Chapter Twenty-Four
Olivia
Friday
As the black dress fell over my body and it swished around me, I felt a bolt of confidence. If I had to go through this tonight, then I needed to do it in style. I wasn’t keen on going to the party at all knowing that Zack was going to be there, but I still wanted to get to know my colleagues better, and this was my one and only chance to do so. I’d be damned if I let him take that away from me...especially considering his snarky attitude.
Honestly, what a head fuck, I thought. One minute he was spouting his mouth off about wanting to get to know me better, and the next he was secretive about himself. The way he reacted about money was super weird and only led me back to Lark’s comments about Zack wanting to keep out of the limelight.
There was something mysterious about him, and I needed to find out what it was... If I ever decided to speak to him again, that is – which at the moment, I really didn’t want to.
As my cell phone rang, I leaped out of my skin. I had a horrible feeling that I’d been thinking about Zack so much that I’d managed to conjure him up. But nope, it was my mother calling.
I inwardly groaned but plastered a smile on my face as I answered. I needed to look happy if I wanted to sound it.
“Hey, Mom, how are you?”
“Hi, Olivia, it’s good to hear from you. Sorry that it’s been so long. How are things going?”
Had it been long? It didn’t feel that long to me! “Yeah, all good, Mom. How are you?”
“Oh, the same. It’s always the same here; you’re the one on the big New York adventure.” She laughed awkwardly, which let me know that she was about to pry. I sucked in a breath and held it as I waited. “So, how’s work?”
“Work’s good, actually, Ms. Simms seems really pleased with my progress. I’m actually out to a work party tonight, a team-building thing.”
“And Drea has Meghan?” Now that Mom had been up and she’d met my babysitter, she didn’t seem to mind her at all. Clearly seeing just how much Meghan liked her had helped.
“Yes, Drea’s here, being a lifesaver as usual. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“Right...” Mom paused, and I sensed it coming. “So what about that nice boy we met while we were there? Zack, is he called?”
Urgh, I’d just about managed to block out that hideously awkward moment when my parents inadvertently met Zack. Trust my luck that they’d go on to love him! “Yeah, he’s still here...living across the hall.” I had no idea what I was supposed to say to that one.
“Right, I see. And, that’s it is it? He just lives across the hall?”
Why couldn’t she just leave things alone? I had no idea what was going on between Zack and me! His head was clearly all over the place – and so was mine. There was no easy answer as to what was going to happen next, so there wasn’t anything I could say to Mom about it.
“Yeah, he lives across the hall... Erm, Mom? I have to go now, my ride is here,” I lied, just to get myself out of it. “How about I give you a call tomorrow when I have more time to talk?”
“Yes, that would be lovely. We miss you, Olivia.”
If my dad missed me, then surely he’d call me himself? Not that there was any point in saying that, I didn’t want Mom to get stuck in the middle of anything. “Yeah, I miss you guys, too. I’ll speak to you soon, okay?”
As soon as I hung up the phone, I collapsed on the bed. Speaking to my mom had left me emotionally exhausted, which was not what I needed tonight. I wanted to be in top form while I made small talk with potential new friends.
“Mommy?” I pulled my head out of my hands to see Meghan staring up at me with wide, curious eyes. “You look pretty, are you going out?”
I pulled her towards me for a much-needed hug. “Yes, sweetie. That’s why Drea’s here. But I won’t be out too long, so you will be okay, won’t you?”
“I will.” She nestled into my neck and warmed my heart. “Love you, Mommy.”
For a second, I didn’t want to move. I wanted to stay in my little bubble with Meghan. She was really the only person I needed, and now that she was growing comfortable, we could happily stay like this all night long. It would be so much better than seeing Zack... But I didn’t want to end up lonely and friendless. I wanted to get to know people in the city, I needed to spread my wings a bit, so much as it crushed me, I moved.
“Come on, darling, let’s go and see Drea.”
Once Meghan was curled up on the couch, I gave Drea a very grateful look. “Thank you so much for doing this; you have no idea how grateful I am. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“That’s what they all say,” Drea laughed happily. “Now go on, go out and have fun. You look beautiful.”
Have fun... Should be simple, right?
“Yes,” I gasped while nodding a bit too hard. “I will see you soon.”
***
“Oh my God, Tess, you’re so funny!” I giggled at one of the other therapists, who was so awesome, I wanted to be her friend forever. “And so bad!”
“We have to laugh at ourselves, or we’ll go crazy,” she teased. “It’s not the easiest job in the world.”
