Page 65 of Café Diablo

She coughs to cover for the emotion that just shot across this table and hit me like an arrow.

“No!” It comes out angry—anger meant for my father and this messed up situation—not her, but that’s not how it rolls out. It’s too loud and abrasive, making her flinch. I ball up my fists and shake my head, trying to lower my voice. “I mean, it’s complicated.”

“Complicated how?” she tests, and when I glare at her, not wanting to explain the nuances of how my father is an asshole, her whole demeanor dissolves like a poof of ash.

“I can’t believe this is happening.” I rub my hands over my face.

What the fuck is my father doing?! Is he trying to get me to bail on Connor completely and move over to another state?

“You know what, forget it,” Olivia says quickly, picking up her Bloody Mary and downing it.

Once again, I was responding to my father’s actions, but that’s not what she hears.

“It’s fine,” she repeats, shaking her head. “You’re moving, or whatever, but it doesn’t really matter, because it’s not like we’re—” She takes another huge gulp, and I realize that, to her, it sounds like I’ve been stringing her along this whole time and I knew I was leaving. “Actually, it kind of makes sense.”

She swallows hard, smacking her empty glass down on the table.

“How exactly does that make sense?” I glare at her, confused as to what logic she thinks proves I’m a complete douche.

She shrugs, her eyes flitting around the room, looking everywhere except for me.

“Are you going to make a deceitful lawyer joke now?” I snap.

Her eyes cut to me, her fingers trilling against the tabletop where her nerves have taken over.

Her tone gets icy. “Clearly, the interest was all mine.” She rolls her shoulders back, owning it, wiping her mouth off with a napkin and throwing it in the middle of the table. “But the real kicker is the fact that your brother was pushing real hard for this Olivia and Edwin thing to happen, but he didn’t even have the decency to tell me you were leaving.”

“He didn’t know!” I practically interrupt, and she jolts at my aggressiveness.

“Well, that’s shitty,” she snaps, her eyes darkening at the thought that I haven’t even told my brother I’m moving.

“You have this all wrong! It’s not—”

“Any of my business,” she cuts me off, looking around the opulent room that I’ve dragged her to, before pushing her chair back and standing up. “Yeah, I got it.”

She runs her hands down her sides, looking at the club shirt and skirt that she’s wearing and shaking her head like she can’t even believe she humored me by putting them on.

“I’m just—,” she catches herself. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.” Her jaw tightens as a ripple of emotion streaks through her eyes and it freaking breaks my heart. “I’m going to go now.”

“Wait, Olivia. Let me—!”

She brushes past me without stopping, stalking toward the exit. I throw money on the table and race after her because this is all one huge misunderstanding.

“Olivia!”

She shoots through the lobby and out a side door leading to a terrace that overlooks the palm-tree studded golf course that we just played. We’re halfway around the building, with me calling out her name, before I catch up.

“Olivia, this is a huge mistake.”

She whips around with a glare that sayspiss off, only her face is flushed pink and her eyes are glassy.

“Edwin! Stop!” she says, emotion cutting through her voice. “You reallydon’thave to explain anything to me. I’m an adult. I understand what’s going on. This was fun, but you’re leaving. I don’t need you to play the chivalry game and pretend this was something it wasn’t.”

“Olivia, hold on. Let me—”

“I’m fine. I swear, Edwin.Thisisn’t a thing.” Only, her face is wet and blotchy, saying the exact opposite. It makes the inside of my chest clench, because everything about this girl turns my world upside down.

“Actually—” I reach up and touch her wet cheek. “I think itiskind of a big thing.”

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