Page 35 of Summer Magic

Olivia crosses her arms across her chest. “Look. I’m feeling overwhelmed right now, and I think it would be best if I just drove back to Seaside now.”

“What? No!” Shit. This was supposed to be a fun evening where I’d get to meet Olivia’s friends, and then she was going to come back to my house and spend the night with me. “Olivia, please don’t leave.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to drive all the way back to Seaside right now,” Brianne adds. “If you don’t want to stay at his house tonight, you can stay with me or Chelsea. Just come back inside so we can talk.”

Olivia rolls her eyes. “Why? So, I can hear more about how this guy cheated on Carson’s sister years ago? No, thank you.”

Ouch. Referring to me asthis guycan’t be a good sign. Also, is she saying she believes that I cheated on Taylor?Fuck!

I need to talk to her so I can explain what happened. “Olivia, please don’t go. We can go back to my house and talk. I’ll tell you everything and answer all your questions.” I feel as if I’m begging her, but I don’t want her to leave.

“No!” She looks absolutely disgusted with me, and it’s a punch to my gut. She turns her attention to Brianne and says, “Brianne, I’m sorry, but I need to be alone. I had a great time with you and Chelsea, and I hope we can get together again soon. Please tell Chelsea I’m sorry and that I’ll call her.” She looks back to me, and the sadness I see in her eyes makes me feel awful. The fact that she’s hurting because ofmetears me up inside. “I can’t be around you right now. I need to be alone and think. Driving home will give me that time, so I’m going to leave.”

“Olivia, it’s a long drive. Don’t you want to––”

“I’ll be fine!” She turns around and opens her car door. Before she gets in the driver’s seat, she turns back toward Brianne and me. “I’ll text you all to let you know I made it home safely. Please do not try to call me, though. I willnotanswer.”

Olivia gets in her car, shuts the door, and starts the engine. Brianne rushes to the driver’s side window, knocks, and Olivia opens it. I can’t hear what they say to one another, but they talk for a minute before Brianne reaches in and gives her a hug. After that, Brianne steps away from the car as Olivia closes the window without giving me a second look. I watch as she pulls out of the parking space and drives away.

Brianne walks over to me and crosses her arms. “Did you cheat on Carson’s sister?”

I’ve only just met Brianne, but based on what Olivia has told me about her, she doesn’t take any bullshit from anyone. Right now, she looks as though she’s ready to goCobra Kaion my ass if she doesn’t like what I have to say.

“No, I did not cheat on his sister,” I say with sincerity because it’s true. “I know Carson doesn’t want to hear it, but Taylordidcheat on me, and she broke up with me after I found out. I have no idea why she told everyoneIwas the one who cheated. Maybe she didn’t want people to know she could do a horrible thing like that, or maybe she just wanted sympathy.”

Brianne’s eyes squint, as if she’s trying to decide whether she believes me or not. “I feel as if you’re telling the truth.”

I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I’ve been holding. “Thank you,” I say, grateful that at leastoneperson believes me.

“I’m usually good at being able to read people. You seem genuine. Either that, or you’re a fucking good liar.”

I shake my head and chuckle once. “I’mnota good liar.”

“Well, you do write fiction for a living, so there’s that.” Brianne cocks an eyebrow, and I can tell she’s still sizing me up. “But I do believe you. I’ve actually met Carson’s sister once, and I could tell she was a bitch.”

Her comment surprises me, and I laugh. “Wow, okay then!”

She smiles, then holds out her hand for me to shake. “That wasn’t the best first introduction in there. I’m Brianne. It’s really nice to meet you, Stone. Or should I call you Alex?”

Shaking her hand and feeling relieved that Olivia’s friend is on my side, I reply, “It’s nice to meet you, Brianne. And either name is fine with me. Just call me Stone if it’s in public around other people. I don’t want my real name getting out.”

“Deal,” Brianne says with a slight smile. “Look, why don’t you go home, and I’ll go inside and talk to Chelsea and Carson. I’ll try to convince them that I think you’re being honest and to give you another chance someday.”

“Would you mind telling Olivia the same thing?”

“You know I will. The bottom line is that I want my girl to be happy. A couple of years ago, the man Olivia thought she would marry hurt her, so she has trust issues now. I know she freaked out about you being a potential cheater in your past because that’s what her boyfriend did to her.” Brianne leans in as if she’s about to let me in on a secret. “She walked in on him fucking another woman.”

Her statement takes me by surprise. “I didn’t know about that. She never told me.”

Olivia walked in on her boyfriend having sex with another woman? Jesus Christ, no wonder she left just now! I can’t imagine how hard it must be for her to trust people after what she’s been through. This explains why hearing what Carson accused me of upset her so much. It also makes what Lorelei mentioned to me about her trust issues make more sense.

Brianne nods. “Yeah, that asshole did a number on her.”

“What should I do?” I ask, hoping she knows what I can do to fix this.

“Like I said, just go home for now. I’ll do what I can here, and I’ll talk to Olivia later. Be patient and give her time.Don’tcall her, and don’t text her until after she texts you to let you know she made it home. But if she doesn’t respond, don’t keep trying. Give her more time, okay?”

“Okay,” I agree, although I know it’s going to be torturenotto text or call her. I want to fix this, and I basically have to sit back and do nothing for now.

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