Chapter Twenty-Two

Olive

I couldn’t believe that Pierce had invited Cormac in. After everything that had happened, it was unbelievable that it was ultimately Pierce who cracked!

I was fuming as I walked into the living room, and they followed me there. Seeing Cormac again had set off a fuse in my head. After all the crying and whimpering I’d done the previous night from being heartbroken, today it was like I was charged with electricity.

I had my arms crossed over my breasts when I whipped around to look at them. Cormac was dressed for work in a stylish dark suit, with his hair swept back and spiky, and he was clean shaven so that his jaws looked even more sharp and chiseled. There was no denying that he was as hot as ever. It was his hotness that had gotten me into this much trouble.

“Why have you invited him in? If you wanted to talk to him, couldn’t you wait till I left?” I snapped at Pierce, who was standing between us now. Cormac had his eyes fixed on me. I could see that he was angry too, but he didn’t deserve to have an attitude. He had no excuse for what he’d done the previous night.

“We need to talk, all together, like mature adults,” Pierce declared, and I huffed and looked away from them.

“There is nothing more I want to hear. If you want to fix your friendship, do it on your own time,” I snapped, still fuming.

“Nothing happened last night!” Cormac roared, and I glared at him, sinking a little in his eyes, because as I realized, I was still weak for him.

“You’re a liar! I saw you!” I yelled back, and Pierce stepped in again. He turned to me, holding my gaze, and then reached for my shoulders.

“Olive, nothing happened last night. Cormac isn’t lying,” he said in a soft voice, and my mouth fell open.

“What is going on? What are you talking about? Why are you suddenly on his side? What happened to your claims of wanting the best for me?” I quaked at him, and Pierce drew in a deep breath and glanced a look at Cormac, who was looking as surprised as I was.

Pierce turned to me again and looked into my eyes.

“I do want what’s best for you, which is why I’ve decided that it’s my responsibility to own up and tell you the truth. Cormac is being honest here. That girl was throwing herself at him, and he rejected her. He went home alone,” Pierce continued, and I wriggled out of his grip, striding away from the two of them.

“How can you be so sure, Pierce? How do you know this? Last night you were consoling me and agreeing with me when I said that I couldn’t trust him anymore.” I pointed my finger menacingly at my brother, who sagged his head down like he was very sorry.

“Yes, I know I did, but that was before I found out what really happened with Selina,” Pierce said, and this was when Cormac stepped up.

“How do you know her name? What the fuck is going on?” Cormac barked, and I clamped a hand over my mouth. It was becoming increasingly clear to me that Pierce had some kind of role to play in all this confusion.

Pierce turned to his friend and sighed.

“Selina is a girl I met at the bar a few days ago. I kept in touch with her, just casually, and she said she had her eye on you and I told her to meet you there last night,” Pierce explained. A shrill cry escaped my lips while Cormac squinted his eyes and shook his head at his friend.

“You told her to meet me there last night? To do what?” he asked, and Pierce licked his lips and shook his head.

“I wanted her to seduce you, I guess. I wanted to prove to Olive, once and for all, the kind of guy you are. I knew she’d want to see you again, and I was hoping she’d find you with Selina. It would put her off you forever,” Pierce continued, and as I stared at them, I could feel my body shaking. I couldn’t believe that my brother had set us up!

“But Selina called me after you left, and she told me that you looked depressed and that as hard as she pushed, she couldn’t get you to take her home,” Pierce said. Cormac pushed his palms into my brother’s chest.

“You did what!” he growled, and Pierce staggered back and held up his hands.

“I know. I’m sorry, man. I was just looking out for my sister. I’m fucking sorry, old boy. I wanted her to stop blaming me for breaking you guys up. I wanted her to see for herself what you’re really like, and I know now that I made a mistake. You were being honest when you said that you really liked her,” Pierce explained. Cormac kept running a hand through his hair over and over again.

I stared at them both with my mouth hanging open. My brother had done it again. Once again, he had successfully managed to make a fool of me.

“I can’t believe you, Pierce! I can’t believe that you’d do this!” I hissed at him, and Pierce nodded and then hung his head in shame.

“I know, and I deserve your anger and hatred. I just didn’t know what else to do. I wanted you to take my offer and leave Brunswick so that we could all go back to living our normal lives. I just didn’t expect Cormac to behave this way,” Pierce said. Cormac glared at him.

“Behave what way? Like I actually fucking have feelings for her?” he snapped, and I looked at him in shock. I hadn’t expected him to say that, to admit it so quickly and in front of my brother.

