struggle to breathe. “Something like that,” I croak out.

My eyes stay locked on the water in front of me before darting to him, back to the water, back to him and to the water. I sigh. Walk inside and grab another beer. This trip is going to turn me into an alcoholic. I may own a bar, but I don’t drink as often as most people think.

I come back onto the deck where Owen is flipping the burgers. After we both sit down again, I decide to ease into the conversation.

“Why do you think I’m in love with Olivia?”

“You aren’t?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So you aren’t denying it?”

I raise my hands in a settle down motion. “No, counselor, I’m not. But I want to know what you know — or think you know.”

“I know the first night you guys met, if she’d have been a year older and not my sister, things would have been different. When she came to the bar for Lily’s birthday, I know it was the start of something between you two. And I know she’s completely spooked to be with anyone and it has nothing to do with the guys she’s dated.”

“What do you mean?”

“I know you thought that her not being with you was because of what Jared or Aaron did. How she lost herself in them. But it’s not. It’s because of my parents, really. And then getting cheated on herself. When they got divorced, it shocked the shit out of her. And to top it off, I wasn’t around to soften the blow since I was already in college. She feels like they put her in the middle, but they didn’t. Not really. She was seventeen at the time and her world was small, revolved around herself, you know? I’m not saying that to be a jerk — but in reality, her reaction to their divorce was more about her being surprised rather than anything they did. Then she met Jared and he wasallabout her, which she liked, you know? She thought she’d take a risk, commit to someone and then he turned into such a possessive ass.”

“I thought you said Jared wasn’t part of it?”

“He isn’t. Not really. She doesn’t think of you and him the same at all.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I know Liv. And I know what Mom and Dad’s divorce did to her. She tried to play it off, make it seem like it wasn’t a big deal. But it messed her up. All she saw was them cheating on each other and then she, herself, got cheated on. Whatever damage Jared had done when he made her question her ability to read people, only worsened when Aaron cheated on her.”

I take a swig of my beer and stand up to check on the burgers. This conversation is making me antsy and I can’t just sit around listening to Owen’s bullshit. I place all the burgers on the platter and nod toward the door. We go inside and fill up our plates, sit at the table and start eating.

“It’s a load of crap.”

“What?” he takes another bite of burger, juices dripping onto his plate. He wipes his mouth with a napkin then shoves a chip in his mouth.

“That excuse that you just gave me out there. It’s a load of crap.”

“So is you two hiding how serious your relationship actually is from me.”

“We don’t have a relationship.”

“Like hell you don’t.”

I scoop up some of the baked beans and bring the spoon to my mouth. They’re spicy and really damn good. I motion to my plate and give him a thumb’s up like a weirdo and he laughs. Shrugging, I admit, “Well, whatever we had is over now. I made sure of that.”

“Figured as much.”

“I basically told her I wasn’t going to stick around for her to do the same thing to me.”

“I know.”

“Fuck me, maybe you should just tell me what you do know so we can stop this yammering.”

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