Page 46 of The Playboy's Most Unexpected Baby

“That’s how it goes for you,” Olivia said. “That’s what you’re saying. When you sleep with a woman, it makes you feel distanced from her. Because… what? Because you’ve gotten what you wanted, and there’s no reason to put in any more effort?”

“That isn’t what I said,” Charlie protested, but he felt a surge of discomfort. That wasn’t how he felt about her, but she wasn’t wrong generally. That was the reason he had never had a relationship that had lasted any significant amount of time. And that was the reason he wanted to pull away now. He didn’t trust himself to be the kind of person she needed. He didn’t trust himself to take this relationship seriously. And if he couldn’t do that, it would ruin everything — the connection they had shared and the work they had done to get the house ready to sell. Everything would be destroyed if they didn’t separate from one another now.

Olivia shook her head. “You don’t have to say it,” she said. “I had you pegged the moment I met you, Charlie. I said it in our first conversation. Rich playboy. That’s all you’ve ever been. I knew it then, and I let myself forget. Well, that’s on me. I’m the one who made the mistake.” She stood up, carried her coffee to the sink, and dumped it down the drain. “Take us home.”

Charlie wanted to say something — to tell her that she had the wrong idea, that he really did care for her — but how could he? He had done this on purpose. He had fully intended to make her feel the way she was feeling now, and it was having the desired effect.

She didn’t want to be around him.

That was for the best, even though it made him feel like his guts were being tied in knots.

He left the galley and went to the helm to raise the anchor. It was loud and caused the yacht to move around enough that he could neither hear the sound of her in the galley nor feel the subtle rock that her footsteps caused. As soon as he was able, he started the engine and set off toward shore.

He looked down over the lower deck. The dinner he had arranged for them to eat last night was still sitting on the table, untouched. His stomach churned. If only they had just eaten that meal instead of going to the bedroom! It would have been a calm, peaceful night, something they would have been able to remember with fondness. Instead, that night would always be the thing that had shattered their friendship. He would never be able to think back on it happily, even though the time they had spent together had been so perfect and magical.

Magical? How could he feel that way about it when it had ruined everything? He had hoped they would be able to maintain their friendship when their time as a married couple came to an end, but he knew now that there was no chance of that happening. He could hardly hold out hope that they would make it through the sale of the house together. Right now, it seemed as though even being in the same room might be too much to ask.

He accelerated, even though doing so meant that he was driving a little more speedily than was strictly safe in this part of the water. Suddenly, he felt unbearably anxious to get back to shore, to get off this boat where everything had gone so terribly wrong.

He couldn’t regret what had happened last night. Not fully.

At the same time, he thought it just might have been the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life.

CHAPTER18

OLIVIA

“Ican’t believe I could have been so stupid,” Olivia said softly.

Izzy stirred her milkshake with her straw. “I don’t think you were stupid,” she said gently. “I think boys are liars.”

“Oh, Izzy. I wouldn’t want you to think that. Lots of guys are very nice.”

“Really? When was the last time you met one who was worth anything?” Izzy asked, a scowl on her face.

“Well, Dad was,” Olivia said. “I know you don’t remember. But he was one of the good ones. He used to come home every day and wrap his arms around Mom, tell her how beautiful she was… and then he’d scoop you and me up in his arms and ask us about our day. And even though we were just little kids, and the things we had to tell him must have been objectively pretty boring, he never got tired of hearing it. He would sit with us for as long as we wanted to talk to him, even though he’d been at work all day.”

“You’re holding out for a guy who’s as good as Dad was,” Izzy realized.

“Of course I am. I know men like that exist, so why wouldn’t I?”

“And that’s why you’re not going to give Charlie a second chance?”

Olivia drained her milkshake and set it down in the car’s cupholder. “Charlie isn’t asking me for a second chance,” she said. “I’d consider giving him one if I thought he wanted it, but he doesn’t.”

“Do you know that for sure?”

Olivia sighed. “I told you, Izzy. I told you everything. I told you how that marriage was never real. I only did it so he would give me the chance to help sell the house.”

“Yes, but I don’t believe you,” Izzy said.

Olivia raised her eyebrows. “You don’t believe me?”

“It’s not enough of a reason,” Izzy said simply. “You sell houses all the time. I know this was a nicer one than you usually work with, but I can’t believe you would getmarriedjust to make a sale.”

Olivia hadn’t told Izzy about her deal with Charlie — about the massive commission she would get when the house was sold. It was the one part of the story she had kept to herself, feeling unready to share it with her sister just yet. So it made sense that Izzy didn’t understand. But it had been hard enough telling Izzy that her marriage had been strictly business. She wasn’t going to bring up the money. Not yet. Not until she was sure she had it.

“Why do you think I did it, then?” she asked her sister.

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