Chapter Two

Landon

She couldn’t possibly hate me as much as I hated myself. As I watched her run away I wanted to go after her, but I knew I couldn’t. She needed time to process the shit I’d said to her. Time to decide how she wanted to make me pay. And I’d gladly pay any price, ‘cause I came to this party with one goal in mind: a second chance with the girl who got away.

I knew she didn’t have a boyfriend. My kid brother did his homework. Lots of pics of the fam, her friends, even her toy poodle who’d died, Lila, but she hadn’t posted a boyfriend pic in six months and her status was definitely single. I knew I wasn’t going to get another chance like this, so I had to make it count.

“What did you say to upset her?” Justin asked, glaring at me.

He wasn’t a small guy, but he couldn’t take me on his best day. I’m not arrogant. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em. And I see a guy with balls but not enough brawn to back it up.

“What’s it to you, Romeo? You gonna fight to defend her honour?” I knew I was being an ass, but the fact that this dude had possibly been intimate with Olivia gave me reason enough to hate him.

“I’d lay down my life for that woman, asshole.” He stepped in my path. “So, if you’re thinking about messing with her, think again.”

I normally admired a guy who refused to back down, but when he was standing between me and the one thing I wanted more than another championship ring he was barking up the wrong motherfucking tree.

“This is none of your business, so do yourself a favor and stay out of it.”

“None of my business,” he spit out between clenched teeth. “None of my business?” He pushed a finger into my shoulder, going toe-to-toe with me. “I was the one who was there to help her pick up the pieces when she showed up to college a wreck because of you. Barely able to concentrate, not able to sleep or eat or even crack a smile.”

I hated knowing I’d done that to her, but at the time I thought I was giving her a chance at the life she wanted. She wanted to become some hotshot fashion designer. She wanted to go to a prestigious private school for the arts. And her parents could afford to send her too. According to them, the only thing standing between her and her dream was me. So I took myself out of the equation. For her. Because she was the only person I loved more than I loved myself.

“Fifteen years?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at this stranger who seemed to love my girl as much as I had. “You’ve been friends for fifteen years?” As much as I hated it, that gave him the right to stick his nose into our business, because he knew her in a way I didn’t anymore.

“Friends. Lovers. Confidantes. Partners.”

I closed my eyes, drawing a deep breath. I’d already suspected they’d slept together, but hearing it out loud made it difficult not to knock all of his teeth out. I knew I didn’t have the right, but rational thought never came into play where Olivia was concerned.

“What’s wrong? You got a problem with that?” he asked, rocking back on his heels.

“I think you know I do,” I said, getting in his face. “And if you were smart you’d back off before I shove my fist down your throat.”

He seemed to consider the threat before he asked, “If she means this much to you, why’d you let her go?”

“For her sake.” I’d intended to plead my case with her, not her friend, but if he was her middle man, I’d take what I could get. Maybe he could convince her I’d done what I did because I loved her, not because I was a selfish bastard who only wanted to chase tail in college.

“This I gotta hear.” He pointed to the bar in the corner. “And I have a feeling I’m gonna need a drink to get through it.”

After he’d ordered a scotch and I’d ordered a beer, I started to spill my guts. “She always had big dreams, same as me. I was on the verge of making mine come true. I had colleges fighting over me. I got a full ride. But I knew going there was my dream, not hers.”

“Because she wanted to go to art school?”

“Right. All she’d ever wanted was to be a fashion designer.” Thanks to my brother, I knew she had a private label that sold online and in upscale boutiques across the country. She’d made her dreams come true. Just like I had.

“She told me she hadn’t intended to go to art school,” Justin said, tipping back his drink. “Would have been a damn shame if she’d passed up on that opportunity. She’s so talented.”

“You said you met her in college?”

“Yeah, we went to art school together. But it turns out I liked the business end of things more so Olivia and I became partners when we graduated. She does her thing. I do mine. It works.”

“Huh.” That meant if we did start seeing each other again I’d have to handle her working with her ex every day. Not ideal, but the alternative was not having her in my life at all. “So, you and Olivia were, uh, in a relationship?”

“Nah, it was more of a casual thing. Back when we were young and stupid. Am I still attracted to her?” He raised an eyebrow. “Every time she walks into the room she takes my breath away. Have we acted on that attraction from time to time? Sure. But if one of us is in a relationship, all deals are off.”

Which meant I could count on Olivia to be faithful. Not that I needed a stranger to tell me that. We’d been together two years and I’d never known anyone more honest or trustworthy. “I’ve spent a lot of years chasing my dream,” I said, tipping my beer back. “But it hasn’t been everything I thought it would be.”

I knew I sounded like an ungrateful jerk. But that wasn’t the case. I loved my career more than anything, but during the off-season there was a gaping hole in my life nothing else could fill.

“How so?” Justin asked, downing the rest of his drink. “You got what you wanted,” he said, his eyes lingering on my championship ring. “The big contract, the accolades, the championship. What more could you want?”

“I want what I had with Olivia.” I knew it sounded crazy. We’d been together a lifetime ago. We were only kids then. Yet I’d never experienced that kind of chemistry or connection with anyone else before or since.

Justin narrowed his eyes and held up one hand. “Hold up a minute. You want what you had with Olivia or you want Olivia back?”

“Aren’t they one in the same?”

He shook his head. “No. You could find what you had with her with someone else.”

“I thought I could too, but after fifteen years of looking I’ve come to realize that’s not possible.” I’d dated dozens of women, but there was only one Olivia.

