His eyes practically pleaded. Olivia would’ve never expected something like this from him this fast, but she was beyond excited, so she smiled.
“I’m stunned,” she said, bringing her hand to her chest. “But a good stunned.”
“I’m terrified,” he admitted, bringing his eyes back to the road.
His vulnerability only made him that much more perfect to Olivia. For weeks, she’d thought him smug and justifiably so. Rose was right. He was more than just the perfect package. So for him to admit this, show her this side of him, the side that was as scared as she felt, had her nearly choked up all of a sudden.
They turned into the supermarket parking lot, and he got out without saying another word. He walked around the car to where she’d already begun to climb out and took her hand. The moment she was standing right in front of him he brought her hand to his chest where she could feel how hard his heart pounded and left it there. Then he brought his hand behind her neck just under her hair and stared deeply into her eyes.
“I don’t know what it is about you,” he whispered as his eyes lowered down to her lips and he licked his own. “I may as well admit it now since I’ve already said too much. It’s insane, but I’m already crazy about you.” He leaned his forehead against hers, still gazing into her eyes, then closed his for a moment. “The only reason I hadn’t given into the temptation to contact you is because I can already feel it. If I do this, I’m falling hard and—”
“It’s exactly what I was thinking, Lorenzo,” she said as her heart rate spiked yet again.
She explained quickly the exact thoughts she’d had about getting out of any more “Monday Night Football” games after today as he stared at her. “I don’t understand it either, but I knew being around you and your being as unresponsive as you’ve been so far would have been torture.”
“But I swear to you the only reason I’ve been this way was because I really didn’t think I’d want to get into anything serious again. At least not for a few years.”
Olivia gulped, wondering if she’d jumped the gun and allowed her heart to get excited for nothing because this was beginning to feel as if he might be going back to apologizing about not wanting anything serious. She needed to slow her heart down before it got ahead of itself. Regardless of how this turned out, she wouldn’t tell him just yet—or probably ever—but it also sounded as if he were saying he’d never felt anything like this.
She wished she could say in all honesty that she hadn’t either, but it was what scared her most. She remembered the power she allowed Jay to have over her for too long, and this felt eerily similar. One look in those eyes and she felt dangerously rapt. It was frightening, and as much as her head reasoned it wasn’t exactly how she once felt about Jay, it was too close.
He leaned his forehead against hers again, closing his eyes. “I can tell myself all I want that I can do it, but I already know I can’t,” he said, and Olivia’s stomach took a nose dive as he pulled away to look her in the eyes. He was apologizing; then he added in a whisper. “Even if I tried, there’s no way I can stay away from you now.”
Olivia froze. Words—even any coherent thoughts—escaped her completely until she was finally able to pull herself together. With a terrified gulp, she whispered the words that even through her fear she wasn’t able hold back. “I don’t want you to.”
The intense way he’d been staring at her softened a bit, and a slow smile spread across his face. “Well, then, I guess you’re stuck with me now.” He leaned in, and Olivia’s entire body readied itself to feel those magical lips on hers. He suddenly stopped as if something just hit him and pulled away, the hardened intensity in his eyes back once again. “This does mean you’re not seeing anyone else, right? Or have any ex-boyfriends still hung up on you that I’d have to deal with?”
Olivia shook her head, still unable to believe this was happening. “No one,” she managed to say.
“And you’re sure about that?” he asked, his brows pinching a little more severely as he pressed his lips together.
“Yes.” She nodded, fisting the fabric of his shirt against his chest, feeling his heart continue to pound furiously.
He stared into her eyes, almost as if he were searching for something, and then spoke again. “Look. I know you’re probably gonna think it’s way too early to be having this conversation, but this is something I feel emphatic about. I have to be honest with you now before you agree to anything with me. I will not deal with any other guys in your life. It’s the one reason why I’d sworn off serious relationships. I know I can’t—I won’t be able to—handle anything like that. It’s my biggest regret and where I think I went wrong with my ex—trusting her to continue having a relationship with hers. And I know that’s bullshit for anyone else that comes along now because it’s not your fault. I also know for a lot of girls that might be a deal breaker. Way too much to ask for.” He shrugged with a frown. “Rightfully so maybe, but no other women are in my life, and they won’t be as long as I’m with you, so I don’t think it’s too much to ask. I won’t compromise when it comes to this. I’ve been burned once before, and it’s not something I care to live through ever again. So if that’s not something you can agree to, then it’s best that we know now before moving forward.”
Olivia gulped, staring into those potent eyes. “My ex and I have been broken up for almost two years. We did keep in touch for a while, but now we’re not even speaking, and he lives in Dallas. So I can assure you I don’t have a relationship with him at all. Getting this grooming business going has consumed the last two years of my life. I haven’t even made any close friends with girls much less with guys. It’s why when I hit it off with Rose I latched on to her friendship like I did. Agreeing to no other guys in my life won’t be a sacrifice for me. Trust me.”
He smiled, leaning in finally, and kissed her softly. “I want to,’ he whispered against her lips then kissed her as he did that first night, draining what little strength that remained in her legs.
