Page 15 of Love for a Lifetime

That ship had sailed so far over the horizon, it wasn’t even a dot in the distance anymore. She might have been semi-content with their relationship at one point, but he trampled on every good feeling she ever had about him with that epic ending.

Anna sucked in a breath through her teeth. “You’re right. I forgot how awful he was.”

“He cheated on me, then broke up with me,” Olivia reminded her.

“He’s a double loser. What about Travis?”

Travis was a good guy. He was a few years older than her, handsome, and had a steady job. “Nah.”

“What? Hot and independent isn’t your type?” Anna asked.

Olivia didn’t want to get into her type, mostly because it was the same as Anna’s–Dawson. “There aren’t any sparks there.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve known him my whole life! If there were sparks, I’d know it by now. No offense to Travis, but he’s not my prince charming.”

Life would be a lot easier if she was interested in Travis Monroe. Anna was right when she said he was hot. Plus, he had that everyday hero and all-around good guy thing going for him. As a paramedic, he actually saved lives on a regular basis.

Anna crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you being picky?”

Olivia held up a finger. “I am rightfully picky.”

“Okay, okay. I’m not trying to get you to settle or anything. Just have some fun with a date.”

Olivia walked out of Cluckingham Palace hoping to escape the topic of conversation with the change in scenery. “Besides, pickings are slim in Blackwater, and I don’t have time to date.”

“You mean you don’t want to make time to date,” Anna corrected.

“Right. If I wanted to, I would.”

Anna stopped following Olivia, and she turned to see what was wrong. “You coming to see the goats?”

Anna’s nose crinkled, and she tilted her head slightly. “I forgot about something.”

The theatrics meant whatever Anna had to say wasn’t good. “Well, spit it out.”

To Anna’s credit, she really didn’t look like she wanted to be the bearer of bad news. “Trey is Lyric’s cousin. There’s a good chance he’ll be at the wedding.”

Olivia took a deep breath and pushed the anger deeper into her gut. She’d forgotten about that in her rush to forget him altogether. “Really?”

“Really,” Anna whispered.

Fantastic. The guy who cheated on Olivia was going to be at the wedding. Probably with a date. And Olivia would be alone, though, of her own choosing.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the worst news she’d had this week. She’d probably get jury duty before the weekend.

“He’s still a creep. Don’t think about him one more second,” Anna said.

Olivia turned and headed for the goat pens, determined to find some silver lining as the bad news kept coming. “This wedding just keeps getting better by the minute.”

4

DAWSON

Dawson pulled up at the Lawrence farm and turned the radio down. Anna’s car was parked next to Olivia’s.

He’d been hoping for an audience of one this afternoon. Anna was cool, but she wasn’t the woman he was here to see. He’d have to hang around until Anna left to ask Olivia about the wedding.

---