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And none of it was true.
Carson hadn’t told his parents about their relationship—not because he worried that his father would think he was slacking off. He hadn’t told them because his parents knew he already had a girlfriend.
Olivia had been—what to him? A challenge? A pastime to make the tedium of work go by quicker? Proof that he could win over his old enemy? He would be in Denver by Monday.
She wasn’t finished with her part of laying the floor but didn’t care. “I have to go,” she told one of the crew, then stood with as much dignity as she could muster. Her feet felt unsteady and the room too cramped. She marched toward the stairs to the attic. Chin up, shoulders back. No crying. She could get through this.
Once she reached her room, she retrieved her purse and car keys. Nothing else. She had to leave, get away from this place. She didn’t want to see Megan again or witness her touching reunion with Carson. Olivia had actually thought he could be the one, and instead, he’d been like every other guy she dated. No, that wasn’t right. Because he didn’t just fall into one of the three categories, he fell into them all: moving to another state, clearly didn’t want a committed relationship, and was cheating on her.
How could she have been so stupid as to trust him?
On the way back down the stairs, she half hoped she’d see him. She could think of a lot of things she wanted to tell him.
He wasn’t there. No one saw her tromp outside, start up her junker of a car, and peel away from the house.
Maybe that was for the best. She probably would’ve made a fool of herself yelling at him. Anyone who saw the scene would think she was naive for believing he could ever want someone like her when he had someone like Megan.
Why had Olivia ever believed it? The tears came, blurring the road through her blinking lashes. She held onto the steering wheel like it was keeping her upright.
She couldn’t go back to working on the house, to seeing Carson again. And yet she couldn’t quit—not when Matt still owed Carson money.
A thought occurred to her, a life raft in her sea of emotion. Her father could take her place. She’d stopped asking him to come up after she and Carson had kissed, but it was time to beg. Surely he would come if he knew how much she needed him.
She called him. He didn’t pick up. Of course not. This day was determined to be horrible. She left his voicemail a sniffling plea and, because she desperately wanted his help, she even left him a brief explanation of why she couldn’t go back.
Her father might be busy now, but surely he would call back soon. Although with her father, she couldn’t be sure of anything. When you came right down to it, Olivia had very few people she could rely on, and Carson had just flown off that list.
It was a good thing that the drive to Lark Springs would take an hour. Maybe she’d be able to pull herself together by then.
Maybe.
But probably not.
19
During Carson’s stint with the landscapers, he managed to get mud on his jeans and his hands. He strode into the house, double-checking to make sure his shoes were clean.
“Carson,” his father called. “Is that you? You’ve got some guests.”
He wasn’t expecting anyone. He rounded the corner and saw Irena Gordon standing next to Megan. Both were smiling at him expectantly. He stopped in his tracks. What was Megan doing here?
For that matter, what was Irena Gordon doing here? She wasn’t supposed to be here until the fourteenth. He forced a smile. “Irena. Megan.” He tried to sound polite, and yet his words had a tinge of an accusation to them. “What brings you here?”
Megan lifted her hands as though presenting herself. “Surprise! We came to see the house.” She shrugged playfully and gave him a flirty smile. “Well, Irena came to see the house. I came to see you.”
Oh no. Somehow she hadn’t gotten his text breaking up with her. He never heard back from her, but since she’d ghosted him weeks before that, the lack of response hadn’t seemed unusual. Carson’s false smile still sat on his lips. This was going to besoawkward. “I’d shake your hands but I’ve got mud all over mine.” He held one up for proof. “How long have you been here?” His eyes swept the room, searching for Olivia. She was nowhere in sight.
“We just got here,” Irena said. “Your father was showing us around.”
If they just got here, Olivia hadn’t seen them. Good. That way Carson could tell her about Megan and explain things. He had to deal with Mrs. Gordon first, then he’d have a talk with Megan.
He turned his attention to Mrs. Gordon. “So what do you think of the house?”
She shrugged without much evident enthusiasm. “The view is lovely, but the house is smaller than I thought it would be. Are you sure it’s six thousand square feet?”
And that was the problem with showing while they were still working on renovations. “Yes. The home will look bigger once we’ve removed all the tools and trash, and we style it with furniture. Just wait.” Like you should’ve done. “It will look amazing once you come back with your husband.”
Megan edged over to Carson. He still didn’t look at her.
