Page 61 of The Billionaire Mismatch

Olivia

“Why areyou looking at me like that?” I ask.

My eyes are closed, but I know Vivien is staring at me. She’s been staring at me ever since I got home.

“I sent the neighbor over to feed you,” I say. “And to take you out.”

Vivien doesn’t respond. Obviously. She’s a dog. But that doesn’t mean she’s not judging me. And Airedale Terriers are very judgy. Especially when they are expecting you to come home and give them treats, but instead you stay the night in another city. Needless to say, Vivien has made it very obvious that I am in the doghouse, no pun intended.

“Seriously,” I say as I peel the cucumbers off my eyelids so I can look at her. “I would never leave you. You have to get over your anxiety. And your trust issues.”

Like I am one to talk though. I have terrible anxiety and attachment issues and all the things. That’s what happens when you grow up in a house where your parents get divorced and you swear you’ll never end up with a man like your father, only toend up with a man like your father. And after finally getting away from him, you redefine what love is in your mind because the modern dating world deceived you almost as badly as it deceived your poor mother.

But I digress.

I am supposed to be relaxing right now, something that even as a single, childless woman in my mid-twenties I never do. Hence the facemask and the cucumbers, and the glass of wine.

“You’re just going to have to get over yourself,” I tell Vivien, replacing the cucumber slices and leaning back into the chair again. I am sitting on my balcony in a yellow, fuzzy robe, feet up and wine in hand because I don’t have to work today. I don’t have a date today, and I am totally and completely and blissfully alone.

“Olivia?” Sadie’s voice comes from below, and I swear under my breath. I guess I spoke too soon. “Olivia! You’re not answering your phone! Again!” she says before disappearing momentarily. And I know that my at-home spa day is about to be over in three, two, and one–

“Girl, we need to talk,” Sadie says as she walks inside. I sigh before getting up and walking inside from the balcony, tossing the cucumbers in the trash.

“Do we, though?” I ask. “I haven’t been on any more dates, and there’s not much to report on the podcast front.”

“Did it ever occur to you that I meant we need to talk about me?” she asks, helping herself to a glass of wine.

Considering my dating life has become the center of your world for the past few weeks, no, not really.

“Thank God,” I respond. “I would love to talk about anything but–”

“It’s about Luca,” she cuts me off.

Sigh.

“I thought you said it was about you,” I tell her, picking at my face mask. It’s one of those that dries on your skin all chalky like and if I’m being honest, it’s making my skin crawl. It needs to come off, and now.

“It is about me,” she says. “Me and Luca.”

Even more lost than I was before, I wave at her to come with me to the bathroom so I can wash my face. I turn the water on and wait for it to warm up, then look at her in the mirror as she goes on.

“I ran into him today,” she says.

“Really? Where?” I ask.

“The coffee shop by the office,” she answers, and I test the water before bending down.

“You were at the coffee shop by the office? Isn’t that kind of out of the way?” I ask as I douse my face.

“I was in the area,” she says. “Anyways. I was in line to get coffee, and I saw him from behind. He’s very easy to profile from behind.”

You’re telling me.

“Oh?” I ask, shutting off the water and blindly reaching for a hand towel. Sadie grabs it and hands it to me. “Thanks.”

“Anyways, we got to talking about the work trip,” she says, and there’s something careful in her tone. I wipe my face and look at her.

“Work trip?” I ask.