Page 96 of Beautiful Dangerous

We make our way back over the road, and back into the restaurant.

“You need anything, you call me. Alright?” Angel slides a cigarette between his teeth, and I nod, smiling as he throws me a wink before heading out front, where his bike’s parked.

I go back into the office, contemplate one more small shot of tequila but then decide against it. Instead, I go over to the window and look outside. The sun is still beating down, the weather’s been kind to us today, meaning both the front and back terraces have been full of people wanting to sit outside and soak up the sunshine. I always think the atmosphere is so much nicer when the sun’s shining. People seem happier, like any cares they might have are somehow far away, in the backs of their minds.

Across the street I catch sight of Javier’s black Jaguar pulling up, and I watch as Lucca gets out and opens the passenger door. I take a deep breath as Javier steps out, my handsome husband. A man I still love, in my own way, I just can’t be with him anymore. I can’t. He left, and too much happened. And I really don’t want to be here anymore.

Fixing a smile on my face, I head out to meet them, just as they come through the door.

“Mi amor!” Javier raises his arms in the air, flashes me a huge grin, and comes toward me, and it’s all I can do not to flinch as he pulls me closer. But I have to play along, so I wrap my arms around his neck, I kiss him, and I smile and I act like I’ve missed him today, but the truth is, the man I’ve missed is the one standing by his side. “Have you had a good day?”

“I’ve had a long one.” I step back from him, and glance quickly at Lucca but he’s now over by the bar and he has his back to me. “What about you?” I ask, my focus back on Javier. “How’syourday been?”

“Very productive.”

“That’s good.”

“But now I’m ready to spend some time with my beautiful wife, and eat some amazing food. Come. We’ll take a table out on the back terrace, it’s too nice to sit indoors… Nora, can we have a bottle of tequila for the table? Thank you.”

Javier and I make our way outside, Lucca’s hanging back at the bar, he’ll bring the tequila with him.

“I went to The Beach Bay Resort this afternoon.” Javier – ever the gentleman – pulls my chair out for me and I sit down.

“I was there last week, to see how the fourth floor room renovations were coming along. Is everything okay?”

It irks me that he’s visiting all of our businesses, one by one, it’s almost like he needs to make sure I didn’t fuck anything up. I didn’t. And I resent that he feels the need to do this, to check up on me, because that’s what he’s doing. And it’s pissing me off. I didn’t ask to be put in the position I was left in, that was all on him. All of it.

“Everything’s fine. And the new rooms, they are stunning! That hotel is pure heaven, Olivia. What we’ve created there is a beautiful place, that anyone can afford.” Not everyone. It’s not the most expensive hotel around, we wanted to make it as accessible to as many people as possible, but it isn’t the cheapest either. “It’s always been one of my favorites.”

Mine too. Javier and I, we spent many happy weekends there, it was a place we regularly took some time out in, a little bit of escape close to home. Maybe if we tried doing that again, tried taking some time out, alone, could that not fix what’s been broken…?

What are you talking about?

You don’twantto fix it, you don’t wanthimanymore.

Maybe I just want an easy life.

A safe life…

“Olivia?”

His voice yanks me from those thoughts and I swallow hard and fix that smile back on my face.

“I’m sorry, I think hanging out here all afternoon, helping out behind the bar, it’s tired me out.”

“You shouldn’tbehelping out. It’s not your place.”

“I think it’s very much my place, actually. Don’t you think?”

He looks at me, his brow furrowing, all of a sudden he’s pissed at me for giving him attitude? It was what attracted him to me in the first place, that’s what he told me on our second official date. Something that feels like a whole other lifetime ago now.

“You are not part of the staff, Olivia, we own this fucking restaurant, so this is the last time you “help out”, as you put it. Having you behind the bar, waiting tables, it isn’t the image I want to portray. It doesn’t look good.”

“It was ridiculously busy in here this afternoon, did you expect me to just sit back and watch everyone struggle?”

He leans forward, his voice now little more than a low hiss. “That’s exactly what I expect you to do. And if it appears that our staff are struggling at peak times then hire more.”

“Just like that?”

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