Page 2 of His to Cherish (Club Wyld #5)

LILLY

T his was such a mistake. Who in the hell did I think I was kidding, traipsing into Hoops with my ridiculous shoes and this slutty dress? What did I expect to happen? That Oliver would take one look at me and suddenly see me as something other than his best buddy?

I’m such an idiot.

Oliver could have his pick of any woman in the city. Believe me, I’ve watched him flirt with enough of them. He’s gorgeous and confident and rich—not that I care about that last part. No, my crush on Ollie started way before he had money. Back when he was a lowly data entry tech like me.

My attraction to this man had been immediate.

Pretty much all he had to do was smile at me in the break room at our old job and I was a goner.

It helped that we liked a lot of the same things—we always had something to talk about and being with Ollie was just easy .

The way he looked didn’t hurt either. I’ve always been a sucker for tall guys with dark hair and boyish smiles.

But it was more than that. It took me a while to identify the feeling that I got around him. The way my belly would fill with warmth, my worries seeming to drift away. It was safety. That’s the feeling I had with Oliver. Safety.

A feeling I hadn’t found in years.

Maybe it was the fact that he was several years older than me.

Or maybe it was his overwhelming intelligence.

The way he carried himself with such confidence.

I was surprised a guy like him would even be working at a place like that, spending his hours doing menial data entry in a tiny cubicle.

Once we’d gotten closer, he explained to me that he was only keeping the job to pay the bills until his app was successful enough to provide for both him and his mom.

The man takes care of his mother. Is it any wonder I’d develop such a crush on him?

But I know it’s more than that. Ever since my parents died three weeks shy of my twenty-first birthday, I’d felt alone.

Entering the world as an adult while simultaneously juggling the most all-consuming grief I’d ever known had been damn near impossible.

Sure, I’d had friends. An aunt and a few cousins out of state.

There were people in the world who cared about me.

But it wasn’t until I met Oliver that I felt like I actually had family again.

I’ve told myself over and over again that nothing could ever happen between the two of us. He clearly sees me as nothing more than a pal. He’s even referred to me as “being like a sister” before.

For years I’ve managed to push that crush down into the deepest recesses of my soul. I couldn’t ever let him know how I felt. What if it made him uncomfortable? Friendships have been ruined over less, and I can’t lose his friendship, not for anything.

So I accepted my role as Oliver York’s best friend because I figured it was way better than the alternative.

I even managed to have a few boyfriends, though I wasn’t super enthusiastic about any of them, and to not cry too much when Ollie went out with someone new.

And I think everything would have been fine continuing on that way forever if it wasn’t for what happened at work last month.

It was a typical day, for the most part.

I’ve moved up in the company into a data analysis role.

It’s not my dream job, or anything, but it keeps my mind busy and pays the bills.

The biggest downside to my new position is definitely my co-worker, Jeff.

Jeff is one of those guys every woman has had to deal with.

The kind who does just enough creepy shit to keep you uncomfortable without ever crossing the line into something serious enough to report to HR.

The little jokes, the leering glances. It’s annoying but what are you gonna do?

I don’t want to be known as the girl who goes crying to her boss because some loser gives her the ick.

Ollie, apparently, doesn’t agree. He surprised me with lunch at work, when I thought he was still supposed to be in Singapore on a work trip.

Unfortunately, he came in right when Jeff was loudly telling me about his recent date and all the ways he’d rocked her world.

His language was totally inappropriate for work and I’d told him more than once to leave me alone.

Ollie took one look at my face and lost his shit.

I’ve never seen him like that. Red-faced, hands clenched into fists.

Voice both loud and cold at the same time.

He got in between me and Jeff then backed the loser into the break room wall.

In a low voice he’d told him in no uncertain terms that if he ever heard of Jeff being inappropriate in my presence, he would do everything in his considerable power to ruin him.

It was overwhelming and a little scary, seeing him that angry. It was also really, really hot.

Ever since then, I just can’t get it out of my mind.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, to stop thinking about him .

