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Olivia glanced over to the bar where Shane was talking to Hal who sat in his usual seat at the far end of the bar.
Shane caught her looking and sent her a wink. She suppressed the smile, heat creeping up her cheeks. Connor headed to the kitchen, and Olivia focused on her friends.
“I bought a fish,” she blurted and reached into her bag to get her phone to show them some pictures.
After Daniel’s text, she thought back to their previous text exchanges. If she did take him up on his offer, she wanted him to know she wasn’t a child, and she was capable of taking care of something.
“She’s officially lost it.” Isla took a sip of her lemon water before pushing the empty glass to the edge of the table. “I always knew it would happen, but I assumed it would be when you were in your sixties, and it would be a million cats.”
“I don’t even like cats.” Olivia had always been a dog person…now a fish person. “And for your information, I have not lost it. I’m taking responsibility for something other than myself.”
Olivia showed Harper and Isla pictures of her blue betta that she was now the proud mother of. “Isn’t he adorable?” Olivia flipped to the next picture and the next. “He’s beautiful and majestic, right?”
“It’s a fish,” Harper said.
Olivia’s mouth opened, and she hugged the phone to her chest. “He’s my child.”
Harper’s brown eyebrows curved toward the straight line of her nose. “Why?”
Harper didn’t need to elaborate Olivia knew exactly what she was asking. Olivia shrugged. “I don’t know. I just… I thought…”
“Let me guess.” Harper crossed her arms over her chest. “Daniel?”
“No. Yes. Maybe.” She couldn’t lie to her best friends, and there was no point in trying. “I wanted to prove that I can be responsible.”
“To him?” Harper scoffed. “Screw him.” Fire lit Harper’s hazel eyes. “He’s a childish prick who didn’t have the balls to break up with you before inserting his dick into someone else. He can shove it up his ass.”
Harper was as sweet as could be with a heart of pure gold, but she also had a more colorful vocabulary than a men’s locker room.
“He told me he missed me.”
Harper rolled her eyes. “Liv, you’re smarter than that.”
Isla tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. “I don’t know, he can be persuasive with his money and his big fancy promises.”
“That’s the thing…” Olivia said. “He wants me to move back to the city and stay in the Midtown apartment.”
“Why?” Harper asked.
“So we can talk work things out.”
“What is there to talk about? He cheated on you. End of story.” Harper had always been fiercely protective of her friends, so her perturbed tone didn’t bother Olivia.
“I’m not going to get back together with him, but being in the city would be good for me. I can’t stay here forever.”
“Why not?” Isla asked. “I am.”
Olivia closed her eyes for a second. The last thing she wanted was to offend either of her best friends. “I can’t waitress the rest of my life and I hate commuting. There’s nothing here for me.”
For some reason, Olivia glanced over her shoulder to Shane. He caught her looking and winked, sending a fiery heat spiraling to her core.
Isla turned in her seat toward the bar then spun back with a smile. “Nothing here for you, huh?”
Harper followed Isla’s gaze and turned back to Olivia, a small smirk breaking at the edge of her mouth. Before Harper could say anything, Connor dropped off their food.
“Can I get you ladies anything else?” he asked.
Isla picked up a fry. “Nope, we’re good.”
