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Olivia looked around her. “This place looks even better than it did the other day. I love it.”
“Me too,” Callie said with a grin. “It’s really starting to feel like home.”
Another knock on the door heralded the arrival of the delivery man. Callie settled the bill then brought the food over to the kitchen so she and Olivia could dig in.
“Why don’t we put our pjs on like the good ole days,” Olivia suggested.
“Right,” Callie agreed. “Then we can sit in the living room and talk while we chow down.”
After both women had switched up their clothes, they sat down on the rug in the living room and set up their food on the coffee table. Between bites of chicken fried rice, lo mein and sweet and sour chicken, the girls began to gab about the events of earlier today.
“So, tell me exactly what happened,” Olivia said, her beautiful features radiating excitement. With her wide, expressive eyes and mocha coloring, Callie thought her best friend was as stunning as any supermodel. If Olivia hadn’t been a petite 5’4, Callie imagined she might have taken the runways by storm. But rather than Olivia, it had been Fancy who had become the cover model after leaving Savannah and reinventing her life in New York City.
“After we were wrapping up things after tea Jax asked me if I wanted to go out with him tomorrow night.” Olivia let out a squeal. “To say I was stunned is a huge understatement. I don’t have to tell you how up and down our friendship has been over the years.”
“Rocky to say the least,” Olivia murmured. “But I’ve always believed that where there’s great friction there’s something else resting under the surface. Romantic tension I suspect.” Olivia grinned at her.
“Thank you Dr. Freud,” Callie drawled. “What a wonderful analysis.”
“Come on! Get to the good part, Callie. What did you say to him?”
Callie huffed out a breath. “I said…yes.”
Olivia covered her mouth with her hand and let out a strangled sound of glee.
“Can you believe it?” Callie asked. “I was sort of on the spot and Miss Hattie and Pearl were egging Jax on. I had a hunch that there was some matchmaking going on.”
“Knowing Miss Hattie I wouldn’t be one bit surprised.” Olivia shook her head, an expression of wonder etched on her face. “Fess up, Callie. You must want to go out with Jax, otherwise you wouldn’t have said yes.”
There it was. The truth staring her right in the face. Olivia knew her better than almost anyone in the world. She’d also grown up with her and watched the dynamic between her and Jax. And while she might be able to fool someone else, it wasn’t even remotely possible to pull the wool over Olivia’s eyes.
Callie bit her lip. “You’re right. Lately…I’ve been curious about Jax. There’s something…I don’t know how to put it. It’s like there’s something there between us that wasn’t there before.”
Olivia clapped her hands together. “I knew it!” she said triumphantly.
Callie swallowed a spoonful of rice. “Don’t go there. I don’t think I can bear it if you tell me I told you so.”
“But I did!” Olivia protested. They shared a look and burst into laughter.
Callie ended up laughing so hard it made her belly ache. This is how it always was between them. One look in the other’s direction had them in hysterics.
Callie held her side. It felt so nice to laugh like crazy as if nothing in her world was in disarray. She was tired of being angry and heartbroken. She wanted to laugh and kick up her heels. “You want to know a secret?” she asked in a low voice.
“Of course,” Olivia said. “That’s what best friends are for.”
“I can’t stop thinking about Jax….and our date t
omorrow night,” Callie blurted out. “And it feels so odd to be thinking of Jax in that way.”
“What’s odd about it? Have you seen Jax lately? He’s gorgeous.”
There was no doubt about his looks. It was everything else that worried Callie. The fact that he worked for her father—for Duvall Investments—didn’t sit well with her. Lionel Duvall concerned himself with the bottom line, which was money. Oftentimes, everything else just fell by the wayside, including emotions and feelings. Jax was being groomed by her father in the ways of business. Callie wouldn’t be surprised if he was trying to make Jax one of his top executives. Even though Luke worked at the family business, Callie knew his heart lay elsewhere. One of these days her brother was going to have to lay it all on the line and tell their father he didn’t want to run the company once Lionel retired. Luke was stuck and she felt badly for him. As the only male heir to Lionel Duvall’s vast business enterprises, he was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“It’s a little odd to go out on a date with Jax when we’ve been friends for most of our lives.”
Olivia frowned. “Callie. What’s really going on here? What are you so worried about?”
Callie put her spoon down on her plate. “Jax…lately he makes me feel things that make me nervous. I’ve been stuffing those feelings down and pretending that they aren’t there, but they are.”
