“No? Who did?”
“Dale. Brant. Katrine.”
“You didn’t look inside?”
“They told me I wouldn’t be able to repack it properly if I did. So I might not know what everything is. And it might be disgusting.” He pulled out a jar of red pepper jelly, which he’d never heard of, and a baguette wrapped in wax paper. Good. He knew what to do with bread. There was a wedge of brie, which he set between them, and a round of cheese that smelled rancid.
Olivia made a face.
“I think this might be expired,” he said, tossing it over his shoulder where it hit the tree and rolled away.
She smiled. “Good call.”
She helped him unpack the rest, chicken and fruit and warm iced tea. He tried to keep his eyes on the task, but it was impossible not to let his gaze skate down the exposed length of her tan legs, the tempting curve of her breasts in the fitted tank top.
“You look nice,” he said.
She glanced at him. “Thank you.”
“I was supposed to say that when you opened the door, but I forgot.”
“Do you have a script?”
He smiled wryly. “I’m no good at remembering lines when you’re around.”
“Ah.”
They made open-face sandwiches and ate without speaking.
“I was surprised to hear from you,” Olivia said.
Something in his chest clenched. “I’m terrible on the phone.”
“So you say. But here we are.”
“You’re my first date in a really long time.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything, and the tightness around his heart increased.
“Are you seeing someone?” he asked, fingers closing around the blanket as his old instincts kicked in.
She hesitated, then shook her head. “No.”
“But?” He forced his hand to relax.
“But Willa set me up with her friend. A banker.”
“You didn’t go?”
“We went out twice.”
“And he was an asshole?”
“Oh, he was wonderful. Tall, handsome, funny.”
He rubbed his brow. “Jesus.”
“But.”
“But he was a thief?”
She laughed. “I guess I wasn’t ready.”
“Why not?”
She looked at him from under her lashes. “Why do you think?”
“Because you have too many scars from your last relationship?”
Her lips curved. “No scars.”
“Then what?”
“You’re asking too many questions, Jarek. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to since getting back?”
He would much rather continue the original line of questioning, but knew when to back off. He ate another piece of chicken before answering. “Not much. Hanging out with my brother’s family. Brant and Dale. Nothing special.”
“Uh-huh. Have you…met anybody?”
“Women?”
“Yes.”
“No, Olivia.”
“Why not?”
“You want me to say it?”
“If it’s true.”
He could say it. He’d been practicing in the car the whole way over. Nine hours of lame ass recitations. He could do this. “There hasn’t been anyone else since I met you. I don’t want any other women because I’m in love with you.” He stared out over the park, the horizon visible from their perch on the hill.
“Huh,” she said.
He shot her a look. “What?”
“Who are you talking to?”
“What?”
“I’m sitting right here, not off in the distance somewhere.”
His lips twitched. “Well. That’s true.” This is what he’d wanted, wasn’t it? For her to be sitting beside him. And yet for some reason it was so hard to look at her and tell her the truth. But he didn’t want to be a coward anymore. She wasn’t a bad person. She wouldn’t have agreed to come on this picnic if she hated him. And she wouldn’t be telling him to confess his feelings if she didn’t want to hear them. She wasn’t going to hurt him. He trusted her. Jarek looked her square in the face and she stared back, those blue eyes waiting patiently. She could wait forever, if she felt like it. He never should have dated a kindergarten teacher. “I love you, Olivia.”
He saw the lines of her body relax; he hadn’t realized how tense she was. That she’d truly doubted his ability to say the words. “And I’m still really sorry,” he added. “For before.” He couldn’t look at her anymore, it was getting weird. He flicked a bread crumb off the blanket.
“I’m sorry I lied to you about Chris.”
He glanced up in surprise. Of all the things she could have said, he’d never expected that. “Yeah,” he said. “Well. I’m not exactly the easiest person to confess to. And it’s nothing compared to what I did.”
