Page 6 of One Night with the Player

All I wanted was to pull her onto my lap and hold her against me. Let the past fifteen years melt away and make up for lost time. But the ice in her beautiful eyes told me that would be impossible. Whatever feelings she might have had for me back then were long gone, and I was the only one to blame.

“We were young. Impulsive.”

“You loved me.” There wasn’t a trace of doubt in her tone. “I was ready to give you everything, and you left me.”

“Liv, you were my best friend’s little sister. Ethan and I were on the verge of starting a business together.” Ethan’s support was my ticket out of Broken Bend. Olivia’s love would have been an anchor holding me down.

“Tell me you didn’t love me.” Her lower lip trembled.

The kindest thing to do would be to lie. To tell her I never thought of her as more than my best friend’s little sister. That the only reason I’d stood up for her that night was because I considered her family. Not because I saw some guy moving in on the woman I’d always thought of as mine.

I opened my mouth to tell her that, but I couldn’t force the words past my lips. Four little words.I didn’t love you.That’s all it would take to cut the tie that kept us tethered together over the years.

“I’m sorry, Olivia.” I’d failed her then by leaving her, and I was failing her again now by not lying to her. What the fuck was wrong with me?

“Tell me the truth. I deserve at least that much.” Eyes the color of my favorite whiskey drilled through me.

I’d negotiated with CEOs of multi-billion dollar companies without breaking a sweat, yet one look from Olivia Monroe had me cracking under pressure. Seeing her tonight brought it all rushing back. The thrill of being close to her, the calm and comfort she brought to my heart, and the way my blood heated when she was nearby.

She shook her head, her eyes drifting closed in disappointment. “I give up. I don’t know what it is about you that won’t let me go, Leo.”

A soft knock landed on the door. “That’s fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks, Shiva.” Olivia held her head high and met my gaze from across the table. “Looks like we didn’t make much progress. You can pay Shiva for my time on the way out.”

“Can we start over?” I didn’t want to leave things like this. Now that I’d seen her, all the feelings I thought I’d stamped out came rushing back. I’d been fooling myself to think I’d ever get over her. Fifteen years had only made her more desirable.

At that moment, I didn’t care that I’d taken every precaution to make sure I wouldn’t run into her while I was in town or that her brother was sitting in the crowd out front. All I could think about was how it would feel to wrap my arms around her and taste her lips.

Her brows knit together. “It’s too late to start over. Your statute of limitations on second chances expired at least ten years ago.”

“Kiss me, Olivia. If we can both agree there’s nothing in that kiss, we can go our separate ways and I’ll never bother you again.”

“You want me to kiss you? After you just spent fifteen minutes trying to convince me you never loved me?”

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest. “Yes. Just one kiss. If we both feel nothing, then we’ll know it’s truly over between us.”

“That’s a horrible idea.” Olivia stared at me, her eyes searching mine for any hint of insincerity. After a moment, she leaned across the table, her lips hovering just inches from mine. My breath hitched in my throat as I waited for her to close the distance between us.

The moment her lips touched mine, I knew I was in trouble. Every nerve in my body sparked to life, and I felt the familiar ache in my chest that only Olivia could ignite. For a moment, I forgot everything else—the hurt I’d caused her, the years we’d spent apart, and the fact that she was my best friend’s little sister.

All I knew was the taste of her lips, the softness of her skin, the heat of her body pressed against mine. It was a kiss filled with fifteen years of pent-up lust and longing. Our tongues tangled together, and my body moved against hers. I lost myself in her arms and could have taken her right there on the table if she hadn’t pulled away.

She looked up at me, her eyes full of the same deep need I felt all the way into my soul. There were a million reasons why Olivia and I shouldn’t be together. In the heat of the moment, I struggled to remember a single one.

My fingertips brushed her cheek as I slid a lock of her dark hair behind her ear. “You make a beautiful blond, but I definitely prefer you as a brunette.”

Her lashes fluttered against ivory cheeks. “Sweet talking won’t get you anywhere with me.”

She arched into me. The scent of warm vanilla drifted off her skin. I breathed her in. I’d never let myself get this close to her when we were kids. She was a few years younger, so not only was she my best friend’s little sister, she was also jailbait. As someone whose dad had been sentenced to life without parole, not even Olivia Monroe was tempting enough to make me cross the line that might land me behind bars.

But now… now we were two consenting adults who’d spent a hell of a long time imagining what it would feel like to finally be together.

I pressed soft, light kisses against the column of her neck. “What if I use my mouth for other things?”

6

OLIVIA

---