“No, it’s not,” I agreed with her. “But it’s rewarding to know that we’re making people’s lives better. Without us, some people would be in pain forever.”
“Oh I know, it’s crazy.” All of a sudden she straightened her back and shushed me. “Oh my God, that’s him. Ant.”
“Who’s Ant?” I tried to follow her eye line, but there were so many people in the way. It was impossible to tell who she was looking at.
“Ant is an ex-patient of mine, and oh my God, he is to die for!” She physically swooned as she said that. “He’s honestly the best-looking guy that I’ve ever seen, and we had a real connection, too. I so want something to happen between us... Oh my God, he’s coming over.”
As a tall, dark, handsome man stood in front of Tess with a bright smile, I took a step backward. I was disappointed to lose Tess’ company, she was making the night awesome, but I certainly wasn’t one to step in the way of true love – especially not taboo true love, such as with an ex-patient. If Tess didn’t so much care about the unwritten rules about patients, then maybe I shouldn’t be so worried, either...
I took a walk around the room so I wouldn’t affect Tess while she was on her game, but as I moved, I tried not to lift my eyes off the ground. He was here somewhere. I could feel his magnetic presence trying to lure me in, but I wouldn’t cave. Not until I was sure what his mood was today. If he was still mad at me, the last thing I wanted to do was get into an argument here. Not with my boss and all my colleagues around.
“Oh, Zack!” I couldn’t avoid him, not when Ms. Simms had brushed past me in a haze of perfume and alcohol, making a beeline for him like he was the only person in the room. “You have to introduce me to this lovely friend of yours.”
Wow, she seemed really into Lark. I could see why, he was very handsome, but she was probably barking up the wrong tree. Lark spent most of his life in Vegas where all the beautiful women lived.
Zack’s eyes connected with mine, and he gave me a curious smirk while nodding towards Lark and Ms. Simms it was very strange, but weirdly, he seemed to be responding well to her. I smiled and shrugged back, enjoying communicating with him while he wasn’t furious at me. It made me want to forget everything else, all the mysteries that he so clearly wanted to keep inside. Especially for tonight.
What I’d prefer was a friendly face to talk to, someone to stop me from feeling so lonely in this crowded room. Tess was deep in conversation with Ant now, I didn’t think I’d get the chance to speak with her again, so when Zack started walking towards me, I remained fixed where I was.
“I’m sorry,” he started right away. “I was a jerk yesterday, and there’s no excuse for it.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have pried; it isn’t my business what you do.”
There was so much else that I could’ve said. I could’ve argued that he should be honest with me if he wanted the same in return. But if I told myself that there had to be a serious reason for it, then it didn’t seem so bad. After all, he’d made it clear that he wanted us to be together. If there was something locked away, then it had to be for the best.
Even if it drove me nuts.
“Do you want to dance?” he finally asked me with an adorable lopsided grin.
“Sure, why not.”
While Zack led me onto the dance floor, my heart raced like crazy. His fingers slipped through mine, and he clung to me tightly, which squeezed all the air out of my lungs and left me completely breathless. When I agreed to this, I didn’t think about the intimacy that it’d involve. A slow song was playing, everyone had their hands wrapped around one another, and soon Zack would have his arms around me... in front of everyone. It was almost too much to bear.
I awkwardly stood as we reached the center of the dance floor and I glanced up at Zack. I needed him to take control of this situation because I’d pretty much frozen. Luckily, he didn’t seem to be having the same issues as me because he grabbed hold of me quickly, pulling me into him.
As my body pressed against his chest, my breath caught in my throat. But when Zack smiled at me, I melted into him just a little bit. It felt good to have him around me, better than I expected, and it made me return the grin.
“So, what’s this?” he asked me gently. “Can we class this as our first date?”
I burst into giggles at his insistence not to let the subject go. “I don’t see why not,” I replied coyly. “It might as well be. This is probably nicer than anywhere you’d take me for a real first date.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” He yanked me even closer to him, almost inappropriately so. “Maybe I’d take you to Paris on our very first date.”
“Hmmm, that sounds wonderful. I would definitely be up for that.”
As we laughed and chatted, the rest of the world melted away. I forgot all about Tess and Ant, Lark and Ms. Simms, the party that Zack had seemingly paid for, and everything in it. All I cared about was his lovely eyes and the way he was looking at me with them. There truly was something there more than just lust, and I had to admit that it felt nice. I was scared to open up my heart once more, but at the same time, I really wanted to. It was very confusing. I felt like my head might explode.