Page 42 of Olivia’s Only Pretending (Sweet River #3)

Thirty-One

I didn’t know how much Victor had shared with his family about us since we became an us.

So, when I bumped into Emma and Katie and Emma’s giggly bachelorette party at Chauncey’s, I tried to choose my words carefully.

I knew the family was days away from the wedding, and updates on Victor’s love life were probably low on the priority list, and it should come from him.

Not as a tipsy slip from me.

“Join us for our toast.” Katie grabbed mine and Lucy’s hands, pulling us toward their table. “To Emma Brown, who’s always been my sister, but now, in a few days, it’ll finally be legal!”

The party raised their salt-rimmed margaritas in the air as Katie spoke, and Lucy and I lifted our glasses, too, clinking them together.

“To Emma!” we shouted.

All the partygoers donned matching white tank tops with their bridal party role embroidered across their chests in hot pink.

Emma’s said brIDE . “Did you know Victor’s with the bachelor party right now?”

I nodded. “I did hear about that.”

Lucy and I exchanged a loaded look.

“ Of course you did.” Emma took a sip of her drink. Her tone dripped in insinuation, and I bit my lip trying to resist saying, yes, we’re together. “I’m pretty sure he’d be jealous if he knew I was the one sharing a drink with you tonight and not him.”

I adjusted my slinky, long-sleeve black top. “I kind of wish he was here, actually.” I sighed. I swirled my glass of white wine in its glass.

A small grin pulled at the side of her mouth. “Yeah?”

I nodded, giving a shrug.

“Some people just have that effect on you sometimes, huh,” she said thoughtfully, tucking a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“Truly,” Lucy emphatically agreed, eyes wide. “You can’t resist the pull even from the very beginning, even if it’s someone you really do not want to draw you in.”

“You’re telling your heart, no, no, we can’t like this person, but your heart is already stuck on them like Velcro,” Emma said, raising her voice over the noise around us.

I leaned in closer to hear while someone belted out Backstreet Boys from the stage.

“Sometimes, we make things way more complicated than they need to be,” Lucy said, with the two of us nodding in agreement.

I sipped my wine. Someone pulled Emma away, and she smiled her goodbye, running off.

“His family isn’t going to be very surprised when you and Victor tell them you’re together. Honestly, they’re probably going to be relieved. I feel like they’re anxiously waiting for you two to finally make a move,” Lucy said, scooting closer to me.

“They weren’t always this obvious. I’d blame Emma’s on the tequila,” I said, though, part of me wondered if they were always that bad and I’d just gotten really good at ignoring it. Always playing pretend.

“How do you feel? Relieved?” Lucy asked.

“I feel more than relieved. I feel so …” I felt the smile all the way up to my eyes, my ears. Warmth spread across my body. “I feel so happy.”

Victor made me happy. It was as if I’d been keeping myself locked up in my house all the time, and then I’d finally let my doors open and stepped outside to feel the sunshine. My whole body was aglow. Why did I keep myself locked away all this time?

Lucy reached her hands across the table to grab mine.

I felt giddy and warm and had had a few sips of wine, so without thinking, I leaned on my elbows across the table and said, “I almost said I love you to him.”

“You did?” Lucy flung her arms excitedly, almost knocking over our wine glasses.

I nodded. “It was right there, on the tip of my tongue. I opened my mouth to say it and …” I mimed my mouth zipping. “Zip. Zero. Nothing.”

“You said nothing?”

I nodded. “I said nothing.” The crowd roared their applause for the latest karaoke performance.

“Why do you think that is? Are you scared?”

I took a deep breath. “I don’t feel scared. I think he loves me right back.”

“Then what’s the holdup?” Lucy’s wild red curls fell in her eyes as she tilted her head in question.

“Old habits die hard. I can’t quit being Careful and Cautious Olivia overnight,” I said. It was hot and humid at Chauncey’s as people filled the space. “I want to throw caution to the wind for him, though. He deserves it.”

“You’re going to have to make the words come out—get all Dr. Rhodes on it. Command the room!” Lucy said, all bubbly and happy.

Dr. Rhodes did command the room and felt confident and assured because she was always speaking in her area of expertise. When it came to my new boyfriend? I did not consider love to be my area of expertise.

Glimpses of the creases around Victor’s eyes, his warm laughter, and the way his whole body relaxed when I wrapped my arms around him filled my mind. Maybe love wasn’t my area of expertise, but Victor sure was.

I could teach an advanced course on How to Cheer Victor Up or Intro to Hernandez Sibling Dynamics.

Lucy patted the table, waking me from my thoughts. “We’re up next!”

“Up next for what?” I blinked.

