Page 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

ROZ

I hit the turn signal and pulled up in front of Sapphire Blooms. As the truck slowed, the door to the store flung open and— oh boy .

Olivia stepped on the sidewalk in a black dress that hugged her curves, giving a hint of cleavage and a lot of leg. Her hair was piled on her head in an elegant updo. She smiled at me, raising her hand in greeting, and my stomach fluttered. It’s just nerves about the dinner with Fred. But why did I feel like a high school senior taking the hottest girl in my class to prom?

Perhaps it has something to do with the kiss yesterday? I clenched my jaw. That had been… that had been a mistake. A mistake I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Olivia’s gaze shifted to the front of the truck, her eyes widening. Shit. I slammed on the brakes only seconds before I would have rear-ended Olivia’s car. The truck jerked, throwing me forward, and came to an abrupt stop.

“Hi! That was close.” Olivia jumped into the passenger seat. For the first time in weeks, I wished I had my old car. This battered pickup truck didn’t do Olivia’s outfit justice.

“Hello. You look—” I swallowed. Stunning? Hot? Sexy? No. They were all too much. “Good.”

Her gaze dropped down my suit and back again. “You scrub up pretty well yourself.”

“Thanks.” I started the engine and began the drive down Main Street toward Rivers Edge. The sun had almost disappeared behind the mountains. Pink, purple and gold-tinged clouds stretched across the sky.

“How are you feeling about tonight?” Olivia asked as we passed the pub, two men doubled over laughing on the front steps.

“I’ll be glad when it’s over. But I think we’ve done all we can—hopefully our practice session yesterday will pay off.”

We reached the end of Main Street and I did a quick right and then left turn, pulling into the Rivers Edge parking lot.

Once the engine came to a halt, I turned to look at Olivia. This was it. Our last hurrah as a fake-dating couple. The last hurdle before Fred signed on the dotted line.

Olivia broke into a small smile. “We’ll be okay.” She reached out and squeezed my hand.

I ignored the tingle on my skin from her touch. “I hope so. I guess we’d better not keep Fred waiting.”

Inside, Fred sat at a table next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a stunning view of the sunset that had deepened to dark purple and red. Its reflection rippled on the water.

“Sorry we’re a few minutes late,” I said as we reached him. I rested my hand on the small of Olivia’s back, trying not to let the warmth of her body distract me from Fred.

“No problem.” Fred beamed. “I’ve just been enjoying the view and a glass of champagne.” His smile widened. “It turns out we have two things to celebrate tonight. Our new business arrangement and my new house! I bought one in Sapphire Springs today.” He reached for the bottle of champagne that was sitting in the ice bucket on the table. “Would you each like a glass?”

“Congratulations!” Olivia said as we sat down. “I’d love one, thank you.”

“Roz?” Fred angled the bottle over a glass.

“That would be great, thanks. And congratulations on the house. That’s fantastic news.” As Fred handed me a glass of champagne, my stomach swirled. I knew he was looking, but hadn’t realized he would move so quickly. It’s just a vacation home. He’ll probably hardly ever be there.

I sipped my drink and glanced at Olivia. She was asking Fred something, leaning forward, her eyes bright with interest. She laughed at his response, her eyes crinkling. My insides fizzed. It’s just the champagne.

I took another sip. Perhaps I should rub her thigh, just like we’d practiced. Yes. That was a good idea.

I reached out and placed my hand on her thigh, just below the hem of her dress. Her skin was smooth and deliciously warm. I moved my hand toward her knee and back again. Maybe I’d just leave it there, for a little while. I shifted my chair closer to Olivia so I could rest my hand there comfortably.

“So, when will you get the keys to your new house?” I asked Fred.

“Not for another three months. The sellers wanted a long settlement period.”

“Well, when it’s time, you’re very welcome to borrow one of our trucks or our van to move if that helps.” Three months. Assuming tonight went well, by then I’d well and truly have Fred’s investment and Olivia and I would have officially broken up long ago. I shot a glance at Olivia and my chest tightened. We’d agreed we were friends, so I’d still see her around. Not only that, but I was her key supplier. There just wouldn’t be any reason to massage her thigh like I was doing right now.

“Are you ready to order?” a young woman dressed in black asked.

I looked down at the menu in front of me. “Sorry, we haven’t?—”

“I was thinking we could do the chef’s tasting menu,” Fred chimed in. “If that’s okay with the two of you?”

I scanned the menu and my stomach dropped. An eight-course tasting menu? We’d be here for hours. And the longer we were here, the more opportunity we had to screw things up. I forced my face into a smile. “That sounds great. It takes the pressure off having to decide.”

“Any dietary restrictions?” the woman asked.

“Olivia is allergic to pineapple,” I said, pleased to show off my knowledge. I patted Olivia’s thigh.

“Thanks, babe,” Olivia smiled at me, placing her hand on my hand. She squeezed, sending a rush of warmth up my arm and into my chest.

