Page 83 of Gone for You

I Was Made For Loving Youbegins playing through the speakers and all joking vanishes in the air around us. I tug her tighter against me and she melts into me, presses her ear next to where our hands are connected.

“Are you listening?” I murmur to her.

Her cheek brushes against my jacket as she nods.

To my heart or the lyrics, it doesn’t matter. They’re saying the same thing.

I feel her body quiver and grip the back of my jacket tightly. “Believe it, Liv. Dig deep. You know the truth in your heart.”

She sniffs and that’s the last thing I want. When she lifts her head and peers up at me, her eyes are filled with tears and red rimmed.

“I’m trying.”

“You’re holding back,” I argue.

We’re swaying so slowly we’ve damn near stopped on the dance floor.

“I know.”

“Do you want to tell me why?”

“I… I don’t…”

“Olivia?” Lily’s voice interrupts whatever she was about to say. “I hate to interrupt. Like…reallyhate to interrupt, but I have to pee and need your help.”

Liv offers me an apologetic look.

“Go. We’ll talk later,” I promise.

She gives me a sad smile over her shoulder as she and Lily walk away and the look on her face tells me everything I don’t want to know. She’s doing far more than holding back. She’s slipping away. Just like I feared she would.

Chapter 38

Olivia

The door slamsagainst the wall as we stumble into Ethan’s house. We’re ripping our coats off each other, dropping them as we move, not caring where they land. I made the decision at the wedding that I was going to get out of my head once and for all. Stop acting like an immature brat and stringing Ethan along.

My hands slide beneath his suit jacket, sliding it off his strong, broad shoulders, allowing my hands to cop a feel over his upper back muscles in the process. He keeps moving us, tongue invading my mouth, hands gripping my butt through the thin material of my dress.

It’s not fair to him and whether I think I deserve him or not, he seems to think I do. He’s made it clear that he wants to see if a relationship between us can work. I hope he’s right because I’m all in. I just have to figure out a way to tell him.

“Damn, you’re so beautiful. I couldn’t keep my eyes or hands off you tonight.”

Giggling, I nod. “I know. I’m not complaining, though.”

“Yeah, me either.”

I think back to how it felt to be in his arms tonight. For everyone to see us together and how proud I was to be on his arm. “If you want to, I think… no, I know, I’m ready. This week, it really showed me what could be. And I want it.”

“Want what?”

I swallow hard. “Us. A relationship.”

He looks skeptical, a bit fearful that I’m not nearly as confident as I should be in telling him that I want to start up a relationship. “Why now?”

Instead of answering immediately, I give myself time to think. He’s worth it. “I’m tired of fighting us. And maybe I listened tonight. To Drew’s speech, to what you were trying to get me to hear.”

“So you’re saying my juice is worth the squeeze?”

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