She wrapped her arms around his neck partly for support and partly so he’d never stop. After a few long amazing minutes of Lorenzo devouring her mouth, he finally pulled away and smiled. “Man, are Rosie and Vince in for a surprise”—he laughed—“because I’ll keep our first time together a secret if you prefer, but no way am I keeping my hands or lips off you now.” He leaned in and kissed her again with a groan before pulling away again. “You better think up a story to tell them because they’re gonna know about this as soon as we get back, and they’ll probably think this is weird as shit.”
“I’ll just tell them that after spending some time alone with you it was impossible to fight the incredible attraction I felt for you.” Olivia smiled, still unable to look away from those beautiful eyes, but she didn’t even try now. “That after just a few minutes alone with you in such close proximity I had no choice but to give into the unexplainable pull—and now I’m hooked.”
His eyes practically sparkled as they lit up. “Maybe I should tell them that because in my case it wouldn’t be a made-up story. It’d be the God’s honest truth. That’s exactly what happened.”
Her heart doubled over as he leaned in and kissed her again. Never in a million years when she agreed to meet Rose for lunch did she imagine the day turning out like this.
~~~
To say Rose and Vince were surprised to see Lorenzo and Olivia return holding hands was a laughable understatement. Rose’s mouth literally dropped; then her brows pinched suspiciously as if the two were playing a joke on them.
Vince’s brow had gone up too, and everyone was quiet for too long until he finally broke the silence in the room. “What the hell?”
Lorenzo laughed, giving them the speech about being so incredibly attracted to Olivia after just a few minutes alone with her and how instantly he’d been hooked. As expected, Rose and Vince still stared at them, their faces full of disbelief.
Olivia had no choice but to just fess up. “We’d actually had a
. . . romantic encounter over two months ago before I had any idea he was related to my cousin’s friends. But things didn’t go anywhere, and I hadn’t even seen him until I was over at Sal’s over a month ago to groom his puppies and Lorenzo happened to be there.” She turned to Rose, feeling guilty for not having told her sooner. At the same time she gave her a pleading look and prayed she’d get that she didn’t want any elaborating on the intimate details she’d shared. “He’s who I told you about, but since I knew he was part of the Moreno clan, I wasn’t sure how well you knew him, so I left out his name. And since I didn’t know you were married to a Moreno yourself, I had no idea you’d know him this well.”
Lorenzo squeezed her hand, taking over the explanation. “I hadn’t been able to get her off my mind since,” he said, smiling as he glanced back at her. “Then suddenly she seemed to be everywhere. So tonight when I got the chance to be alone with her”—he lifted and dropped a shoulder—“I told her so and”—he lifted their attached hands then brought them behind her back and pulled her to him—“we’re gonna give this a shot.”
To Olivia’s surprise, although in hindsight she wasn’t sure now why she’d been surprised, instead of Rose being upset at all, she squealed in delight. Olivia should’ve known she’d be happy about it. The girl got out about as much as Olivia did, and now she and her husband had an instant couple they both got along with so well.
Lorenzo made it sound like such a casual thing. They were giving this a shot. But what that meant exactly Olivia had no idea. Given the seriousness of their talk in the supermarket parking lot and casualness about this now, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Would they just do the “Monday Night Football” thing to begin with? He did say they’d take things slowly.
The one thing he’d made absolutely unequivocal was how he felt about other guys in her life, specifically any exes. Remembering what Rose had said about him being such a hard ass about this, a tiny part of her whispered she should mention Elton. But another more stubborn part argued that her relationship with Elton was nothing more than business. She’d never once had any involvement with him in any other way, nor had she ever felt remotely attracted to him or even considered him a friend. Like her brothers, Lorenzo didn’t need to know about the subtle hints Elton still dropped every now and again. She had no intention of ever taking him up on them, so it didn’t matter what the delusional guy thought might happen.
By the end of the night, Olivia had a better understanding of what Lorenzo was expecting of this relationship. As planned, she’d had the two wine coolers, and Rose had kept her promise about serving her another big helping of the delicious lunch she’d prepared.
At the end of the night, Lorenzo walked her out across the street to her car. Once there, he leaned against it, pulling her to him again and planting another kiss like the one she’d been thinking of all night. While Lorenzo hadn’t lied about not being able to keep his hands and lips off her even in front of Rose and Vince, he seemed to sense her unease about doing anything more than sharing a few quick pecks in front of them, so he’d behaved himself. Now he kissed her so profoundly she tingled in the most private of places.
Shamefully, she had no qualms about getting right to the amazing sex as soon as he wanted to. As if reading her mind, because her thoughts were already on how slowly he planned on taking this, he pulled away breathlessly. She could already feel confirmation press against her leg that he, too, would likely be anxious to get to that sooner than he’d made it sound.
“What’s your schedule usually like?” he asked her, still breathing hard and staring deeply into her eyes. “Tomorrow. What time are you off?”
“Not all my days are the same. But I’m usually done around six-ish. It just depends on who I’m working on and how many appointments I have that day.”
