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“What the fuck?” I snap. “Why are you trying to draw attention to your butt?”
“What?” She spins to face me where she slammed to a stop in the center of the room, her hands flying to her hips as her eyes narrow. “Are you kidding me right now? I’m not trying to draw attention to anywhere. It’s a bikini, Vincent. This is what those look like. James said—”
“James?” My heart starts thundering in my chest, throwing itself against my ribs with every vicious beat. “What did he say?”
“I was about to tell you that,” she snaps right back at me. “He said it made him think of me when he saw it and since he knows I usually wear one-pieces, he got it for me.”
“Take it off,” I demand before I can even think about it. “Right the fuck now.”
Her brows climb high on her forehead, and she scoffs. “No. What the hell, Vincent? You don’t get to ignore me for a week and then order me to get naked just because you don’t like my swimsuit.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it.” I shove a hand through my hair, breathing deeply because this is just getting out of control and I don’t even know why. “I just don’t like the thought of something he got you touching you everywhere.”
Her eyes fly wide open. “Wait a second. This is because you’re jealous?”
I freeze, but then I realize that’s exactly what I’m feeling. Jealousy. Of a guy who’s like a goddamn brother to me. Since I don’t know what to say about it, I don’t say anything at all. If I do, it’ll only make things worse.
Fury flashes in Olivia’s eyes as she shakes her head at me. “You’re unbelievable. What is wrong with you? You know nothing is going on between us, but even if there was, you wouldn’t have any right to be jealous. You tossed me aside without so much as a wave and a see-you-later. I’m not one of your playthings, you know? It’s not like I expected everlasting love and a marriage proposal out of what we were doing, but it would’ve been nice to know you were over it.”
I open my mouth, but she cuts me off, clearly on a roll.
“I knew you’d get bored of me sooner or later, but would it have killed you just to let me know it was over? Did you really have to be the dick who couldn’t even take one minute to tell me you didn’t want me anymore?”
My insides turn to ice. “Is that really what you think? Seems to me you’ve got it all figured out. I’m a heartless dick who’s bored and disrespectful. Got it, thanks. Why are you even here, then?”
“Because I care about you, you asshole.” She throws her arms out to her sides. “For some reason, I expected more than that from you. I don’t know why, but I did. I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was more to you than just being a heartless dick. I thought I meant something to you.”
Mind churning, I bite my tongue while she keeps ranting at me, letting it all out at the same time as I fight to keep it all in. “You and I have a long history of taking swipes at each other, but this isn’t the same thing. This really hurt me. Badly. And I—”
“I hurt you?” I ask lamely, suddenly feeling like my knees are about to give in. The fight blows out of me as I stare into those blue eyes, and when I see pain reflected back at me, I suck in an involuntary breath. “You’re serious. I hurt you.”
“Of course you did,” she says, her voice practically shaking in exasperation. “It might have been stupid of me given who you are, but I thought there was something real happening between us. Now I get that it was obviously just about getting off to you, but—”
“I love you,” I say suddenly, interrupting her when I can’t keep quiet anymore, not while I’m hearing all these horrible things she’s thinking and realize I’ve been putting her through this for days now. “I know you think I’m an asshole and a heartless prick and all those other things, but this asshole is in love with you.”
She stares at me for a long beat. Then she lets out a dry burst of laughter and hangs her head as she shakes it. “Good Lord, is nothing sacred to you? Why would you even say that? You don’t love me, Vincent. I don’t know how you got that idea in your head, but you don’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have just shut me out the way you did. It was cruel, and love isn’t cruel. Sure, it can hurt, but it’s not cruel.”
My body springs into motion before I’ve even given it a conscious command to do so, and then I’m striding toward her, closing the distance between us, and not stopping until one of my arms is wrapping around her and hauling her into me. “Look at me, Olivia. Look into my eyes right now and tell me I’m lying. This isn’t some idea I got in my head. It’s the truth. I love you. I’m so fucking in love with you that I froze up, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to be cruel. In fact, I was trying not to be. That’s why I’ve been leaving you alone—so I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t sure. But I am sure. I love you.”
Her head rises slowly, her eyes filled with tears when they meet mine, desperately searching as they move from one to the other. “You love me?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” A soft, lopsided smile spreads on my face when she stops trying to push me away. “I’m in love with you, Olivia, but I don’t how to be in love. Maxim was supposed to talk me through it, but he’s busy right now and you’re here. I’m so sure I’m going to fuck this up, but I love you.”
“You shut me out.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to hurt you. I just… I needed some space to get my head on straight.”
“You did hurt me. A lot.”
“I know.” I touch my fingertips to her face, breathing out as I lock my eyes on hers. “I am so sorry, Liv.”
“Are you really in love with me?” she asks softly, and I nod once, letting my eyes close for a second as the reality of what I’ve just done crashes into me.
“I’m so fucking in love with you that I literally don’t know what to do with myself. All I want, all day, every day, is to be with you. To touch you and hold you and fu—I mean make sweet, sweet love to you. I mean, look at you. Can you blame me? You’re so gorgeous. And you’re smart and funny. And you stand up to me, and you call me out on my bullshit, and—”
“I blame you for everything,” she whispers, a smile tugging at her lips as she finally brings her arms up and loops them around my neck, pulling my head down to press her mouth to mine and murmuring against it. “You should’ve told me earlier. I spent all week thinking you were bored of me and that I’d never get to kiss you again.”
“You can kiss me anytime you want, baby. I know I fucked up, but if you’ll have me, you can kiss me anywhere, anytime for as long as you want.”
