Page 79 of The Hardest Hit

“Because…” She tried to think of an argument she hadn’t already deployed.

“It’s Christmas,” he said.

“And I haven’t gotten you anything but wine that I forgot at home.”

“What kind?” he asked, looking interested.

“Something that you don’t have, but I think you’ll like.”

“Excellent,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well, but you’ve already bought me like three Christmas presents—” She cut off, catching his expression. “It’s more, isn’t it? There’s more, isn’t there?”

He grinned sheepishly. “It’s vacation. Presents are like calories when you’re on vacation, they don’t count.”

“You’re making me uncomfortable,” she said, and his face shifted to a serious expression.

“I’ll stop,” he said. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I just like buying you things.”

“And I start thinking about how much you’re spending, and I have a panic attack.”

“Ah,” he said. “Speaking of that.”

“Oh dear,” said Olivia.

“Tonight I’m going to spend a fuck ton of money.”

“Would you care to define fuck ton?”

“No, you’d probably go hide in the bathroom. But—and look at me, I’m very serious—this is all budgeted for, you don’t need to panic.” He held her eye as if looking for confirmed understanding. She nodded. “Also, as part of… the appearance of things, I need you to look as if you’re not even thinking about panicking. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t ask. I don’t think you should ever have to change your behavior for me. But tonight, I was hoping to look…”

“Cool?”

“Yes,” he said.

She fingered the necklace. “So I should look hot?”

“You always look hot.”

“And I should look like we totally do this all the time and we don’t spend the majority of our time just making out and drinking wine. In other words, like we’re fancy people.”

He looked as though he were trying not to laugh. “Think of it as your alter ego.”

She caught sight of herself in the mirror and sighed. The pendant was just the right length and glittered with a subtle, but still impressive sparkle. She liked how it looked against her skin. She didn’t want to take it off. She looked back up at Evan and bit her lip. God, why did she always want to fuck him after he gave her things?

28

Evan – Kake Casino

The limo pulled away from the curb and Olivia looked around the interior and then frowned. She scooted across the seat to snuggle next to him, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. “You were way over there,” she said by way of explanation.

“Clearly a problem,” he said. He was smiling. No, he knew he was beaming like an idiot.

Evan was under no illusions why he had started buying her more presents. He wanted her to love him. He wanted her to love him with the overriding passion that he felt for her. He just didn’t know how else to accomplish that.

“I’m sorry I’ve been making you feel uncomfortable,” he said.

She sighed. “I’m sorry I keep harping on the money. You don’t need me to tell you what to spend. Especially if you’ve got it in your budget.”