Page 31 of Reckless Intentions
“Thank you, I think it did. I’m happy to be home.” Olivia hoped her tone didn’t belie her true feelings. She would much rather have still been with Brody.
“Let’s get a drink and you can tell me everything.”
Olivia stiffened. Did that mean Caro knew about her and Brody? Who would have told her?
Caro waved at Gavin to bring them over some drinks and almost immediately, he appeared with a bottle of rose, two glasses and an ice bucket. Olivia poured them both large ones, and took a big gulp, fortifying herself for the conversation that was to come.
“Do you think the club’s going to be finished on time now?”
“I think so. Brody, I mean Mr Fox, had moved things on significantly from when I first arrived there.”
“Mr Fox? That’s quite formal. Did you guys not get on?”
Olivia spluttered, thinking at first Caro had asked her if she and Brody had got it on. “Um, no, I mean yes. We had a bit of a rocky start. Soon sorted things out though, once he knew I wasn’t there to spy on him.”
“Yeah, I figured he’d freak when it wasn’t me that showed up. What else did you get up to? Did you see much of Mariella?”
Olivia filled Caro in on her trip, keeping the mentions of Brody to a minimum, not wanting to arouse Caro’s suspicions. They had almost finished the bottle of wine when she glanced up to see Nic holding a replacement.
“Hi, how are you? How was the trip?” he asked.
“Good. I’m good, it was good.” She knew she was repeating herself and sounded lame.
It shouldn’t have been a shock to see Nic at the club. She hadn’t been expecting it though and felt unprepared.
Caro started to get up and Olivia reached out a hand to stop her. “Caro, don’t go.”
“I think you two probably need to talk. I’ll leave you to it. Come and find me before you head home, yeah?” Caro leaned over and gave Olivia a kiss on the cheek as Nic sat down to take her place.
As Olivia watched Caro’s retreating back, she pondered how much of this had been a set up. If Nic had wanted to talk to her, why hadn’t he done so before? Why make the effort of involving Caro?
“You want a refill?” He held up the bottle.
Mutely, she nodded. She suspected she would need a drink to listen to whatever Nic wanted to say to her.
He poured her a fresh glass. “I wanted the chance to talk to you. We haven’t really spoken since Eva and Richey’s party.”
Whose fault is that?Olivia wanted to say, but bit back the words. “What is there to talk about? The fact we haven’t been in touch speaks volumes.”
Nic looked down at the table, unable to meet her eyes. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while you’ve been away. I was wrong to say what I did. And in hindsight, I might have been a bit hasty.”
“Really? What do you mean by that?”
“That I don’t want us to break up for good.”
Nic’s statement hit Olivia directly in the chest and she gasped as if she’d been winded. If he’d come to her the day after the party and told her that, things would have been different. She wouldn’t have gone to Mallorca. And she wouldn’t have slept with Brody.
“What makes you think that?”
“We’re good together. We know each other inside out, we’ve got shared history.” The smile that accompanied Nic’s explanation seemed insincere.
There was nothing about how she made him feel. How much he’d missed her, or how much he wanted her. All the things that Brody had been more than willing to share.
“You’ve made me sound like a comfortable old jumper. Not the person that you’d like to spend the rest of your life with.” Her tone was cold.
“You missed me while you were away, right?”
“Why would I, Nic? You told me that your life would be over if you suggested getting engaged. I think I deserved a bit more than that after all the time we’d been a couple, don’t you?”