Pierce remained silent while Cormac and I stared at each other. He’d realized what he said, and he took a step toward me.

“Olive, nothing happened with the girl from last night,” he said in a low whisper. I gulped. My throat suddenly felt very dry. I was very confused about how I was supposed to feel.

Was I supposed to feel happy that Cormac had admitted to having feelings for me? Or was I supposed to be raging mad at my brother for what he’d done?

“But…” I whispered, and Cormac strode up to me, stopping when our bodies were only an inch away.

“I wanted to ask you out, on a proper date, so that we could get to know each other better. I like you, Olive, like I’ve never liked anyone before, and you confuse me and that’s a good thing.” Cormac was rambling and his silly confusion brought a smile to my face. I was sure of how I was supposed to feel now. I was supposed to feel relieved and happy that the guy I wanted so desperately wanted me too.

“Cormac…” I tried to say, but he continued speaking.

“I know what Pierce thinks of me, and he’s right about everything—except about this. You’re different, and I know I need a lot of work, but I don’t want to try this relationship thing with anyone else.” He was still rambling, till I had no other choice but to reach for him. I placed a hand on his chest and it calmed him immediately. He gulped as he looked at me. I could see it in his eyes that he was being as honest as he could be.

“I want to give you a chance, Cormac. I’ve always wanted to give you a chance. I know that we had a real connection when we were together. You’re the one who kept pushing me away and thinking of Pierce,” I said to him in a soft voice.

Cormac reached up and covered my hand in his. He was warm and rough and comforting to touch, and I could feel my knees wobbling and my ankles shaking. He had a strange physical effect on me that no man had before.

“I know I did. I was being foolish, and I didn’t trust myself. I trusted Pierce’s opinion more,” he said.

“I’m sorry. For everything,” Pierce spoke up, and we looked at him. He had backed away to the living room door, but I couldn’t stop myself from glaring angrily at him.

“Pierce, leave us alone,” Cormac demanded, and I saw my brother nodding his head.

“I just want you to know that I’m very sorry, and I want to be supportive. I want the best for both of you,” he added. Cormac dropped my hand and turned to him with a jerk.

“Just leave us alone!” he growled, and nodding his head, Pierce disappeared from the living room.

Cormac turned back to me, and a soft smile grazed his delicious lips.

“Hi,” he said, letting out a deep sigh, and I smiled at him too.

“Hi,” I replied,looking into his eyes. I felt like my heart could explode.

“Would you like to start over?” he asked. I bit down on my lip and nodded.

“I’m Olive Wolfton, your friend Pierce’s sister,” I said, and Cormac was smiling fully now.

“I’m Cormac Larkin, resident womanizer and your brother’s best friend. However, I would like to take you out on a date and explore the possibility of being with you. If you might permit that so graciously,” he said.Our bodies were only an inch apart. I could smell him, I could touch him if I wanted to, and everything about Cormac was utterly charming.

“I would like to go on a date with you, yes,” I replied.We smiled and I blushed. There was a silence of a few moments between us before Cormac spoke again.

“Would it be weird if I kissed you right now? So soon after we’ve just met?” he asked, and I looked at him from under my heavy lids.

“It would be weird, but when has that ever stopped me?” I asked with a laugh, and Cormac lunged at me, grabbing my face in his hands as he pressed his lips to mine.

His tongue parted my mouth and darted in, tasting me, and I savored him. Our bodies were fused together, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Cormac’s hands were on my waist now, then on my ass, and he squeezed as I sunk into his mouth. My lips throbbed and swelled from the force of his kiss, and I could feel myself contracting and warming. My nipples ached with desire. This kiss was going to turn into something else. I could feel it in my bones. He was going to make love to me right here in my brother’s living room!

Cormac pulled himself away from me, and we were both panting.

“We should do this right. We need to go on a date and talk first. I’ll pick you up at eight?” he said, and slowly, we stepped away from each other. I licked my swollen lips and nodded. I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. We’d come so close to stripping each other’s clothes off! I still wanted to, but he was right. We had a second chance, and we had to do it right this time.

“Eight. I’ll be ready,” I said, and he smiled at me before he turned and walked out of the living room.

I couldn’t stop smiling either, even after he was long gone. I waited a few more moments to catch a breath and collect myself. After that, it was time to deal with Pierce. Suddenly, I felt like I was the older and wiser sibling in our relationship.