Chapter Eight

Olive

I couldn’t wrap my brain around the scene that had just unfolded. My brother had just walked in and charged at Cormac, practically throwing him out of the house. I was fuming when he left, and I was left alone in the kitchen with Pierce.

He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

“Pierce, what the hell happened here?” I barked at him.My brother kept his eyes pressed close.

“Just drop it, Olive. I did what I had to do to protect you,” Pierce said, and I could feel a shiver rise up my spine. I wanted Cormac. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to be with him, even if it was just a casual thing. And my brother had ruined it.

“Protect me? Who do you think you are?” I screeched, and Pierce opened his eyes and fixed me with a deep stare.

“I’m your brother,” he replied in a quiet voice.

“Exactly. You’re just my brother. It doesn’t make you my keeper,” I snapped. Pierce turned away from me as though he was tired of looking at me.

“I don’t want to discuss this with you, Olive. This was supposed to be between Cormac and me,” I heard him say, and I walked around to face him again.

“You just threw your friend out because he was being nice to me. How deranged do you have to be to do that?” I could hear the cry in my voice, but Pierce wasn’t listening. He kept shaking his head like none of what I was saying made any sense to him.

“I’m not going to apologize for looking out for you. I know Cormac. I know what he’s like. You don’t know him at all,” he replied, and I gritted my teeth.

“You didn’t even give me a chance to get to know him. And since I met him, he’s been nothing but kind and sweet to me,” I said. Pierce sighed deeply before looking at me, like I was a child who was saying things she didn’t understand.

“Olive, you’re being naive. I have good reason to keep you away from him. I know what he’s like,” Pierce claimed. I crossed my arms over my breasts and widened my eyes at him.

“Tell me, big brother, tell me what he’s like. Explain to me why you behaved like such a monster right now,” I dared him. Pierce only shook his head and breathed out deeply again.

“Why can’t you just trust me, Olive? When have I done anything to harm you?” he continued, and I pursed my lips together and rolled my eyes.

“It’s so typical of you, Pierce, to assume I’m some naive young ten-year-old who doesn’t know what she’s doing. How do you think I survive out there in LA by myself? When I don’t have you or Dad breathing down my neck? How do you think I’m living my life without your constant control?” I asked with a sizzle in my voice.

“Exactly why your life is such a complete mess right now!” Pierce snapped, and the moment he said the words, he clamped his mouth shut. He had realized the gravity of the words that had come out of his mouth, and I couldn’t believe he had actually said it.

I knew that he was disappointed with me. Even though he hadn’t actually said it to me before, I knew he was disappointed with me for dropping out of college, for struggling to make a living.

“Okay, Olive, that was out of line. I didn’t mean it like that,” Pierce said and stepped toward me. I took a step away from him.

“Mean it like what? What did you exactly mean, Pierce?” I narrowed my eyes threateningly at him, and Pierce looked about the kitchen, as though his thousand-dollar electric appliances were going to be of any support to him.

“I didn’t mean it like you’re a complete failure or anything, Olive,” he tried, and I let out a cackling, mean laugh.

“That is exactly what you meant. That my career is a complete failure, that I’m a shit singer, and that I should just go back to college and live my life the way you and Dad had it all charted out for me,” I hissed. Pierce shook his head guiltily.

“You’re changing the topic of conversation now. We were discussing why you should keep your distance from Cormac,” my brother claimed. I smiled at him, without any warmth.

“A minute ago, you didn’t want to discuss Cormac either. Well done, big brother, you have successfully managed to make me regret coming here to visit you,” I hissed, and Pierce stepped apologetically toward me again. I stepped farther back to the kitchen door.

“Olive, please don’t make a big deal about all this. Can we just sit down and catch up?” Pierce begged, and I gritted my teeth at him.

“No, Pierce, we can’t. Not when I know now what you really think of me and my life,” I snapped, and turning on my heels, I walked out of the kitchen, just like Cormac had some time ago.

Pierce followed me, across the living room and down the hall to the front door.

“Where are you going?” I heard him ask, and at the door, I whipped around to him, narrowing my eyes threateningly at him.

“What are you going to do, Pierce? Make me a prisoner in your house so that I don’t end up making any more bad decisions?” I snapped, and my brother stepped away from me. He was looking at me, but now his face was less dark, less angry. I knew I had been able to successfully make him feel guilty.