My eyes dropped to her cheek. Now was as good a time as ever. I leaned in, pressing my lips to her smooth cheek. Mmm. I wanted to do that again. And again. But that would be too much, wouldn’t it?

“Olivia?” a woman’s voice broke the moment.

Olivia’s eyes widened. Oh god. What now? I twisted my head. A man and a woman weaved between the tables in our direction.

“Dave! Rach!” Olivia stood, her face flushed, and gave them both a hug.

Olivia turned back to the table. “This is my brother, Dave, and my sister-in-law, Rachel. They’re visiting from New Jersey this weekend. And this is Fred and Roz, of course.” Olivia’s cheeks turned an even darker shade of pink.

Dave’s brow furrowed, his eyes darting between me and Olivia. Oh shit. They don’t know. Had they seen me kiss Olivia on the cheek? Would Fred think it was odd if Olivia’s own brother didn’t know who I was? Should I pretend I already knew them? Fuck. My heart thumped loudly.

Fred and I rose to our feet. Fred reached out and shook their hands. In usual circumstances, I would shake someone’s hand when greeting them for the first time. But nothing about this was usual. I took a deep breath and went in for a hug instead, fighting the urge to say it was nice to meet them in case it set off alarm bells for Fred. “Hello.” That was safe, right?

“I thought you were having dinner with Mom and Dad tonight?” Olivia shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

“They offered to look after the twins so we could have a date night. We got here at 5:30 and we’re just leaving to save them from the nightmare that is bedtime.” Dave grimaced and turned to Fred and me. “We have six-year-old twins.”

Olivia laughed, but it sounded a little strained. “Well, good luck with that.”

Rachel’s gaze dropped to my arm and her eyes widened. Shit. My hand had made its way back to the small of Olivia’s back without me even noticing it.

Dave straightened the cuff of his sleeve. “We’ll let you enjoy your dinner. Assuming we survive tonight, we’ll see you Sunday, Liv.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Rachel said, smiling at me and Fred.

My eyes shot to Fred. If he’d registered Rachel’s comment suggesting we’d never met before, he showed no sign of it. Thank god.

We waved goodbye to Rachel and Dave and were taking our seats when a man cleared his throat. “Your first course, a black garlic and caviar macaron.”

The server placed a large plate with a tiny black macaron on it in front of me. Okay, if all the courses were this minuscule, perhaps we wouldn’t be here all night long.

I popped the macaron in my mouth, eyes widening as a kaleidoscope of flavors and textures exploded in my mouth. “Wow. That’s incredible.”

Fred leaned over and grabbed the bottle of champagne from the center of the table. “I thought it would be nice to do a toast to celebrate our new partnership.”

He refilled our half-empty glasses and then lifted his own glass high and cleared his throat.

“Over the past two weeks, Roz—and you too, Olivia—has made a very convincing business plan for my investment in Red Tractor Farm.”

Olivia placed her hand on my thigh and smiled at me.

“And while the facts and figures you presented have certainly been compelling and I’ve also been impressed by Red Tractor Farm’s commitment to sustainability, the deciding factor for me was always going to be you.” Fred fixed me with his gaze. “With this investment, we’re entering a long-term business relationship. Before I made my decision, I wanted to make sure all the key building blocks of a good relationship were there. Trust, communication, respect and shared values. From our friendship over the years, I thought they would be, and all our interactions over the past few weeks have confirmed that for me. I’m confident that, together, we will make Red Tractor Farm a success. So, I wanted to raise a glass and say cheers. To Red Tractor Farm and long-lasting relationships!”

“Cheers,” Olivia and I echoed, clinking our glasses

Guilt twinged in my chest as I sipped my glass of champagne. Trust, communication, respect and shared values. If Fred ever found out about Olivia and I… I squeezed Olivia’s hand. He won’t. We just need to get through another seven courses and then we’ll be safe.

We moved on to discussing Fred’s vacation plans as one mouthwatering course after another was delivered to our table. The tension in my shoulders dissipated.

As the server cleared the plates for the eighth and final course—a pistachio soufflé—Fred yawned and glanced at his watch. “I’m clearly getting old. It’s not even ten o’clock and I’m ready to hit the hay. But don’t feel you need to leave too. The night is still young.”

Olivia glanced at me, a questioning look in her eyes.

I nodded. “We might stay here and grab another drink. Thanks so much, Fred. I’ll definitely do everything I can to make your investment a success.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Fred said, his voice warm. “I’ll have my lawyers send over the documents. Knowing them, it’ll be at least a week or two. They’re very fastidious but not the fastest group around.”

My chest tightened. A week or two? Until the investment documents were signed, Fred could still back out. But surely nothing could go wrong now. Fred had made his decision. We survived our celebratory dinner. He was heading back to the city tomorrow. Now all that was left were the formalities.

