Page 46 of Between Desire and Denial

Then she murmured, “Maybe you shouldn’t write the article. Maybe we should—”

“I’m writing it.” I grabbed the paper and clutched it to my chest before smiling at her. “I’m going to write it and it’s going to be great, Lucille. My father doesn’t get a say in who I’m dating.”

“He won’t ever vote for your boyfriend to be around. He’s trying to push Dimitri Hardy out one way or another.”

“Is everyone trying to do that?” I inquired, because I was starting to think there was an underlying reason. It wasn’t simply about the condos and office building.

Lucille sighed and looked out the window. “Oh, our little Paradise is a complicated place. You know that. I just hope your brother starts to see that your dad isn’t the best influence.”

“But a father should always strive to be that for their son.”

“Not all people are meant to be parents, Olive. You’ve learned that the hard way.” She pulled me in for a hug right as a text lit up on my phone.

She looked down and saw the notification just like I did.

Kee: And if you do get off the birth control, wrap it up. Unless you want littles running around.

I snatched the phone up, but Lucille was already smiling big. “You’re getting off birth control to start a family?” She clapped her hands together, tears in her eyes.

And that’s when I heard the garage door opening.

Dimitri must have gotten home. Not that he’d texted or called. I glanced at Lucille, and she tilted her head before she patted my cheek. “Oh, has he been gone all week? I haven’t seen him outside lately. You must have missed him.”

She wasn’t moving to leave at all. The woman was nosy, and she wanted a show.

Shit.

Chapter Sixteen

DIMITRI

“Oh,he does know how to answer,” Kee mumbled into the phone as I pulled up into our driveway.

I sighed at Kee’s immediate whining. “I’m busy, woman. And I’m about to be home so I gotta say hi to Olive and—”

“I was just texting her. Why is she staying there so freaking long?”

“I offered her extra work while she finishes her thesis.” That was a good, plausible reason.

“What type of work?” Kee inquired, and that’s when I knew I was going to have to drop a little more information than I wanted to.

“She’s just acting close to me so these people here trust me a bit more.”

“How close?”

I relented and explained our fake dating idea.

“That’s… She didn’t even tell me! This is stupid.”

“Why?”

“Because… well… I don’t know. I’m not there! I just hope you’re being nice and not messing with my sweet friend, D.” Shesighed and then continued, “Andyou better not try to hook up with her.”

“Olive’s a big girl. She can make her own decisions,” I told her as I tried to chuckle but winced instead. She was going to be real pissed when she found out. And she would.

I’d spent a whole week away, and instead of fizzling out, my feelings only grew for Olive. I wasn’t used to the intensity of them, to worrying about her, to wanting to be near her. Those feelings had become unavoidable, and I knew I was going to have to admit them to everyone soon enough.

“She’s also probably the most complicated woman you’ve been around for years. She’s embedded in our friend group and—”