She shimmied her shoulders. “Karaoke, of course.”

A fter Lucy and I had sung our hearts out to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and then an encore performance to Sabrina Carpenter , I jogged off stage sweaty and giggly and in desperate need of another drink. I made my way through the crowd when my eyes landed on Victor Hernandez.

It felt like I’d taken a shot of espresso, a warm giddiness straight into my veins. “Victor!” I called out.

His gaze cut straight to me. His face broke into a smile as he waved his arms for me to hurry over to him.

I ran right to his side, like a puzzle finding its piece, and laced my arms around his waist. His leather jacket was stiff under me.

He squeezed me close, tucking my head against his chest. “Hey, you.”

“I missed you—” I started to say, but then felt the eyes of his brothers, Gabriel and Luis, on me. And I swear I saw Katie’s ears perk up like a German shepherd’s as I spoke. “Buddy,” I added awkwardly at the end of the sentence.

His brows wrinkled in amusement as he looked down at me. “I missed you, too, pal.”

I wanted to pull him somewhere alone and ask if we should just tell everyone right now.

Or grab his face and kiss him, so there was no other choice.

But I also knew we shouldn’t make it about us tonight with everyone there to celebrate Emma and Gabriel.

“How’d the bachelor party get over here? ” I asked.

He exchanged a glance with his brothers. “We heard it was karaoke night?”

“We enjoyed your and Lucy’s song,” Luis added. “You guys are actually pretty good.”

“Oh, thanks!” I said.

“I’m actually about to take to the stage,” Gabriel said. He kicked back a long gulp of his drink before striding off toward the stage.

Fall Out Boy’s “Alone Together” thumped through the speakers as Victor and Luis told us about the bachelor party in between laughing at Gabriel’s karaoke performance. We all cheered when he pulled Emma on stage with him.

Victor kept his arm around me the entire time, his thumb finding the belt loop of my light-wash jeans. I was basically floating, and his rough fingertips brushing against me were the only thing keeping me on the ground.

Emma and Gabriel joined us later. While we all talked, I noticed everyone’s eyes darting to Victor’s hand on my waist, my arms around him. How they’d exchanged glances when he said something sweet about me.

There was a note of concern in their eyes. Do they think I’m leading him on?

“Victor Hernandez!” a young woman shouted behind me.

Victor and I broke apart to turn around.

A tall woman with long, shiny brunette hair wrapped him up in an embrace. She had on a little black dress. “Where’ve you been?” she demanded as he pulled away, his eyes blinking in shock.

“I’ve been around.” He laughed awkwardly. “Guys, this is my friend Georgie. Georgie, this is … everyone,” he said, because our group was probably too long to name.

Though I would’ve loved to hear him introduce his girlfriend, Olivia, right about then.

“Hi, everyone.” Georgie gave a tiny wave. “I’m Victor’s favorite fellow lifeguard from back when we worked together at the pool over the summers.”

He snuck his arm back around me. “Ah, yes, the good ole life guarding days. Saved a lot of lives.”

“Honestly, you risked a lot of lives. Victor, shirtless and watching over the pool, was the biggest distraction. Girls were flinging themselves into the water in hopes of getting mouth-to-mouth from him.” Georgie gave him a playful shove. “Me, included.”

“You were a lifeguard, too. That’s just dangerous.” Victor laughed.

“We were all willing to risk it all. What can I say?” She quite literally batted her eyes. And it looked good.

“I don’t even remember you ever being a lifeguard?” Katie interjected.

It felt warm in this crowded space.

“I think it’s that summer he turned so dark he actually looked bronze,” Gabriel said.

Georgie chuckled. “You were bronze.”

Why were random beautiful baristas and lifeguards always popping up and flirting with Victor?

Victor brushed his thumb back and forth against my arm. “Well, we’re here celebrating my brother’s bachelor party, Gabe.” He nodded to Gabe. “ And his bride’s bachelorette, Emma.”

Emma smiled.

Georgie clapped and told them congratulations. I chewed on my lip, and small talk dwindled until she left.

As soon as Georgie was out of earshot, Katie shoved Victor so hard he lost his grip on me. “How do these girls find you everywhere we go?”

“Hey, hey, drama. Not everywhere .” Victor readjusted his jacket.

“We were willing to risk it all,” Luis said, his voice pitched high like Georgie’s.

My cheeks flamed. Probably my neck and arms, too.

“We were like nineteen that last time we saw each other, guys,” Victor said, sounding annoyed. His hand found mine, his pinky brushing mine.

I glanced around the bar for Lucy, like she was an exit door.

“She obviously still remembers you.” Emma was giggling.