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“And Miss Liv is not, right?” Harlan asks, looking from his father to me.
“I have my own money, Harlan. I don’t need your father’s,” I tell the boy with a smile. “I’m around you and your father because I really like you two, okay?”
Harlan smiles at me, and my day is made. His father, on the other hand, looks sulky, rolling his eyes to the side and looking away from me.
“Yeah…” Alex says, “All of that and you still don’t want to be my girlfriend…”
The kid laughs, and Alex seems to forget about the subject once I kiss his cheek and beg him for patience.
Together, we clean up after ourselves, and I go get ready for my encounter with Bella.
As I enter the bar, I see her waiting for me with the face of someone who was just forced to drink cod liver oil.
“Hi,” I say, standing in front of her.
“Since you’re here, you might as well sit down and have a drink!” Bella says, not looking at me, sounding very dry and bitter.
But I do as she says, signaling for the waiter and ordering a martini. Bella and I sit in front of each other, tapping our nails over the wooden table, not speaking and without looking at each other for a long while.
Only when my drink arrives does that Bella finds her voice again. “I’m feeling betrayed, Liv! Literally betrayed!”
I take a sip, taking my time to find my own voice as well. “I told you it was not our intention to hurt you, Bella. Your brother can attest to that.”
Bella narrows her eyes over her mojito, and tells me, nearly hissing, “Well you did when you both lied to me.”
I feel my eyes soften with compassion, and my shoulders slump, giving up on anger towards Bella and focusing only on healing.
“I’m sorry, Bella. We were going to tell you if we became serious.”
I wait patiently as she stirs her drink, and takes a large gulp, ignoring the straw.
“Do you love him, Liv?” she asks me straight.
I take a deep sigh. That’s the question I was fearing, but I will stand my ground and answer it. “Too little time has passed, Bella. I’m not sure of what I feel yet. But it all has been very positive so far, I believe Icouldlove him, but—”
“Not yet?” she peeks over her glass.
“I’m taking it slow. You should know more than anyone why… after what happened with Jamie…”
“And here comes the other side of the problem. You not respecting my brother!” She’s angry again and offending me, but I can’t lose my cool and lose the battle against her.
“Your brother has my deepest respect; you just can’t expect me to declare my undying love on a relationship that’s only a few weeks old, Bella!” I say, on the verge of losing my temper.
“He’ll give you the world, Liv…” she says, slowly shaking her head. “You better appreciate it. Don’t you dare go breaking my brother’s already hurt heart.”
“Bella…” I start pouring my heart out to her. “I won’t, but ever since what happened with Jamie back in college, I haven’t been serious withanyone.I went in headfirst, and he was the one who kickedmeto the curb. Don’t you understand?”
“Jamie was your first love in adult life, while you still had the mind of a kid,” Bella smiles, nostalgic. “You were longing for him for months; once he took you out, you were already picking names for your children!”
“Yeah, the public breakup in the campus restaurant didn’t help me much,” I say. “I was a fool.”
“Are you a fool now, Liv?”
“What?” I turn to her, not understanding.
Bella picks up her wallet, leaves money to pay for her drink, and stands, walking away.
“Call me again once you make up your mind, Liv,” she says in a scolding tone.
