Page 9 of Olivia’s Only Pretending (Sweet River #3)

Eight

Victor

De nocte cenae nostrae excitatur!

…was any of that right?

(it’s supposed to say I’m excited about our dinner tonight)

Me

That was mostly right. I’m proud of you!!

I can’t believe you’re actually learning Latin.

Victor

you inspire me

you make me want to learn more

plus, now I’ve gotta keep up with my pretend gf’s coworkers and all the languages they’ve studied

F riday came, and I could barely focus at work. There were lectures to give and essays to read and grade, but in the background, my mind kept sounding the alarm: call off the charade.

If this fake date with Victor managed to not blow up our friendship, it could easily blow up my work life. I wasn’t living in some silly romcom movie. I’d worked too hard to start playing make-believe in front of my colleagues.

I spent my entire lunch break anxiously chewing through my salad, on the precipice of calling Victor and telling him the plan was off. That I’d suck it up and go to my work dinner on my own like the full-grown woman I was.

But I didn’t.

Because I was torn.

Until a few days ago, I hadn’t seen Ryan since our breakup. And this next time would be with all my coworkers, all of whom had known us as a couple when we were Ryan and Livvy . I shuddered at the memory of that old nickname he’d given me. I’d tried so hard to make myself like it.

And Victor had a way of calming me down and making everything more fun. He made things that were usually hard, like knocking down a wall or having tough conversations with my family, feel easier. I knew having Victor by my side would make so much of my anxiety around this evening fizzle out.

So, I put off calling him, even as it ate away at me the rest of the afternoon.

Finally, on the drive home from work, I knew it was time to call him and put an end to the insane plan we’d concocted in our post-kiss haze.

“Hey, you.” His voice echoed through my car. “You getting ready for our big date?”

“I’m just driving home from work, actually,” I said through the knot in my throat.

“You know, I’m actually pretty excited. I can’t wait to see you all fixed up and meet your boss.”

“Meet my boss?” I choked. What would Victor even say to my boss? I couldn’t handle bringing her into our scheme. This was such a bad idea.

“Of course. That’s at the top of my list.” His voice muffled on the other line for a second, like he had the phone propped between his shoulder and ear. “How’re you feeling about it?”

“I … I don’t know. I’m rethinking it.”

“ Rethinking it?” His voice sharpened. “Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about what a wild idea it is to bring you as a fake date to my workplace,” I said. “I don’t know what I’ve been thinking. I can handle seeing Ryan on my own. I don’t need to drag you into drama and risk our friendship … or my job?—”

“Olivia,” Victor cut in, voice steady and calm. “I’m not your fake date. I’m your real date. I’m your best friend. Why not bring your best friend?”

I nodded along, listening from my driver’s seat.

“Our only plan is not to correct anyone. That’s it. We’re not making a scene. We’re just letting them call us whatever they want to. I don’t think you’re risking your job—or us—by bringing your best friend, someone who really cares about you, to your work dinner.”

I sighed, hitting my blinker as I took the exit. He made it sound so simple and harmless compared to the dumpster fire my brain was creating.

“Besides.” He broke through my thoughts. “I want to go. I’m excited. You dump me now, and that’ll cause some drama in our friendship.”

“Really?” Maybe I was simply overthinking the whole thing.

“Really,” Victor said, a car door slamming on his end of the line. “And, admit it, you’re nervous to see Ryan. That’s normal. That doesn’t make you weak or immature, it makes you human, and your friend wants to be there for you—let him. Let me .”

I swallowed, my grip tight around the steering wheel. “Okay.”

“You need to take a deep breath,” he said, reminding me to inhale and exhale, my chest expanding and contracting underneath my seat belt. “I think tonight will be fun, honestly.”

I stood in the middle of my closet, surrounded by dresses, jackets, and sweaters, but I still didn’t have anything to wear to the fancy work dinner.

I’d had a couple of options in mind—a slinky green dress, maybe a red jumper, but now, under pressure, neither felt right.

And Victor would be here in less than an hour, so I had no time to waste.

I had an idea, so I pulled out my phone and called up Lucy. The moment she picked up, I blurted, “Can I borrow a dress?”

“Do you have a specific dress in mind, or do I need to bring over options?” she replied without missing a beat. Her blinker clicked, and the low hum of her car buzzed in the background.

I closed my eyes. A couple of weeks ago, we’d gone shopping, and I’d talked her into buying a silky black slip dress. I ran my fingers across the clothes hanging around me, the material rough underneath my fingers. “That black dress you bought the other day?”

