Page 31 of Rivals Next Door

I raised my eyebrows. If that was true… damn. “Still giving you a hard time, huh?”

“You were the only one he listened to, you know. He thought you were the coolest boyfriend I ever had.”

“I was,” I snorted. “I wasn’t a goddamn Ken doll with perfectly coiffed hair, and I didn’t wear fucking khakis and loafers.”

Olivia rolled her eyes so hard they practically circled her head. “Yeah, sure, you were very cool.”

I suppressed a smug smile.

“Mom had a health scare recently,” she shared. “We almost lost her.”

It was my turn to flop back into my seat. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” My concern was genuine, and I hoped Olivia saw that. Vivian Brentwood was the opposite of her husband. She had embraced me instead of berating me for not being good enough for her daughter. She never called me “trailer trash” and neither did Liam.

“She’s doing better now,” Olivia said. However, her soft sigh resonated with worry. “How’s your mom?”

“She’s doing great. She’s still pissed at me for our failed relationship though.”

Her wide eyes flickered to mine. “What?”

I chuckled. “She thought you were the only woman of substance I ever dated.”

Mom was on to something. The very few women I introduced to her were a little vapid… okay, more than a little. Plus, the women she saw on my arm in the media rags were nothing like the poised, reserved scientist I once introduced to her as the love of my life…

“To this day, my mother thinks I fucked up and lost you. I never told her what really happened,” I added.

Olivia’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. I thought I saw regret flash in her eyes, but I could have been imagining it. She’d seemed pretty certain about what she wanted and didn’t want when she kicked me to the curb years ago.

“Why didn’t you?” she asked.

As we gazed at each other, something stirred in the atmosphere… something that I should stay the hell away from. This was the most civil moment we’d had since we reunited, and things were starting to feel too intimate. Why was I still on her couch exchanging information about our families?

“It doesn’t matter.” I stood up. “I suppose I’ll see you at our next business meeting. Although, you’ll probably be trying to murder me since BioTech will be mine.”

A flash of temper lit her eyes as she got on her feet to face me. “You just had to go and ruin the moment.”

“Moment? We weren’t having a moment,” I denied. I didn’t want her to get any wrong ideas about how I felt about her.

“The gentleman doth protest too much,” she taunted.

I sighed. The woman had an argument for everything. “You just always have to have the last word, don’t you?”

“You’re just annoyed because I’m the only woman who doesn’t swoon at your feet and give in to your every demand.”

“Can you blame those women, Liv? You know better than anyone that I make it worth their while.”

My voice had dropped to a husky tone like the one I once used during our intimate moments. The words hung heavily between us, charged with a familiar electricity that neither of us could deny.

Olivia glared, yet her cheeks glowed pink and something like longing clouded her eyes. “You’re still insufferable.” She let out a little laugh.

“You used to like that about me…”

Were we standing closer? What the hell was I doing? I should be running for the door. My actions didn’t reflect my thoughts, however. Rather than walk away, I leaned closer to her.

It was as if that electric current swirling around us turned magnetic because I couldn’t pull away. Our breath mingled and her eyes fluttered closed as she angled her chin up in invitation. Our lips met in a soft, hesitant kiss as if we were testing the waters, but it quickly deepened.

With a resigned groan, I gave up restraint and wrapped an arm around her to pull her against me. My exploration of her mouth became urgent, fueled by suppressed emotions and unresolved tension. When our tongues clashed, she whimpered and curled her fingers into my chest.

The soft sound she made penetrated my haze and horror slithered in to cool the growing heat. The realization of what we were doing struck me back to reality. This was Olivia. The woman who wounded me so deeply that I thought I’d never recover. I did, and I wasn't about to foolishly go down that road with her again.

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