“Stop dictating my life,” I added before I stepped out of the house and slammed the door shut behind me.

I had every intention of going to look for Cormac, even though I had no idea where he could possibly be. I didn’t even know if he wanted to see me again. Back there in the house, he’d barely even looked at me since my brother had walked into the kitchen. Even though he had stepped up in my defense, he had done it the way any kindhearted stranger would have.

But I knew I had to see him again. I’d go crazy otherwise, wondering whether there was any chance of being with him.

***

I went to the only place in Brunswick where I could find my way. I was glad that Pierce hadn’t followed me, but after the fight we just had, I doubted that he would have. I knew he was feeling guilty now, and he needed time to think about what he had said to his sister. Besides, no matter how angry I was with him, Pierce wouldn’t have imagined that I’d go looking for his friend now.

Cormac was sitting at the spot on the jetty where he had found me earlier. His Porsche was parked at the side, and I walked up to him.

He heard me approaching and turned to look at me. His blue eyes were stormy, and I could see that he’d spent the past half an hour deep in thought.

“Olive, maybe you shouldn’t be here,” he suggested in a deep but calm voice. I stood over him, and then with a forced smile on my face, I sat down beside him, flinging my legs over the edge the way he had.

“It’s okay. I just wanted to apologize for my brother. I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” I told him. He looked out at the water, and I could almost hear him thinking.

“Your brother is right. You shouldn’t be here, and we shouldn’t be alone together,” he said. I stared at his profile, drinking in the shape of his long, pointed nose and the strength of his jaws.

“Did you mean what you said back there? That you had no intention of being stupid with me?” I asked, surprising myself with my own words. I had no idea I could be this forthright. But my brother’s words and his arrogance in his beliefs were the fuel. I felt like I needed to prove to him that I was my own mistress and that I was capable of making the right life choices.

Cormac clenched his jaws and then turned to look at me again. He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Yes, I know we had a moment of weakness there, but I wouldn’t have purposely done anything with my best friend’s sister,” he claimed, and the smile dropped from my face. I looked away from him. He was embarrassing me. I was throwing myself at a stranger and he was pushing me away.

Our arms grazed as we sat on the jetty together, and a sizzle ran under my skin. No matter how embarrassed I was feeling, I still wanted to kiss him.

“I don’t know what impression Pierce has given you of me, but you should know that I am not on the same page as him. I don’t need his protection. Who I choose to be with is completely my decision,” I said, and when I turned, I saw that he was looking at me. His eyes searched mine and his lips were firmly set. The lips I so desperately wanted to kiss.

“I respect that, Olive, and I wish that I could look at it that way. But Pierce is my best friend, and I know that if we fool around, it’s going to piss him off. It’s going to destroy our friendship,” he said.A smile tugged the corners of my lips.

“And being with me isn’t worth that,” I added. Cormac’s eyes glittered at the suggestion. He wanted to say that it wasn’t, but it seemed like he couldn’t get the words out of his mouth. Our gazes were locked again, and I could feel the knots in my belly tightening again. I was itching to touch him. I was desperate to feel his lips on mine—and I had no idea anymore if I wanted to kiss him because of the sole reason that I was attracted to him, or if it was because I wanted to piss Pierce off.

“I swore to your brother to stay away from you,” he said, and I nodded, the smile on my face was growing wide.

“I’m going to be gone from Brunswick in a few days. My brother never has to find out,” I said in a shaky voice. I couldn’t believe what I was saying. I was trying to convince a guy to make out with me, just to spite my brother. It was high school behavior—but I felt like a giddy teenager now. Nothing about being around Cormac felt mature or wise. I felt foolish and silly.

Cormac’s eyes were riveted on me. His gaze dropped from my face, trailing down my neck to my breasts and then the spot between my legs. I had my legs tightly pressed together, and he was looking at the shape of my calves. Like he was trying to decide if I was worth it.

He looked up at me suddenly. His blue eyes were narrowed and dark. He had his lips pursed together, forcing those dimples to appear on his cheeks again.

“You are a strange one, Olive Wolfton,” he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It was almost better than any compliment about my body that he could have given me.

“And you are about to kiss me,” I said. Cormac leaned in toward me. It felt like my mind was going to explode. This was the moment I’d been waiting for the whole morning. This was what my song was going to be about. Cormac Larkin was going to kiss me.