“I hate to tell you this, Lex, but they moved away. East coast, somewhere.”
I swallowed hard. “Damn.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Why wouldn’t they have at least called to tell me? I guess that just further proved what a black sheep I was.
“I take it you haven’t kept in touch with them or Gilly?”
I shook my head. “Just... drifted apart, I guess.”
“Your sister still lives in town. You can look her up.”
Shit.That was what I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do. As much as I loved my baby sister, she got everything handed to her that I had to work so hard for. It was tough to be around that all the time. I almost wanted to cry again.
“I guess so.”
“Do you want a ride?” Oliver asked, and I blinked at him.
“You’d give me a ride to my sister’s place?” I stared at him for a long moment. Why was he being so nice to me after everything that happened between us?
He shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
I looked up at him curiously. “What’s the alternative?”
Oliver gave me a small smile, showing a dimple in his cheek that I used to love.
“You could go to a hotel. We could catch up, wings and beer, like we used to.”
“You want to catch up?”
He shrugged again. “We said no hard feelings, didn’t we?” But there was something in his eyes that I couldn’t quite name, something hot and resentful.
“I don’t know,” I mused. "I don't have a cent to my name."
"I'll spot you the cash," Oliver said, adding, "what are friends for?"
“Come on,” Brenda said from behind the bar. “He’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you, Brenda,” Oliver replied, and she winked at us. I suppose Oliver did come to the Pig every now and again, they seemed to know each other.
But then again, everyone knew each other in Wagontown.
I gave him a once-over. He clearly still worked out. His biceps and pecs bulged slightly in the t-shirt he wore. Oliver had always had money, but he dressed casually. He wasn’t a suit person, even though he looked great in one.
He now wore his brown hair a little past his collar, and I wondered briefly what it would be like to run my fingers through it again.
I cleared my throat. “I’d love to, thank you,” I muttered. Even though I had my issues with Oliver and how things had ended, I needed this. I needed to let loose, and as much as I was loath to admit it, his presence gave me a sense of security.
I didn’t want to talk about Dick and why I was back in Wagontown with nothing to my name in my torn-up wedding dress. It was embarrassing, to say the least, and a little traumatic if I really delved into how I was feeling. Oliver didn’t even ask, instead leading me to a nearby table and ordering from the waitress.
“Can I ask where you moved to?”
“New York City,” I told him.
He whistled. “Big city girl. You always wanted to get out of Wagontown.”
I hummed. That wasn’t exactly true. I’d always wanted to get away from my family but never away from Oliver. Sure, I’d had dreams that Oliver and I would get married and settle down in another city, another state. But Oliver had always wanted to stay right where he was born—in Wagontown.
“It wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The big apple is kind of rotten if you know what I mean.”