We stood to say goodbye to Fred. Once he left, we slumped back in our seats and looked at each other.

“Thank god that’s over,” Olivia said, lifting her water glass and taking a sip. “I nearly had a heart attack when Dave and Rachel appeared.”

I groaned. “I take it you haven’t told them about the fake-dating situation?”

Olivia shook her head. “But I’m sure Mom and Dad will fill them in when they get home.”

“Apart from their unexpected arrival, I thought it went pretty well. All our practicing paid off.” My hand was back on Olivia’s thigh again, our legs pressing together. I swallowed. We didn’t need to pretend anymore. “Should we just go order at the bar?”

Olivia nodded and stood.

At the bar, we waved down the bartender. “I’ll have a smoked Manhattan and…” I looked at Olivia who was studying the cocktail menu.

“A paloma for me, thanks Sam,” Olivia said.

We leaned against the bar, waiting for Sam the bartender to work her magic.

A curl of hair had fallen from Olivia’s updo, resting against her cheek. I reached out, gently brushing it behind her ear. Goosebumps pricked my neck.

Olivia smiled. “Very nice. Just how we practiced it.”

“You know, I think we did all the moves we practiced yesterday, except one.” I grinned.

“Oh?” Olivia raised her eyebrow. “We definitely did a few leg rubs.” There had been a lot of leg rubbing. “And I did put my hand on your shoulder and laugh at your joke about horses, which was terrible, by the way.”

I crossed my arms. “Fred thought it was hilarious.”

Olivia pressed her lips together. “So which one didn’t we do?”

I disentangled my arms, wrapping my left one around her waist and pulling her to me.

“Ah yes.” Olivia laughed, wrapping her right arm around my waist.

My pulse quickened. I’d demonstrated the move. Now was the time to let go. But it just felt so right. And Olivia is not letting go either…

After tonight, there’d be no more reason to touch Olivia. My chest hollowed. There’s no reason to touch her now. Fred is gone.

Perhaps this was just a friendly embrace. We were friends now, after all. Friends who kissed yesterday.

Olivia smiled, looking at me with her gorgeous brown eyes framed with dark lashes.

Did someone just turn up the heat in here? I tugged at the collar of my shirt, my eyes dropping to her soft, red lips.

A rush of desire flooded over me. I wanted to kiss her.

I wanted to do more than kiss her... things that friends definitely didn’t do to each other.

Oh shit.

I slowly lifted my eyes to meet her intense gaze. Her arm was still around me, her breathing heavier than usual. Was she feeling it too, or was I misreading the signs?

I clearly misread the signs at Pryde. Maybe it’s happening again.

I blinked as the memory jolted through me. Why had she never called me? The question that had been percolating in the back of my mind—and sometimes in the front of my mind—for over six months suddenly felt urgent. Don’t do it. You won’t like the answer.

“Olivia.” My voice was low.

Her neck bobbed gently with a swallow. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you reach out to me after that night at Pryde?”

She pulled back, frowning at me. “What? Why would I have called you? You left without a word. Even if I’d wanted to, I had no way of contacting you.”

My brow furrowed. “You didn’t get my note?”

“Note? What note?”

I stared. “The note I left with Brenda, apologizing for running out, asking if we could raincheck?”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “You left a note with Brenda?”

“You didn’t get it?”

Olivia shook her head, the curl springing free from behind her ear again. “When I got out of the restroom, both you and Brenda were gone.”

“Oh shit.” It had never even crossed my mind that Brenda might not have delivered my message.

“What did your note say?”

“Something along the lines of: My niece has been rushed to hospital. I’m sorry to run off, but can we take a raincheck? It was the night Lottie got appendicitis. Mel had just left and Matt called from the ambulance, freaking out.”

We stared at each other, realization slowly sinking in.

Olivia stepped forward, filling the void between us. She was so close now, her gaze electric. My entire body vibrated with anticipation.

“So, you weren’t so repulsed by me that you ran away?” Olivia studied my face.

I lifted my hand and stroked her cheek with my thumb, tucking the curl back again. “God no. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night, about you, since it happened.”

Damn. She was so beautiful. I wanted to kiss her again so badly.

I leaned in, my heart pounding.

Olivia leaned closer too.

Oh. My eyes fluttered shut as I lost myself to the softness of Olivia’s delicate skin. Our lips parted at the same time, hot tongues slipping into each other’s mouths. I grasped her hips, pulling her closer to me. She felt so damn good. Her breasts pressed against mine and I fought the urge to let my hands to wander down to the curve of her bottom.

Through the waves of desire, alarm bells rang through my hazy brain. This was real. Not faked for Fred or the result of us getting carried away with excitement. Was it really a good idea?

Olivia moaned softly, sending a bolt of heat to my core. Fuck . Perhaps we just needed to finish what had been started that night at Pryde, and then move on with our lives. My core throbbed with need. Yes. Just one night.

I swallowed. “So, how about that raincheck?”