Page 22 of Undeniable

I waited a minute, but Mom didn’t seem eager to end her conversation anytime soon. It was nothing new. But I was done. I didn’t even bother to say goodbye, opting to slip out while she was busy with her fan.

I should’ve just canceled. And while I didn’t regret speaking my mind, I didn’t necessarily feel like it had made any difference.

I sighed, stopping at one of my favorite food trucks on the way home. On weekends, it often had a line twenty people deep. Luckily, that wasn’t the case today, but the meal was always worth the wait.

I found a bench and took a seat, the waves crashing in the background. I emailed Connor a picture of my breakfast bowl with the ocean behind it. I could barely wait to dive into the dragon fruit and acai concoction.

His response was almost immediate.

Wow. That view is gorgeous. I’m surprised your mom went for something so casual based on what you told me about her.

C

PS: Where’s the bacon? That looks more like a snack than breakfast.

PPS: We could do this so much faster if we could text.

I laughed to myself.Of course, he’d say that about the bacon. But then I paused. Was he asking me to exchange phone numbers? Was I ready for that?

Was it even safe? I mean, if he had my number, he’d be able to track me down.

Oh, who was I even kidding. The man worked for an elite executive security company. He probably had all kinds of resources at his disposal. If he’d really wanted to track me down, he already could’ve done it.

That said, I trusted Connor. Even if he hadn’t been a former Navy SEAL and vetted by the Spines for Soldiers program, I knew he would never harm me. I knew he was my friend. It didn’t matter that we’d only connected recently, it felt as if I’d known him forever.

But…exchanging personal information was a violation of the program rules. We were only supposed to communicate through the designated emails. I was a rule-follower through and through. But I was tempted to break the rules for Connor. And that idea both scared and excited me.

What would Amy and Molly fromBooksmartdo?

Before I could overthink it even more, I typed out my number and hit send. As my phone made that telltale whooshing sound, my heart started beating faster. And when my phone buzzed in my hand a few seconds later, I let out a little shriek, garnering curious glances from nearby onlookers.

Unknown Number: Hey, Olivia. It’s me, Connor. ??

CHAPTERSIX

Istared down at my phone, willing Olivia to respond. I’d agonized over my text message for far too long, finally settling on something simple.

Hey, Olivia. It’s me, Connor. ??

I started gathering the supplies to make my protein shake. I’d just returned from the gym, and I could already tell I was going to be sore. Finally, my phone buzzed, and a sense of relief and excitement coursed through me.

Olivia: Hey!

So what happened at brunch?

Olivia: She just kept pushing and pushing, so I told her how I felt. ??‍??

Way to go! I’m proud of you. ?? ?? ??

How’d she take it?

Olivia: She started to get upset. Defensive. She tried to blame my dad for putting me up to it. ??

I arched my brow,not liking the sound of that. Tempted as I was to lambaste her mom, that wasn’t what Olivia needed.

I take it they don’t get along?

Despite everything we’d shared,we typically didn’t talk about family. I sure as hell wasn’t going to bring up the topic. And I got the feeling Olivia wasn’t particularly inclined to discuss her family either. Or at least, she hadn’t been before now.

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