They’d already exchanged numbers earlier, and they agreed she’d call him the next day as soon as she was off. Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be just a “Monday Night Football” thing. After just one evening of hanging out with him, holding hands, kissing, and cuddling, it felt as if he’d been her boyfriend forever. And while getting so instantly lost in his eyes felt similar to what Jay could do to her once upon a time, it had never felt quite like this. Her tumultuous relationship with Jay had had its moments. But this excited her more than she cared to admit. It was almost embarrassing how giddy she felt about the whole thing. What was she, twelve? At least with Jay she had an excuse. The excitement with him had started when she was very young.
After several marathon kisses goodbye, Olivia was finally in her car and on her way home. Still feeling breathless, she thought of what her friend Margie might say if Olivia could call her and tell her about Lorenzo.
Sprung!
It was what her ex friend would say Olivia was. And she’d be right because it was exactly how she felt. For years she thought she’d never feel the things Jay had made her feel, and now unbelievably this was beginning to feel as if it might actually top that. She took a long deep breath, reminding herself tomorrow she’d have to get a grip. How mortifying would it be if he knew what she was feeling after spending just one evening with him?
Her phone beeped, and as soon as she came to a stop, she read the text from Lorenzo.
Call me as soon as you’re home and in bed so we can talk. This is crazy, but already I can’t wait to see or talk to you again.
With one hand at her mouth she giggled—just like a twelve-year-old.
Six
Lorenzo
Everything he’d told her was the truth. Lorenzo couldn’t wait to see or talk to Olivia again. He really did want to hear her sweet voice one last time before he went to bed. And he really had left his keys hanging in the doorknob when he got home because he’d been so engrossed in reading the text she’d just sent him.
They’d been on the phone for almost an hour already, and so far they’d mostly laughed over silly non-heavy issues. But Lorenzo had every intention of getting to know a little more about her ex. He knew she’d said she had no relationship with him anymore, but Rosie’s comment questioning how over her ex Olivia could actually be hadn’t been forgotten. Had something Olivia said to Rosie made her doubt it?
Lorenzo had no idea when they left Vince’s house today for the market that things between them would progress as quickly as they had. He wasn’t regretting it or anything. After spending such a fun and perfect evening with her, it confirmed what he’d already begun to think even before today—he had it bad for her. But he did wonder if maybe he hadn’t jumped the gun without making completely sure she was over her ex. Just because they didn’t speak anymore didn’t mean she was over him. And the guy was her first everything.
The moment she’d driven away and he began to come down from the high of being around her, it hit him. What the fuck had he done? He needed to be sure he hadn’t made a hasty mistake.
“You said you were born and raised in Dallas. So you and all four of your siblings moved out here two years ago or were they already here?”
“No, we all moved here together.”
“Really? Wow. Why such a big move all of a sudden?”
“My parents had been divorced for years, and my dad moved to San Diego several years before we did. Then in a span of less than a year we lost both our parents.”
She was quiet for a moment, and at first Lorenzo dared not say anything, but then he did. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t mind talking about it,” she said, sounding a bit somber, but at least she wasn’t crying or anything. “But maybe I’ll save my mom’s story for another time. It’s kind of a heavy subject to tackle so soon.”
“Done,” he said immediately, not wanting to ruin the mood. “What do you wanna talk about?”
“I can tell you about how we got here,” she said, sounding a little less somber. “I’ll just say my mom died suddenly, and we were left in the care of my oldest brother, Isaiah. He’d already passed the fire explorer academy
and was working as an EMT technician driving an ambulance, but none of the fire departments in our county were hiring. Both my other brother Nathan and I had part-time jobs, but even between the three of us, we were still barely able to pay all the bills.
Then later that same year my dad had a heart attack. It was the weirdest thing because it felt like the end of the world, especially after everything we went through with my mom’s death so recently. I’d never been close to my dad. After the divorce, I was just mad at him and sort of shut him out. So while tragic because I always assumed I’d eventually get over being angry and someday make amends, it caused an added inner turmoil when he passed. AJ and I had been the angriest about the divorce therefore the hardest on him.” She sighed but went on. “On top of the child support he was still paying for my sister and younger brother, my dad had been sending Isaiah extra money even before my mom passed because he knew we were struggling. So when he died so unexpectedly, it felt as if everything had suddenly just gone to crap, and then we found out our dad left us his house here in San Diego and money.”
Olivia stopped when someone said something to her—a guy. Lorenzo assumed it was her brother and her calling him by name confirmed it. She’d already told him all her siblings’ names. He listened as she continued to talk to him.
“You have Emi in the morning right, Livi?”
“Yes,” she said. “I can drop her off before my first appointment.”
Her brother said something else Lorenzo didn’t catch, and then she spoke again. “I love you too. Goodnight, Isaiah. Sorry, that was my brother,” she explained.
“Livi?” Lorenzo asked curiously then smiled.
“Yeah,” she said. “All my siblings have always called me Liv or Livi. Never Olivia.”
The realization that she hadn’t lied about her name that first day made him smile even bigger, and he felt a strange relief. Now that she mentioned Liv, it was the name she’d given him that night, short and uncommon as he remembered. At least it was uncommon to him. He’d never known a Liv. Lorenzo hadn’t realized until just then how much the assumption that she’d lied about her name had bothered him, especially given her “Jerks only deserve fake names” comment last week.