I pressed my lips back to his, silencing his ramblings.
“I’ll come back,” I whispered.
And I was met with a kiss that had Brett rolling me over and my legs straddling his hips.
36
Brett
“Thanks for taking me out to lunch,” Olivia said, smiling.
“I thought the two of us could use a decent meal after our weekend,” I said, grinning.
“That’s what you said this morning about breakfast. You know, before you got distracted.”
“And it was the best distraction possible.”
I slid my foot underneath the table at the restaurant I had whisked us away to. I nestled my foot against hers, watching as her smile grew. The blush of her cheeks set me on edge. The way she gripped her glass of water and sipped it through her straw had me hot on the back of my neck. Olivia was the most beautiful girl I’d ever encountered. The most beautiful woman I’d ever come to know. And the fact that we were going to try and make this work filled my gut with a joy I couldn’t describe. The waiter came by and took our orders: the salmon with broccoli for me, and the Cajun steak pasta for her.
And not a slice of cake was in sight.
“I’m learning which restaurants in the city don’t actually have cake on their menu,” I said.
“That’s very kind of you. I have no idea why my aversion to it is so strong, though. Mom says she had that kind of thing with both me and Mike, but it wasn’t this strong this soon,” Olivia said.
“So, your mother knows.”
She nodded. “Her advice was the advice I should have followed. She told me I needed to tell you, and sooner rather than later.”
“Well, I don’t want to dwell on the past. Our past has tried to intervene enough with this. What’s done is done, and now we can both move forward.”
“I like the sound of that,” she said, smiling.
“My next question is this: have you seen a doctor yet?”
She took a sip of her water as some appetizer bread and dip was set on the table.
“No, I haven’t. Not yet. I’ve been pretty busy trying to volley things around,” she said.
“Then, that’s our first order of business. Which is fine. I’ve been doing some research on the best OB-GYNs in the Seattle area. I’ve got it down to two. I figured you could pick. Are you more comfortable with a male or a female doctor?”
“Research? You’ve been doing research?” she asked.
I nodded. “Yes. You’re carrying my child. And I can provide the best. Which means both you and our child will have the best.”
“Brett, that isn’t necessary. I’m sure any—”
I reached out and took her hand, smoothing my thumb over her skin.
“If we’re going to do this, then we’re going to do it right. I don’t want anything happening to you or our child. If you’re in the hands of the best, that mitigates certain issues. I’d like to do this. Let me do this for you, Olivia,” I said.
Before she could give me an answer, my phone rang. She smiled softly at me and nodded, and it filled me with much more comfort than I’d had going into our lunch. It wasn’t as if we had discussed much over the weekend. Every time I tried to have a decent discussion about it, something distracted me—her legs, or her lips, or her hair, or the way she licked her lips. Our weekend had been spent declaring our love for each other, and absolutely nothing else.
Now, it was time to think about our future.
“Uh-oh,” I said as I looked at the screen.
“What? What is it? Is it something with work?” Olivia asked.
“It’s Brittany,” I said.
Olivia nodded. “Well, then pick it up. It’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
“I’m sure this’ll only take a second,” I said.
“Hey, Brittany,” I said as I got up from the table.
If this conversation was going to go haywire, I didn’t want Olivia to be within earshot of it.
“Hey there, brother. I was wondering if we could get lunch or something today. You free?” Brittany asked.
“Actually, I’m not,” I said as I peered over at Olivia. “I’m with Olivia at lunch right now.”
“You’re what now?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’m with Olivia at lunch. Is something the matter? Do I need to come get you?”
“Why are you having lunch with her?”
“Because I wanted to have lunch with her. That’s why.”
“Why are you even still with her after what I told you?”
“Because now I know her secret you were talking about. And it’s fine with me,” I said.
“Her secret?”
“Yeah? You know, the one you told me about. When you ran into Katie at the grocery store? Or were you lying about that fun little encounter,” I said.
“You’re an asshole, you know that? You were an asshole back in college when Olivia did this shit to you the first time, and you’re being an asshole now about it.”