Page 12 of Misfortune and Mr. Right

“Oh. That?” Gil says. “There’s no doubt in my mind Logan had a thing for Olivia. You should have seen them dance together at prom.”

“You took her to prom?” Maisy’s voice is full of romantic hope.

“Nooooo. No. No. No. I definitely did not. I was prom king.”

“Of course you were,” Maisy says with a playfully teasing tone.

“And Olivia was prom queen,” Gil supplies. “So they had to dance together after the coronation. And I know my best friend. He was not hating that dance—at all.”

“High school,” I mutter before taking a big bite of mashed potatoes and rubbing my foot on Rhett’s belly under the table.

I take another bite of mashed potatoes and wonder if Gil’s right. He can’t be. After all these years, would Olivia still be nursing a grudge about high school? Well … and college. Maybe. I hadn’t really thought about it before, but it’s possible she was more offended and upset than I imagined. I never meant to make her feel less than. Did the thrill of competing get under my skin? Sure. I’m a winner at heart. I love a good contest. And I love the rush of coming out on top. But I never set out to diminish Olivia’s accomplishments. If anything, I always admired her as one of my fiercest competitors. It never occurred to me that winning—alwayswinning—might make her actually dislike me.

“Now. You see it, don’t you?” Gil looks me square in the eyes.

“I’m starting to see the possibility. It still seems far-fetched. After all these years?”

“You’re in her workplace now. People get touchy about their jobs. You know, it’s not like their livelihood depends on doing well, impressing the boss, and appearing indispensable.”

“You’ve got a point,” I concede.

“Well, you’ve got an opportunity to show her you’ve changed,” Maisy says hopefully.

“He hasn’t changed.” Gil smiles over at me. “He’s still the most competitive guy I know.”

“I don’t use slime against the competition anymore.”

“See?” Maisy exclaims.. “He’s a new man!”

Rhett barks his assent from his spot at my feet.

“I’ll just have to explain it all to her. Make sure she knows the past is in the past.”

“Yeah, no.” Gil shakes his head. “I don’t think just walking up to her when she’s obviously not happy to see you at her workplace is going to work. She’s not laying out a welcome mat, and your plan is to, what? Tell her she needs to get over it?”

Gil’s right. If Olivia were giving me a neutral or even slightly positive reception, I could assure her things are different now. But the way she’s been acting the past three days tells me the ground around her is lava. If I get too close without being invited, I’d be on a fool’s errand, doomed before I begin.

I’ll just have to show her.

“I’ll prove it to her,” I say.

Rhett stands and plops down right on top of my feet, exhaling with a snuffly snort and farting in the process.

“Rhett!” Gil shouts.

“Sure,” Maisy teases. “Blame it on the dog.”

Chapter Five

Olivia

Warning: My house looks like

I'm losing a game of Jumanji!

~ Unknown

I stickmy key into the door of my new apartment, my eyes riveted to the brass numbers on the door: 2O. I take a quick glimpse in the direction of 2B, wondering who ended up beating me to the punch to get Gran’s place. No matter. I’m here. This will be my new home. I’m on the same floor as 2B. I’m in The Serendipity. That much is amazing.

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