It’s like seeing him being so aggressive and protective took a lid off the carefully controlled attraction I’ve always felt, and I can’t figure out how to put it back on.

I want Oliver the same way I crave water after a tough work out—like a physical necessity.

But no matter how I might have felt, Ollie continued to treat me the same way he always has. We meet up at least two or three times a week. We watch games at Hoops. We hang out at each other’s houses. We go to the movies and often meet up after work.

And it never goes beyond that. Because Oliver doesn’t see me as anything more.

Last week, I decided to do something about it. I figured maybe I could force him to see me as a woman. Hence the heels, makeup, and dress. And the plan to get him out of Hoops—the place where we’ve spent so much time hanging out as friends—and over to somewhere more romantic.

So far, it hasn’t been going great. If anything, Oliver seemed almost annoyed by my outfit.

But he still agreed to take you out, I tell myself. That’s something.

“You’re being awfully quiet over there, Lilly,” he says, his low rumbling voice cutting through the darkness of the car to make goosebumps erupt over my skin.

“Long week,” I tell him.

He makes a disgruntled noise. “Please tell me Jeff hasn’t been creeping you out anymore. I know you said you want me to stay out of it, but I swear to God, Lil, I’m gonna mess that guy up if he doesn’t leave you alone.”

See? This is what I mean about that whole safety thing. Oliver definitely has a protective streak. I’ve always loved that about him.

But lately? That protective streak is doing more than making me feel safe. It’s been making me turned on. Like, really turned on.

“He hasn’t been too bad,” I assure Oliver. “I think you scared him off.”

He doesn’t seem satisfied by that and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he was planning another trip to my office.

“You know, you wouldn’t have to worry about this if you came to work for me,” he says, and I scoff the same way I have the other hundred times he’s suggested it.

There’s no way I could ever work for Ollie at his software development company. Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of seeing him even more than I already do. But Oliver has a strict rule about his office—he never dates anyone he works with.

I’m already in the friend-zone. I don’t need to add forbidden employee as well.

“You’re forgetting that I like my job,” I point out, and he grumbles under his breath.

I can tell he wants to press me more, but we’ve reached the restaurant. He pulls into the valet lane, and I try not to feel a little thrill of excitement.

I did not grow up with the type of people who could afford valet.

Hell, we couldn’t afford to even split one appetizer at a place like this.

But Ollie pulls his shiny Jag up to the valet like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

I wait while he hands off his keys—he’s yelled at me plenty of times for opening my own door.

He jogs around the front of the car and I can’t help but notice how good he looks in that suit.

Our conversation about clothes back at the bar comes back to me. Why does he wear suits so often? I used to assume he must wear them on the days when he didn’t have time to go home to change after work—that’s basically the reason he gave tonight.

But there’d been a flash of something in his eyes when he said it. Something that looked almost guilty.

God, what if he has somewhere to be after this? The idea that he might be meeting a woman after me makes me want to throw up. Maybe that’s why he was so hesitant to leave the sports bar—he saves these places for the women he’s actually interested in.

“You okay?” he asks, frowning down at me as he helps me from the car.

“Sure,” I say, trying to keep my voice chipper even though my stomach has sunk all the way down to my knees.

I hate the idea of him seeing someone else later. I hate that even in my fanciest dress and most sophisticated makeup he still doesn’t see me as an option.

My normal reaction to this kind of thing is to retreat. Even now the idea of Ben and Jerry’s and Netflix on my couch sounds pretty darn good. But how many times have I done that? How many times have I hidden away, just because I was scared?

I don’t want to be scared anymore. I want Ollie. And I don’t want him seeing anyone else after this.

Step up your game, Lilly, I tell myself as he leads me into the restaurant.

I’d already made a reservation, hoping to basically force him into coming here, but reservations don’t seem to matter when you’re tech phenom Oliver York.

The hostess seems to know him by sight and doesn’t even consult her list, instead immediately leading us to a prime table, right up by the windows in a quiet, secluded corner of the restaurant.

Romantic and private. I can work with this.