Page 78 of Light My Fire Three Times
Freddie passes me with a roll of paper towels, grinning with amusement. “Looks like dinner’s done.”
I force a laugh, but inside I’m boiling. Olivia. Karl. Ivy says he hasn’t treated her right. What the hell does that mean?
By the time the kitchen is cleared, I can’t take it anymore. I push my chair back, mutter something about an early morning, and make a break for the door before Ivy can follow me out with more questions.
Outside, the air is freezing, biting through my jacket, but it doesn’t cool me off. My pulse is still hammering, my hands clenched so tight my knuckles ache.
I tell myself this is stupid. I tell myself to go home, sleep it off. But instead, I’m in my truck, keys in the ignition, engine growling. It feels what I feel.
I don’t know what I’m going to say to her. Hell, I don’t even know what I want out of this. All I know is I can’t sit around wondering anymore.
She can date Karl. Fine. As long as he’s treating her well. But she can’t pretend she doesn’t feel this too.
And tonight, I’m going to make damn sure she admits it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Olivia
DECEMBER 5TH
Tonight is supposedto be quiet. And by quiet, I mean blissfully, perfectly boring.
No drama, no questions I don’t want to answer, no feelings. Just me, the bathtub full of bubbles, and the faint hope that lavender-scented water can scrub the stress out of my life.
Spoiler alert: It can’t. But I’m trying.
The bathroom mirror is fogged, the speaker on the counter is humming through some mellow playlist, and for once, I almost feel like a person again. A person who isn’t sleeping in someone else’s guest room. A person who isn’t under a microscope every time she steps outside—a person who doesn’t have… complicated history with three men in this town.
I sink deeper into the water and close my eyes. Maybe if I stay like this long enough, I’ll dissolve into the bubbles and disappear.
Then there’s a knock.
Not a polite ‘hey, you busy?’Tap, but a full-on,open the door before I break it,knock. So loud I can hear it up here.
I freeze.
Then it comes again, louder this time, rattling through the walls.
Great. Eitherthishouse is on fire too, or someone’s determined to ruin my vibe.
I’m guessing Karl and Leo aren’t back from work yet, which is why no one is answering. In a way, that’s good. Fewer people to avoid, but on the other hand, that might mean I have to move.
Another knock. No, scratch that… pounding.
“Okay!” I yell, trying to sound like a woman who’s not naked in a tub and mildly panicking. “Coming!”
I grab a towel and wrap it around myself in a rush, nearly slipping on the tile because, of course, I do. Water drips down my legs, my hair’s plastered to my back, and I’m pretty sure I look like a drowned rat auditioning for a shampoo commercial. Whatever.
The pounding doesn’t stop.
“Alright, alright!” My voice cracks halfway through, which is fantastic for my confidence.
I dart through the living room, leaving little wet footprints behind like some desperate trail for CSI to follow if this ends in murder.
I yank the door open…
And my heart basically forgets how to beat.
