Page 41 of The Playboy's Most Unexpected Baby

“It would only confuse the matter more.”

“More than that. If we were still hanging around each other after our marriage ended, it would be obvious that the whole thing had been a ruse. It has to look like there’s at least some animosity between the two of us, so we can pretend it’s a real breakup.”

“Right.” Olivia sighed. “You know, we talked about staying friends when this is all over, but that’s not going to be easy to do, is it?”

“It won’t be easy, no,” he agreed.

She looked away.

Charlie wanted to say something more. He wanted to reassure her that they would find a way to preserve their friendship, even if it was difficult to do. But he couldn’t promise that, and right now, he didn’t know if he truly wanted to. What if it was too hard to be around her after they gave this up? What if all he could think about was that soft look in her eyes when they had almost kissed, or the scent of her hair, or the way her hand felt when she held his? What if he could do nothing but focus on everything he had lost — everything he would never get back?

That was no way to build a friendship. Olivia deserved better than that — and maybe he couldn’t give it to her. Maybe he would never be able to be her friend, because he would always wish they could have been something more.

He cleared his throat. “Let’s go,” he said, gesturing to the car. “I don’t want to still be here when the others come out.”

CHAPTER16

OLIVIA

THREE MONTHS LATER

“What would you say to going out on the yacht tonight?”

Olivia looked up from her computer. There was only one month left to go before their six-month probation — as she had come to think of it — would be up. They would be able to list the house in four short weeks, and Olivia had been working hard on the listing so that they would be able to post it the very day they were legally able to do so.

“Out on the yacht?” she repeated.

“I know you’ve wanted to go,” Charlie said. “We could go tonight, if you’d like to. I’m not doing anything, and I think you’ve done enough on the listing.”

“It isn’t finished.”

“Yeah, you say that,” he said. “But I think it probably is. I think you’re just driving yourself crazy by going over and over it when you really don’t need to. Come on, put your work down. We only have one more month together. We need to take advantage of it.”

Olivia’s stomach lurched at the reminder. He was right, of course, and the truth was that she had thrown herself into her work for exactly that reason. It was much easier to focus on the fact that they would be selling the house soon — that she would be coming into the money she had so looked forward to — than it was to think about the fact that her time with Charlie was coming to an end.

“Olivia,” he said quietly, “come out with me. I want us to do this.”

She nodded. “All right.”

He lit up. “Great! I’ve got everything ready.”

“You do?” She laughed. “What were you going to do if I said no?”

“You weren’t going to say no.”

“I guess women never say no to you, do they?”

“Not usually! But on the other hand, you’re not like the women I usually spend my time with.”

And there it was, on cue — the usual twist in her gut at the reminder that she wasn’t his type. He liked women who wanted to play around with him on his yacht and go their own way in the morning. He would never want anything to do with someone like her — someone who would always hold out for something serious.

She closed her computer. “Where’s the boat?”

“Out on the pier. We’ve got to drive to get there.”

“All right. Let’s go, then.”

They left the house. Charlie’s car was already running in the driveway. Olivia looked at him. “You were really that sure I was going to agree to this?”

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