“I knew you wanted that dress for yourself.” She chuckled. “I’m heading home from work now. I’ll grab it and bring it over.”

“ Y ou’re doing that deep breathing thing you do when you’re stressed out,” Lucy said, with her head cocked to the side as she examined me from her spot lounging on my bed. My oat-colored comforter was bunched up under her stomach. “Is it because of Ryan?”

“Well, Luce, I’m not exactly thrilled he’s going to be there,” I muttered, even though I was nervous about so much more than Ryan.

I twirled around in front of my full-length mirror, smoothing the black silky material with my shaking hands.

“I hope it doesn’t ruin the fancy dinner for you.

I know you’ve been excited about it. But, hey, at least Victor will be there.

” Lucy crossed her ankles in the air behind her.

“Honestly, him showing up as your date will probably make it things just as awkward for Ryan. So you won’t be the only person suffering tonight. ”

“Making it awkward for Ryan wasn’t really my intention, you know,” I said, turning to Lucy. “I just wanted to have my person there.”

She had her thinking face on. Her nose was all scrunched up. “Victor’s your person?”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean my person like that .” I crossed my arms. “Not like how Adam is your person.”

“How did you mean ‘your person,’ then?” Lucy sat up on the bed, serious about this conversation.

My nerves were already on edge. I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to be grilled about my feelings for Victor by one of my sisters again. “He’s become one of my closest friends. It’s as simple as that.”

“Well, he’s a good person to have,” Lucy said. Victor hadn’t just won me over this summer. He’d made fans out of the whole Rhodes clan. “Is knowing he’s going to be there helping you feel better about tonight at all?”

I turned to her and let out a big exhale. “Not the way I’d hoped.”

“I can tell.” She gave me a sympathetic pout.

The room was getting darker, aglow with only a couple of lamps.

“The last time my colleagues saw Ryan and me in the same room, we were Ryan and Olivia , the golden couple of the history department.” I twisted my auburn hair into a low knot at the base of my neck. “After he left, I wasn’t half of a couple anymore. I became poor Olivia, left behind by Ryan.”

I paused, catching eyes with Lucy in the reflection of the mirror.

“I worked hard to finally become just Olivia . To rebuild my identity at the school outside of him. And now, I’m afraid of what will be going through everyone’s heads tonight.

What if Ryan’s presence reminds them how I was pathetically dumped?

One day, we were together, popping in and out of each other’s offices, and then abruptly, it was just me alone in my office.

Everyone would poke their head in with this pitying little look. ”

I still remembered that look—the awkward shrug and downcast eyes. The bone-deep embarrassment I’d feel every time I saw it, wishing I could hide under my desk.

“No one will feel sorry for you, Olivia. That department knows—and has seen—what a strong, capable woman you are. They’ve had front row tickets to see how you’ve bloomed out of his shade,” Lucy said, then with a conspiratorial grin added, “Plus, you’re going to have a hot date on your arm. No one will feel bad for you. ”

I laughed despite my heart knotting up in my chest and trying to crawl out of my throat.

“I had my worries about letting everyone think Victor is your boyfriend, but I’m actually really glad he’s going with you tonight. I hope you can loosen up and forget Ryan’s even there. Your department is big—you might not even see him, you know?”

“Can I tell you?” I said, turning back to my mirror. “I’m a little nervous to see how Victor interacts with my colleagues. I’ve never seen the man in a serious setting, much less a dinner with the head of my department.”

Lucy chuckled. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”

I had a few ideas. “I could see this little plan of ours going awry. Maybe I feel sick and should stay home?” I stopped combing back my flyaways.

“You look too hot to stay in.” Lucy slid off the bed, coming over to stand behind me in front of the mirror. “But you do need big hoops with this hairdo.”

Lucy’s messy red hair was pouring out of her own claw clip.

She started digging through my jewelry. I looked in the mirror, remembering how Ryan used to complain that I “never let my hair down.” He’d sometimes pull it out of its ponytail when we were out, without even asking me, no matter how many times I’d explained how I liked my hair out of my face while I worked.

And I like how it looked. Lucy and Gracie always said I had my Olivia Power Pony. It was an Olivia trademark.

I looked at my sleek auburn bun. Ryan would hate it. And I loved it, smiling in the mirror at my reflection and the sprinkling of freckles across my nose.