Page 16 of What If We Do

A few tears slip down her cheek and I wipe them away gently with the pad of my thumb. “You’re a beautiful woman, Scarlett. Stunningly sexy even,” I confess. “Any man will be lucky to have you by his side one day. And that man will love you for who you are and not force you to be someone you’re not. So no, your idea of an ideal husband is not too much to ask at all. A husband should be in love with his wife. He should want to give her the goddamn world. He should want her every happiness and she his.”

She wipes a few last tears from her eyes and then stares at me. “Yeah.” She nods. “That’s right. Thank you, Oliver.”

The way she looks at me tugs at something inside my chest. Like a lost soul in search of its companion. Like she’s hearing for the first time that someone else in this world gets her.

Understands her.

Cares for her.

Fuck, I wish I could kiss her right now and show her what it feels like to be cared for. She blinks a few times, her eyes lowering to my lips as mine do the same.

It would be so easy.

I could make this a moment for her.

For both of us.

But I don’t want to take advantage of her when she’s feeling vulnerable.

“Anytime. And listen if you don’t want to go to this par—”

“Noooope. We’re going.” She shakes the sadness away and stands up much to my surprise. “I’m good. I promise.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely. I have you, don’t I? My hot, sexy Viking?”

After tonight, I’m pretty certain you’ll have more than I should admit.

I chuckle and take her hand. “I won’t leave your side all night if that’s what you want.”

“Good. Let’s get the fuck out of here. I need a drink.”

Chapter 5

Scarlett

We head down to the warehouse district near the French quarter and pull up in front of Generations Hall. The building was an old sugar refinery at one time but has since been completely overhauled and redesigned into one of the most prominent event venues in the area. The Once Upon a Halloween Night party has been held here for the last several years. Oliver tosses his keys to the valet and opens the car door for me as I’m recording my entrance into tonight’s party for my social media following.

“So excited to get inside and show you all this amazing party, but first, feast your beautiful eyes on my hunk of a date tonight, you guys!” I point my phone at Oliver. “He is none other than Mr. Oliver Magallan from the Anaheim Stars! And before you all ask, because I know you will, yes, he is, of course, a friend of my cousin Ledger who also plays on the team. And between you and me, he has seriously been the best guy to hang out with today!”

More than the best.

He really does seem like the perfect guy.

Perfect for me, anyway.

“Oh, my gosh, and look how freaking hot he is in this Viking costume!” I squeal and have him turn in a circle so my fans can see the full look. Oliver hams it up for my followers posing for them, flexing his muscles, and giving them the cheesiest of grins. “Is he not the best-looking Viking you guys have ever seen?” I pull my phone closer to my face and whisper, “And ladies, this one is single! I’ll be sure to put in a good word for all of you, that is, if I don’t snatch him up first.” He chuckles and shakes hishead as I send a wink to my fans. “I’ll check back in with you all later! Ta-ta for now!”

“You do that with such ease,” he tells me, offering his arm and walking me inside.

“Meh, it’s easy to talk to nobody. You can’t see them watching, and you don’t have to care right away about what they think of you. And they know with me what they see is what they get. I don’t use filters and I don’t spend hours dressing myself to the nines to be a Barbie for them. I’d like to think that’s what makes my followers appreciate me the way they do. I’m not fake. I’m not a diva. I’m just…you know, me.”

“Well for what it’s worth, I like…you.”

I smile at him and squeeze his hand. “I like you too, Oliver. Let’s get a drink so we can unwind and have some fun.”

We walk together into Generations Hall, which is extravagantly decorated with all the spooky fun Halloween decorations you can imagine. Spiderwebs hang from just about everywhere, and green and orange party lights adorn the entryway. Several ghosts swing above our heads and a few skeletons have been set up and posed as butlers welcoming us in. Every single person here tonight is in costume. Even the wait staff are wearing black and white but their faces are intricately painted to look like half a skeleton face. It’s impressive work for sure.

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