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After a minute of strained silence, I turned to Oliver and asked. “What wasthatabout?”
He grimaced, facing me now as he shook his head. “Long story short, Doug and I have history. A long, painful history. I’d prefer not to talk about it, if it’s all the same to you.”
There was something else here that I didn’t know, but I let it go. I’d only known the poor guy a few days; it wasn’t my place to be digging into all of his past wounds. Patting his arm, I changed the subject.
“That’s fine, though that Doug guy was creepy. I’ll have to do my best to avoid him.”
He nodded, but before he moved to grab the gun again, he hesitated and turned to me. “If I ever make you uncomfortable, feel free to say so. Idotend to flirt sometimes, and it’s more than understandable if you’re not okay with that.”
Oh, I hadn’t seen that coming.
Shaking off my surprise, I smiled up at him. “I’ll keep that in mind, though I don’t think you’ve been flirting as of yet. I prefer it that way, to be honest. I…just got away from a particularly bad ex, and I’m not looking for a relationship.”
The best lies were sprinkled with the truth. In this case, it wasn’t even a lie. Ihadjust got away from Harvey…he was just a bit more than an ex.
Oliver relaxed, his smile coming back as he nodded. “That’s fine. Sorry you had to deal with him. You ready to go back to the lesson?”
I hummed, sinking into it as he jumped right back into teacher mode. His voice was nice and low, holding my attention like a steel trap, and it was only after we’d been out in the sun for hours that he walked me back to my car.
“You’ve made impressive progress despite the little time you’ve been at it. Do you want to set up a day to do this again?” He asked and I nodded.
“That sounds great. Does Tuesday work for you?”
He pulled out his phone and scrolled for a minute, then nodded. “Yup, same time?”
At my agreement, he typed something into his phone before putting it away. “Alright, can you find your way back to town, or do you want me to follow behind?” He asked, genuine care softening his features.
I shook my head, ignoring the subtle warmth moving through me. “I’ve got it, thanks, though.” Shutting the car door, I started the engine and waved before driving off. Once I was on the way home, I let my mind wander to the weird standoff he and Doug had earlier.
The way Doug had smugly rubbed in his and Diana’s relationship almost made me think Oliver and Diana had a thing once upon a time, but Oliver hadn’t reacted with jealousy. No, if anything, he’d wanted Diana to stayawayfrom him.
The more I thought about it, the more confused I got until finally I threw the topic to the side. It really wasn’t my business either way, no matter how curious the topic made me.
If Oliver wanted me to know, he’d tell me and that was that.
Pulling into my apartment, I walked inside and shut the door, locking it securely behind me. Even after that, I still itched with vulnerability, every little sound seeming to put me on edge until I was ready to shove the dresser in front of the door to get rid of the sensation.
It’s fine, he has no way of tracking you here.
I repeated that over and over, going about getting dinner ready as my hearing stretched out, listening for even the slightest noise that didn’t quite fit. I’d make myself even more paranoid this way, but I couldn’t help it.
Yes, Harvey shouldn’t be able to find me, and for all intents and purposes, he may not even want to. He didn’t know that I’d overheard him. My excuse that I had cold feet was entirely plausible, but if he was capable of murder, what else was he capable of?
This wasn’t the Harvey I thought I knew, the one I’d dated. I couldn’t predict how he’d react to things, andthatscared me most of all.
Chewing through dinner at a slow pace, ignoring the rolling of my stomach all the while, I washed the dishes and flopped back onto my bed with a sigh. I’d be starting work soon, and hopefully, that would take my mind off of everything.
The mess with my ID would also be finished soon, thankfully.
Things were starting to fall into place, and right now, I needed that stability.
Rolling onto my side, I tugged my pillow closer and braced for another tired, sleepless night. Hopefully the nightmares stayed away this time, but I wasn’t holding my breath…
Chapter 5
“Jen, table three needs cleaning!” My coworker, Emily, called, and I nodded.
“On it!”
