Page 45 of Under Control
“Sinister?” She laughed. “Now you’re being dramatic. I’m just worried about you. I’ve been telling you for a long time to put yourself out there, but I also don’t want you to get your heart broken.”
“It’s a little early to worry about that,” Olivia lied. Maybe. It seemed to her as if it was definitely too early in the relationship timeline to worry about her heart, but her mind shied away from imagining what it would feel like if Derek wasn’t in her life anymore.
The conversation with Kelsey stayed with her, creeping up from her subconscious throughout the busy day.
It just means he’s not sure about you yet.
Sure about what, though? Sure that he liked her? Olivia knew he did. And she had no doubt they were compatible in the bedroom. But there was still that whole part of Derek’s life he wasn’t sharing with her, and maybe that’s where the doubt was lurking.
She needed to meet his kids. Until she did, there was only so far forward she and Derek could go together before they started spinning their wheels.
When she walked through the door of Broussard Financial Services, Olivia tried to shove those thoughts back into her subconscious where they belonged—for now. She was here to go over some details for the Village Hearts benefit and she wanted a clear head. They’d decided after a brief email exchange that it would be more efficient to simply meet in Jess’s office for a few minutes than to keep bouncing emails back and forth.
It was quiet in the offices, but Olivia could see a few people still behind glass partitions, working at their computers. And Jess stepped out from a hallway, a smile on her face. “Hi, Olivia. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem. With the benefit coming up so soon, it’s a better use of our time to nail down these details so we can move on to the next items on the list.”
And a mere twenty minutes later, when Jess emailed the results of the session to George and Ella, copying the rest of the board, Olivia felt the familiar rush of checking a job done well and efficiently off her list.
“We work well together,” Jess said as she powered down her computer. “I hate to keep repeating how glad I am you’re a part of Village Hearts, but I really am.”
“I am, too. Are you heading home now?”
“I am. I usually work late on Tuesdays and Fridays anyway, since Rick won’t be home waiting for me, but I want to stop by and see my grandparents tonight.”
“It must be hard to make it all work.”
“What do you mean?”
“You live in the same neighborhood as their fire station, don’t you?” Jess nodded. “Isn’t it a long commute for you?”
“I’m not going to lie. It’s tough sometimes, especially when the weather’s bad. But it’s worth it.” Olivia must have looked skeptical, because she laughed. “You don’t look convinced.”
“It seems like so much wasted time and your time is...valuable.”
“More valuable—financially speaking—than Rick’s?”
Olivia’s cheeks burned. “I didn’t mean to imply that. Speaking strictly from an efficiency standpoint, you commute back and forth through the city every day, while Rick works two shifts a week and they’re twenty-four hours long.”
“I know it looks like that, but they’re always doing something with meetings and covering shifts for other guys and community events. Paperwork. Those assigned shifts aren’t the full extent of his job. And I like living near our family and friends. Kincaid’s. I love our house, which was my grandparents’ house, actually. It’s just...home.” She shrugged. “I use the commute time for things I can do on the move, and I delegate a lot. Sometimes, if I don’t have meetings with clients, I just work from home.”
Olivia nodded, trying to process that. It didn’t seem like a structured enough plan for a woman with Jess’s responsibilities, but it looked as if she was making it work. Somehow.
“So, speaking of family,” Jess said, “I, uh, heard you met Amber.”
Olivia’s face suddenly felt so hot, she actually put her hands to her cheeks. “Yes. We met. I guess she gave you the details?”
“She didn’t give meallof the details, but the fact your face is the color of a cherry tomato right now is filling in the gaps.” She made asorryface. “It probably doesn’t help much, but she feltreallybad about it.”
“It was awkward. And weird.” She frowned. “In my experience, divorced couples don’t have relationships like that.”
“It’s probably rare for a couple to go back to the friendship they had before it all fell apart, but they managed it. Minus the romance in the friendship, of course. You know they’re not hung up on each other, right?”
“I know. I believe that.” And she did. “It just threw me a little, I guess. It’s one thing for him to tell me they have a good relationship, but she has a key and just lets herself into his apartment and they laugh together. And it’s not wrong. I don’twantthem to hate each other and fight over everything. It’s just an adjustment for me.”
“He’s worth it,” Jess said quietly. “I haven’t known him a long time, but I’ve known him long enough. I know his family. And my husband sees him on the job, and Derek’s a good guy.”
“He really is.”
