Page 25 of Losing Ansley

"He's coming over," I warn her, and she straightens her spine. She steps up next to me, and I see her chin lifted out of my peripheral vision. Victor's eyes never leave Liv. Caroline steps up next to her to give her strength. She's handling this run in a lot better than the last one.

"Olivia." He greets her, and his voice sounds like whiskey over rocks. He's in jeans that hug him tight, and I try not to gape, but it's hard. This man is rough around the edges but gorgeous. He has to be in his late thirties or early forties. It's not fair that men age like fine wine.

"Hi, Victor. You can call me Liv." Liv responds, and his mouth tips into a smile as he openly looks her up and down. I glance at Liv to see how she feels about that, and I notice the flush of her skin, even in the dark, making me pause. Interesting.

"Did you enjoy your visit?" He asks, and she scoffs. His eyes narrow as he waits for her reply, and I roll my lips between my teeth to keep my mouth shut.

"No, actually. We were leaving to go somewhere else." Victor's stance changes from relaxed to tense, and he takes a step forward.

"What do you mean? Why didn't you enjoy it?" He demands. Liv actually rolls her eyes.

"Why do you care?" She asks, and he growls. He is intense.

"Because this place is mine, and if you weren't pleased, I need to know why so I can fix it." The way he says pleased causes goosebumps to break out on my arms. I can only imagine what kind of reaction it's causing Liv. I can tell she's barely hanging on from the subtle glances she's giving him. I grab her hand and catch Caroline's eyes.

"Listen, Victor; we sat there for almost an hour, and no one came up to take our order. We had to go to the bar and order our own drinks." Shit! I forgot my card. But I keep going. "So, we weren't pleased." His eyes narrow, and he nods once.

"I'll handle it." He starts to walk away but then stops giving Liv one more look. "It was good seeing you, Olivia." With that, he walks away, and Liv stomps her foot, but he's gone before she can reply. She turns to us in exasperation.

"I hate that he calls me that!" She exclaims. Caroline looks back and forth between us, wide-eyed. She has no idea who Victor is, only that he's Liv's stepfather's best friend or ex-best friend, according to the run-in we had with him a few weeks ago at the restaurant.

"I'll be right back. I have to go grab my card and pay out my tab." They both nod, and I walk off. Liv and I have been friends longer than Caroline, so there are some things Caroline doesn't know. She's probably confused as hell.

When we all had the run-in with Victor a while back, she didn't ask any questions because Liv was so upset. I don't know all of Liv's story, but I do know her stepfather is not a good guy. I found her in the bathroom crying one day at work and practically hyperventilating.

She wouldn't tell me what happened, but I hated seeing her hurt, and it seemed like she didn't have anyone. So I told her about Rose, which pissed her off at first. I was persistent, though, with being her friend; I let her decide if she wanted to start seeing Rose.

We started eating lunch together and having girl's night every Friday. Over time we adopted Caroline, and now the three of us are like the three musketeers. I've never had friends like them. I've always been closed off, but they've become like sisters.

I walk up to the bar and wait until the bartender notices me, turning my eyes toward the end of the bar, where Victor is talking heatedly with an employee. My attention comes back to the bartender when she comes over and smiles at me.

"I need to close my tab. Ansley Lawrence." I tell her, and she nods. She turns around and hands me my card without a receipt. "Where's my receipt?"

"Nothing was charged to your card. Someone else paid for it." Lincoln!

I slam my hand down on the bar top.

"Son of a bitch!" I exclaim. The bartender yelps, and her eyes go wide.

"Is something wrong?" I turn toward Victor's voice. He got over here fast. I look back at the bartender, and see the anxiety on her face. Sighing, I grab my card and shake my head.

"No. She's perfect. It's not her fault." I mumble as I put my card in my purse, turning back toward the bartender. "Sorry for my outburst. Thank you!" She nods and hurries away. When I turn around to leave, Victor still stands there like he's waiting for an explanation.

"Someone paid for my tab that shouldn't have." I find myself telling him for some reason. He narrows his eyes.

"Why shouldn't they?" He questions and I scoff.

"For many reasons," I reply, and he raises an eyebrow, but I don't say anything else. I wave my fingers and begin walking away.

"Is Olivia okay?" He asks before I can get too far. I turn around slowly and tilt my head at him.

"Yes," I say slowly, and he nods.

"Good." He glances over his shoulder at the person he was talking to, still standing there. "I handled what happened tonight. It won't happen again. Will you all come back again?" I squint my eyes at him and bite my lip.

"Maybe," I say elusively, and he gives a short nod before walking away. What is it with this man? Liv has never talked about him before. I wonder if she'd be willing to tell me anything about him. I pull my phone out.

Me: What the hell? I don't need you paying for my girl's night anymore.

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