Page 154 of Texting, Trouble & Touchdowns
Instead of sitting here like a lovesick idiot, I head to my room, debating whether I should grab my overnight bag and sneak it into Olivia’s room. On my way down the hall, I spot Dad and Papa, posted near the fireplace like they’re debriefing some post-game.
“You two aren’t playing anymore?” I ask, tilting my chin toward the living room.
Dad shrugs. “Kill and Camille went home early. Kade and Val hitched a ride with them. No reason to use two helicopters. Your brother and sister are down at the stables, ensuring your girl is still alive and that Sarah hasn’t released the horses again.”
I huff out a laugh, but they really bought the whole “I’ll supervise the dog-horse playdate” excuse to escape the Crawford madness. It’s sweet, really. The way Olivia cares for Sarah, as if she owns her. Maybe, like we’re hers.
“So. . . the doctor,” Dad trails and looks at Papa.
“She’s more than your neighbor, right?” Papa asks because maybe this is how they rehearsed it.
My breath stalls for half a beat. This is worse than their interrogation tactics during my adolescence. At least then I hadgood excuses. Now, I just don’t know if I want to tell them about her because there’s not much I can really say.
“I mean, you didn’t tell anyone, but it’s written all over your face,” Dad adds, like it’s nothing. Like it’s obvious.
I press a hand to the back of my neck again. “It’s . . . complicated.”
Papa’s brow lifts, but it’s Dad who speaks next. “That sounds like something someone says when they’re scared it’s real.”
I don’t answer.
Because yeah. It’s real.
Too real.
“I know what happened with Ingrid fucked with your head,” Papa says, not unkindly. “But Lucian, that was never love. That was a performance.”
“Still felt real when it ended,” I mutter. “When she walked away like I was a business deal she’d flipped.”
“And that’s why you treat this or any other relationship like something you can schedule and manage,” Dad says. “Olivia doesn’t seem to want your money. Doesn’t care about your name. She’s the only woman I’ve seen who looks at you like you’re human, not a headline.”
That lands.
Hard.
Because it’s true.
She didn’t fall for the brand. Or the game stats. Or the pedigree. She fell into my life with her sarcastic one-liners, her stubborn need to do everything herself, and her inability to resist Sarah’s pout and her antiques.
“She scares the fuck out of me,” I admit. “But I’d be more afraid if she walked away.”
Papa smiles, soft and knowing. “Then give yourself the chance to try. No prenups, no exit strategies. Just the truth.”
A door opens down the hall. Footsteps. A bark. Sarah barrels in, tongue lolling and tail wagging, announcing Olivia’s return like she’s royalty.
And just like that, everything settles.
Not because I’m calm. Not because I’m confident. But because she’s here.
And that’s enough.
For now.
“I come bearing news,”she announces, dropping a bag by the door and kicking off her boots as if she owns the place. “Sarah made two new friends. One licked her face, and the other allowed her to sniff his tail for a full twenty seconds. A record.”
“That sounds serious.” I watch her walk in as if she’s not casually setting fire to my entire life. “Should we notify the press?”
She shrugs out of her jacket and tosses it over the arm of the couch. “We should get her a certificate. No horses escaped, no one got trampled, and she didn’t cause a single stampede.”
