Page 14 of The Playboy's Most Unexpected Baby

She wished she could talk to them, at the very least, about everything she was going through, so that she wouldn’t have felt so alone.

Talking to Charlie was out of the question, of course. He wasn’t the kind of person who would empathize or understand. He would probably just look at her like she was crazy and ask what the big deal was. He wouldn’t understand why she found it so maddening to live in that unfamiliar house with a man she hardly knew — a man who drove her crazy every time he opened his mouth. He would just tell her that she was lucky to have gotten the chance to sell the house she’d dreamed of selling.

Shewaslucky. She knew that. She should be grateful.

She shouldn’t be dwelling on everything that made it so difficult. It was just that, with the timeline extended like this, it was hard to believe in the payoff she knew was waiting for her at the end.

CHAPTER6

OLIVIA

“I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight,” Charlie said.

Olivia looked up from the book she had been reading. “You’d like what?”

“I’d like it if we could go out to dinner together,” Charlie repeated. “Would you be open to that?”

“Why?” Olivia asked. “You’re not hoping we’ll be seen together, are you?”

“Nothing like that. In fact, I have a restaurant in mind that’s off the beaten path, and it’s unlikely anyone will see us there. It’s called Amore.”

“So, again… why do you want to do this?”

“We’ve got the meeting with the executor tomorrow,” Charlie explained. “We should be thinking about what we’re going to say to him. After all, we have to convince him that we’re in love. That our marriage is genuine.”

“We can’t just tell him that?”

“No, I don’t think so. Rogan’s going to be suspicious. He’s going to think there’s a chance I’ve made the whole thing up in order to claim my inheritance.”

“Wow, I wonder what would make a person think that about you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Charlie said, rolling his eyes. “The point is, you need Rogan to believe this as much as I do. So you can sit there throwing darts at me about how unethical you think I am, or you can help me come up with a story about how you and I got together.”

“And this necessitates going out to dinner why, exactly?”

“Look, I’m trying to make this as nice as possible,” Charlie said. “I think it would be nice for us to have a meal together. If you don’t want to do that, fine. We can sort out our story here. But I think it would be more fun over some good food. That’s all I'm saying.”

Olivia sighed. She knew she was just being difficult. If the two of them were going to have to sit down for a serious conversation anyway — and Charlie was right, they did need to do that — it made just as much sense to do it over dinner, and it might be fun. “All right,” she agreed. “Dinner it is. Do I need to dress up?”

“No, you’re okay in that.” He gestured to her outfit. Olivia was wearing jeans and a button-down shirt. It was true that they werenicejeans — they were new, and the most expensive pair she owned. But she wouldn’t have considered this an appropriate outfit for a professional dinner.

“Are we going now?” she asked him.

“I’m hungry now. Are you?”

“I could eat.”

“Let’s do it, then.”

They went out to his car. It was Olivia’s first time inside it, a fact she didn’t fully realize until she was climbing in. The interior was luxurious — leather seats that seemed to form to her shape, so she felt completely supported. She saw on the dash panel that they were heated, too, but it was a warm evening, so she didn’t try that feature.

“What kind of restaurant is it?” she asked as they pulled out.

“Italian,” he said. “I know that’s a little simple, but it really is one of my favorites. Give me a good hearty pasta dish over fancy fusion food any day of the week.”

“I agree, actually,” Olivia admitted. “It always makes me feel a little uncultured, but all my heart really wants is noodles and cheese.”

“You’re going to love this place, then,” he assured her. “You’re going to have the best meal of your life — trust me.

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