“It still wasn’t good.”
“Really? Just like that?”
He shrugged. It was true. If she said nothing had happened in Thailand, then nothing had happened. “Just like that.”
“Well,” she said. “I forgive you too.”
His heart stuttered. “You do?”
“Why else would I be here?”
“The free food?”
“Hmm. Speaking of which, I notice there are no green peppers in here.”
He flushed, caught. “That was my one non-contribution to the basket.”
“It’s nice of you to remember.”
He remembered everything about her. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—forget, no matter what happened between them.
“I love you, Jarek,” she said quietly. “In case you didn’t know.”
He was watching her feet, the pink painted toes that had tempted him so painfully the first night he’d visited her apartment. The time he’d kissed her, so rock hard he thought he might die. He leaned over now and kissed her again, this time without warning or plea for forgiveness. He didn’t hold her in place, either, keeping his hands braced on the blanket behind him, angling his body to press his lips against hers, feeling their perfect softness against his.
She was similarly positioned but he was taller, and her shoulder pressed into his chest, preventing him from getting the contact he craved. But this was their first date, he remembered belatedly, and Jonah had told him that first base was the furthest he could go. He hated his brother sometimes, but he pulled away.
“Where do you go after this?” she asked, watching his mouth, eyes glazed. He loved seeing that look on her face, loved being the one who put it there.
“Back to the hotel,” he said promptly.
She blinked. “What?”
“I—” He cut himself off. “You didn’t mean right after this date. You meant in general.”
“Yeah.” She smiled faintly. “In general.”
“I’ve got to get my own place,” he answered, chewing on a grape to discourage himself from kissing her again. “Jonah plays the drums now.”
Olivia burst out laughing, holding her plastic cup of warm tea over the grass so it didn’t spill on the blanket. “Wow.”
“He’s awful.”
“Where?”
“Where…?”
“Where will this new place be? Close to Jonah?”
“Definitely not too close,” he said firmly.
“Ah.” She sipped her drink and he watched her carefully, trying to gauge her response.
“I could go anywhere,” he said cautiously. “Get a place with a garage, build furniture. Hang around.”
She looked at him from the corner of her eye. “Uh-huh.”
“It could be…here.”
She just waited.
“If that wouldn’t freak you out.”
She bit her lip. “I’ve got some pretty terrible furniture.”
“The worst,” he agreed.
She tried to hide a smile. “It wouldn’t freak me out if you were here.” She copied him and popped a grap
e into her mouth, and he saw that the white line on the base of her ring finger was no longer visible. Time had reclaimed the small reminder of her old life with a man she had chosen not to take back. Olivia was perfectly capable of making her own decisions, and here she was.
“Say it again,” he said.
Her lips formed an O of surprise and she swallowed the grape. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
She looked him in the eye. “I love you, Jarek,” she said. He held her gaze as long as he could, shuddering as the words sank in. They eased past the debris of the crumbling walls he’d built and landed at the only unbelievable, unquestionable conclusion: it was true.
Acknowledgments
There are so many people involved in the success of a book, and I’m truly thankful to everyone who plays a part in this journey. From acquiring, editing, designing, promoting, reading, and reviewing—I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all those who give their time and energy to sharing this story.
To the wonderful women at Omnific whose vision make this possible—thank you! To Jennifer Haren and her endless positivity—thank you! To Milli Davis, my first Going the Distance cheerleader—thank you!
And to the staff and students at the Changzhou kindergarten I was so lucky to work at for a year and a half—xie xie. Thank you for reminding me every day that I have so much more to learn than I could ever teach. You inspire me still.
About the Author
Julianna Keyes is a Canadian writer who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. She’s been skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting, but nothing thrills—or terrifies—her as much as the blank page. She loves Chinese food, foreign languages, baseball and television, though not necessarily in that order. She writes sizzling stories with strong characters, plenty of conflict, and lots of making up. This is her second novel.
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