Page 36 of Fight For Us
I remembered my idea and the conversation I’d hoped to have with her this morning. It wouldsonot go over well now, butI had to try.
“Thanks for getting me home last night,” she said quietly. “I can come by Sunshine later and clean the mess.”
“Wait. Can we please talk for a minute? After you check on Alex?” I pulled on the back of my neck while she contemplated. “Something you said last night had me thinking and I wanted to talk… That’s all.”
“Fine,” she resigned. “Give me a little while to get cleaned up.”
I lifted my hands in surrender. “Take all the time you need. I’ll be out front.”
If my dad were here he’d have smacked me upside the head a dozen times in the past ten minutes. There was no way Olivia would go for my plan. Only an idiot would start their morning the way I did and then follow up with a marriage proposal. But I never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room.
Chapter 15
Olivia
What a jerk. No,jerk wasn’t strong enough. What a douche.You’re you.What the hell was that supposed to mean? Not that I cared what Wesley Reed thought of me. But rejection still stung.
After checking on Alex and getting him settled on the couch with some breakfast, his meds, and a show, I took a steaming hot shower. Memories of the previous night flashed through my mind like a fuzzy 1980’s home video. I’d dreamed of the vanilla cake and almost thought it never happened, but the chunks of it in my hair were evidence enough.
I wasn’t sure what hurt more, my head or my ego. To top it all, a wave of nausea hit me in the shower. Decision made. I was never drinking again.
Finally clean and semi-refreshed, I steeled myself for whatever conversation Wes wanted to have. It seemed important, otherwise I was sure he’d have left with his head hung in shame after the boob incident. Another reason to keep my guard up, even with people I thought I could trust.
“Hey Alex, I’m going to be outside for a few minutes.” He was so deep into an episode of some Netflix show that I doubted he heard me.
I grabbed a hoodie off the back of a kitchen chair to help ward away the morning ocean breeze and dug my sunglasses out of my purse. Wes stood near his car, on the phone. He juggled a brown paper bag and cup of coffee in his other hand.
“So close up if you need to,” I heard him say. “Caleb can. He’s just being lazy.” I realized he must have been talking with someone at work. It was well past opening time and he was here with me. In the months I’ve worked there he rarely missed a day of work. To the point where healwayslooked exhausted. When he noticed I was outside, I raised a corner of my lip in the smallest smile of acknowledgement. “I don’t know, Thea, but I’ve gotta go. Yeah, talk soon.”
He shut his ridiculous flip phone and shoved it into the pocket of his sweats.
“What’s in the bag?” I asked, lifting my chin. He pulled out a lump wrapped in foil and tossed it at me.
“Breakfast.”
I yelped and stumbled forward to catch it before it landed on a wet patch of grass. “You realize my reflexes aren’t great this morning, right?”
“Nah, you had it in you. I could tell.” He chuckled while I glared at him. “Let’s sit and eat. These are the best hangover cures I’ve ever had.”
“I’m afraid to ask what they are.”
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t poison you. Then I’d be short staffed.” He smirked and lowered himself into one of my outdoor chairs.
“Ha, ha. You’re a real comedian.” I sat beside him and unwrapped what turned out to be an egg sandwich.
“I thought it was a good one.” He took a monstrous bite and chewed with a moan. “Hits the spot every time. Try it.”
I bit into it, tasting bacon, cheese, and fried egg with a kick of spice. He watched as I chewed so I made it a point to keep my expression neutral. “It’s okay, I guess.”
“Just okay?”
“Yeah, just okay. At least I can rule out poison,” I said.
He held out a cup of coffee. “Here. Wash it down with this.”
Reluctantly, I thanked him and took his peace offering. “So what did you want to talk about? I’m sure you have to get to Sunshine soon so I won’t keep you.”
“It’s fine, Thea and Caleb can manage for one day. And if not, I’ll deal with it later.” He took another bite and chewed slowly, staring out at the waves. A few minutes passed in silence whilewe ate, until finally he turned to me. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last night.”
