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But his heart literally ached at the thought of not having her in his life. Piper loved Livie as well, so he’d have to figure out a way to make sure those two stayed in contact. Would Livie take the time to text or call Piper? Knowing Livie, she absolutely would. There was complete adoration whenever she looked at his daughter and the way she interacted with her.
“Your turn,” Cash stated, pulling Jax from his thoughts. “Ready to do some squats? Can’t just work on the arms, have to sculpt those chicken legs.”
“I don’t have chicken legs,” Jax growled, coming to his feet.
Cash nodded to Tanner. “He sure as hell does. Good thing he has to wear pants for his uniform.”
“You wish your legs looked half as good as mine,” Tanner retorted with a snort. “I run daily.”
“But you don’t build muscle.” Cash slid weights onto the bar and patted the middle. “Who’s up first, ladies?”
Jax shot Tanner a look and shook his head. “I’m done here. I have Brock coming in for flight lessons shortly.”
“I don’t have an excuse,” Tanner stated. “I just don’t want to.”
Cash laughed. “Let me know when you two think you can keep up. I’ll be here.”
Jax headed out and welcomed the fresh air. He needed to grab a shower and get to the airport. Brock wasn’t coming for about three hours, but Jax was done at the gym. He needed to be alone with his thoughts, he wanted to figure out what the hell he was going to do when Livie came back. At some point he was going to have to be up front and honest with her about where he stood.
And he was going to have to shore up enough strength to handle it when she walked away for good.
Chapter Nineteen
Finally. Fi-nal-ly.
Olivia had cinched the promotion. Her boss was all too anxious to announce the new shift in authority and then he’d taken her and several coworkers—including Steve—out for drinks. She’d gotten out way too late and ended up staying in her condo for the night.
Now the early morning sun was shining as she headed back into Haven. She passed the
sign, announcing the miniscule population; she passed the hill with Bella Vous resting proudly on top, she traveled down the main part of town passing Knobs and Knockers, then the roundabout with the tall, antique clock.
Haven was a beautiful place full of charm, but it wasn’t Atlanta. Atlanta thrived with nightlife, theaters, her coworkers, and friends.
As she drove farther through town and stopped at lights, people would wave. She’d been here too long. People all around loved her father and the fact she was back in town seemed to get them gossiping and speculating. Hopefully, they could be given facts fairly soon about the renovations. All they needed was the green light on the grants and then Zach’s proposed plans to be approved by the city engineers.
There were careful steps to take, but Olivia was confident when she went back to Atlanta, the airport would be in good hands.
Jax’s hands.
Swallowing the lump of emotion, she turned down the road that led straight to the airport. She owed him the courtesy of explaining what happened in Atlanta. The entire drive home she rehearsed what she’d say, how she’d finally end their intimate relationship. From here on out, they had to be business partners only, not bed partners.
In two weeks she’d be back to her big city, back to her condo and her new corner office with two walls of windows offering her a beautiful city view. She couldn’t wait to take a seat behind her new desk in her new space.
As she pulled into the lot, she noticed only Jax’s truck was there. It was still early and she hoped he wasn’t out on a flight. She wanted to talk to him before her excitement from the promotion wore off. If she sat in his office too long waiting on him, she wasn’t sure where her thoughts would go and what doubts would creep in.
Being in her hometown had a way of skewing her thoughts, but she’d just been handed the top position she’d been vying for and nothing was going to take that from her—not nostalgia and not a fling.
Olivia shut off her car and pulled in a deep breath as she tugged on the door. As she stood beside her car, she glanced to the main building while smoothing a hand through her hair. She’d grabbed her favorite yellow sundress from her closet and a little kitten heel, strappy sandal, and opted to leave her hair down.
Why she went to great lengths to look good for this talk was beyond her, but she had to. She needed to feel back in control of her life and for the first time in the past several weeks, she finally could say she was back on top.
She made her way across the gravelly lot and headed straight to the side door that would lead into Jax’s office. If he wasn’t in there, his flight pattern would be listed so she’d know how long he’d be gone.
The old door squeaked open, and her heels clicked on the concrete floor as she made her way down the hall. His office door was closed, but she kept going. Nerves curled deep within her, but Olivia knew she was out of time. They both knew this was coming, they just needed to talk about . . . well, everything.
Olivia slid her hand over the cool knob and turned. Easing the door open, she peeked inside and was instantly met with that piercing blue stare she’d become so familiar with.
His eyes locked with hers as she let herself in. “Bad time?” she asked, not sure where to start.
