Page 72 of Love for a Lifetime

Laughing, Anna pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Don’t worry about it. They were excited when I asked if you could wear them to post on your page.”

Olivia pressed a hand to her stomach as a weak cramp gripped her insides. “Okay. I think this is plenty.”

Anna fell back onto her bed, sinking into the downy-white comforter. “Wait a minute. I have an idea, but I need to check to see if you’ve already worn an outfit like it.”

“You remember every outfit,” Olivia pointed out.

“Yeah, but I think I remember…” Anna sat up, still staring at her phone. “What’s this?”

Olivia peeked over Anna’s shoulder to see the Instagram collaboration she’d done with Dawson earlier in the week. He’d lined up her hens on Henry’s back, then coaxed the chickens to jump off the goat’s head into his arms.

It was ridiculous, but the reel had gotten over seven hundred thousand views. Dawson turned the women of the internet into mush, and everything he touched turned to gold.

“Dawson’s idea,” Olivia said.

Continuing to stare at the screen with longing, Anna whispered, “I wish he’d look at me with that smile. I mean, look at him. He’s got those birds free falling into his arms. And those aren’t the only chicks who would jump off a cliff for him.”

Olivia snorted. “Don’t go jumping off any cliffs. There isn’t a man in the world worth that risk.”

“Look at those arms. Solid muscle,” Anna said, turning her phone around so Olivia could see the muscles in question.

Shielding her eyes, Olivia turned back to the clothes she’d picked out. “I try not to ogle my friends.”

Anna sat up on the bed, sending her blonde hair flying around her. “You can’t tell me he’s not hotter than a blue flame. The man is masculine perfection. He’s tall, dark, and handsome, but his personality is light and funny. How am I supposed to resist that combination?”

Olivia pressed her hands to her flaming cheeks. Yes, she noticed all of those things about Dawson, but she spent most of her time trying to stomp her attraction back into the dirt.

Anna, on the other hand, wanted to talk about her feelings for Dawson on a continual loop, which didn’t help Olivia hide hers at all.

Olivia hadn’t breathed a word about her close encounter with Dawson a few hours ago. His promise to come by her house later to “talk” held the weight of a deceitful lie as it sat in the back of her throat.

She’d stopped him from confessing some kind of feelings earlier. If he let a true confession see the light of day, she wouldn’t be able to lie and say she didn’t feel the same.

The impending “talk” waiting for her in just a few hours was twisting her insides like a vise.

“What am I gonna do!” Anna howled.

Betsy jerked up from her little bed in the corner of Anna’s room and yipped.

Recoiling, Anna lowered her voice. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.” She turned to Olivia with her shoulders sagging. “She doesn’t like me.”

“It’s not that she doesn’t like you,” Olivia said, reaching for Betsy. “People haven’t always been good to her. It took a while before she warmed up to Dawson too.”

Anna scoffed. “I don’t believe a word of that. Dawson could charm the bark off a tree.” She rubbed her hands over her arms like the chill in Betsy’s bark had permeated the room. “I’ve never had a dog. Mom and Dad hate pets. Maybe that’s another reason I should get my own place.”

Olivia gritted her teeth. Anna’s Mom had intense separation anxiety. She’d suffered from panic attacks when Derek went to college, but Anna’s brother hadn’t let that stop him.

Anna, on the other hand, sympathized with her mom a little too much. So much so that she was still living at home in her twenties. She stayed the night at Olivia’s a few times a month, but so far she hadn’t made any moves to venture out.

Olivia bent at the waist as another pain seized her middle. She forced measured breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth as the stabbing lingered.

“You okay?” Anna said, scooting closer to Olivia on the bed.

Betsy trotted over to Olivia’s feet and whimpered. After all the little dog had been through, it was a curse that she was so perceptive to her pain.

Olivia reached for Betsy, who nuzzled her face into the hollow of Olivia’s neck as soon as she was close enough.

“Liv, are you okay? Do you need me to get you some medicine?”

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