“You can’t just walk back into her life after doing a number on her all those years ago and tell her…?” He curled his hand around his glass as he brought it to his lips. “What? That you want another chance?”

“Maybe.” I wasn’t willing to show him all my cards yet. This was a conversation I needed to have with Olivia, not her… whatever.

“That doesn’t make any sense. People just don’t—”

“You!” Kelly appeared out of nowhere, shaking a finger in my face. “I swore to myself if you ever made her cry again I’d make you cry!” She raised her knee, but I managed to dodge it just in time.

The Collier sisters had always been feisty and would go to the mat for each other. I was glad to see that hadn’t changed. “I didn’t mean to make her cry, Kel. You gotta believe me.” The fact that I had made me feel like shit, ‘cause I knew that girl had already shed way too many tears over me.

“Why would I believe anything you say? You’re a worthless liar who—”

“What did I lie about?”

“Wanting to spend the rest of your life with my sister.” Some of the fight seemed to go out of her as she sagged against the bar. “I get that you were young and I know guys change their mind about stuff like that all the time, especially at that age, but—”

“I didn’t change my mind. If I could have had Olivia, my dream, and given her a chance at her dream, I would have. No questions asked. But it wasn’t possible for us to have it all back then. Maybe it is now.”

I could tell she wasn’t buying what I was selling, but that didn’t mean I’d stop trying. Getting the people Olivia loved and respected to believe me was half the battle. “Why do you think I’m not married yet?” I asked, holding up my bare left hand.

“Maybe because you’re still a man-whore?” she suggested, crossing her arms.

“That’s not fair. I was never a man-whore when I was with your sister. I was faithful to her and you know it.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I would have castrated you if you hadn’t been.”

I grinned. “That wasn’t the only reason. I loved her, Kel. Even though things went down the way they did, you know how much I loved her.”

She looked back at Justin, who was standing behind her. “Are you buying any of this?”

“I don’t know what to think,” he admitted. “I’ve been listening to him and he sounds sincere.”

Kelly looked me up and down, as though she was considering her options. “Why’d you wait so long to see her if you felt this way?”

I knew this question would come up and I was ready for it. “I wanted to give her a chance to fall in love with someone else.” I glanced at Justin. “I know my life’s not for everybody. Olivia obviously has a life that makes her happy, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to interfere with that. But I told myself if she was still single by this reunion, I’d tell her how I felt about her.”

“How do you feel about her?” Kelly demanded.

There were some things I was only willing to say to Olivia, without an audience. But I had to tell her twin enough that she’d be in my corner, or at the very least help me get a little face time with Olivia so I could plead my case.

“I know it’s normal to think about your ex from time to time, but not as much as I do.” It was a painful, even embarrassing admission, but it was true. “She doesn’t just pop into my head every now and then. I’m tellin’ you, she set the bar for every other woman in my life. And none of them have even come close to reaching it.”

“Why did you dump her if you loved her so much? I’m sure you could have found a way to make it work if you really wanted to.”

“You may think so, but your parents didn’t.” Her eyes widened, just like I knew they would when I dropped my little bombshell. “So, they never told you they came to me, huh?”

“Are you kidding?”

“I wouldn’t kid about something like this.” A thousand times I’d asked myself if I’d been naïve to believe their claims, but since they loved Olivia as much as I did, I believed them when they said I’d be doing her a favor by ending the relationship so she could pursue her dream.

“My parents suggested you dump my sister?” she asked, taking a step back. “No, they wouldn’t do that. They knew how much she loved you. She was crushed when you ended things. They wouldn’t have intentionally caused her that much pain.”

It was a small consolation that I hadn’t been the only one to suffer that year. I almost lost everything, my scholarship, my football dreams, all because I couldn’t stop the emotional bleeding caused by the break-up that never stopped hurting.

“I think they were doing what they thought was best for her. They wanted to see her go to art school in New York. They knew that was her dream and they wanted to see her fulfill it. And maybe they were right.” I shrugged. “She is happy now, right? And successful?”

“Well yeah, sure,” Kelly said. “But still, they had no right to interfere in her life that way.”

“I’m sure they thought they were doing the right thing.” I knew parents often went to great lengths to protect their children, so I couldn’t blame them for trying to force me out of their daughter’s life.

“But it wasn’t up to them to decide,” Kelly said, sounding indignant on her sister’s behalf. “It was up to Olivia to decide which school she wanted to go to and whether she wanted to follow you or—”

“This is all a moot point now, isn’t it? The past is the past, what I need to know is whether you think Olivia is open to at least talking to me about the present.”

“The present?” Kelly asked, looking suspicious. “Hold up. Are you talking about a one-night stand?”

I sure as hell wouldn’t say no to having Olivia back in my bed, but one night would never be enough. “I’m talking about taking it one day at a time. I know she can’t make any promises. She doesn’t even know me anymore. I just want her to get to know me again. I hope when she does she’ll realize I haven’t changed all that much from the guy she used to know… and love.”

“So you want her to fall in love with you all over again?” Kelly asked, glaring at me. “Then what? You break her heart?”

“You really think I’d be here tonight, putting myself through all this if I wasn’t serious about seeing where this could go?” I sighed when she didn’t respond. “Look, I don’t want to hurt your sister. On the contrary. I want to make up for all the pain I caused.”

“How do you plan to do that?” she asked, glancing at the phone in her hand when it buzzed.

“By doing what I should have been man enough to do back then. Fighting for her.” I extracted a key card from my breast pocket and passed it to Kelly. “I’m in room 407. Please give this to her. I need to talk to her, in private.”

“And if she won’t come up?”

“I won’t give up. I can’t.”