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“Oh no, this is bad,” I leveled with him, though I couldn’t help but shudder at the accident at Rome, which had led to me paying restitution of thousands to repair the tent that I’d drunkenly damaged. “This is...this is way different.”
Owen’s facial expression didn’t budge. “Well?”
“I think...I think I’m into your sister.” I couldn’t believe what I’d just admitted, though surprisingly, Owen was not shocked.
“I knew you were.”
“What?”
“I knew it,” Owen laughed, shaking his head. “You treat her differently than everyone else, and it’s solely because you have a crush on her.”
“I wouldn’t call it a crush...I’m not in fucking elementary school.” I took a long sip of my drink, thankful for the burn of the alcohol. I had expected to be punched out—not laughed at.
“Yeah, but you’re acting like you are, Eli. You’re like the boy on the playground who tries to be mean to a girl because he likes her.” Owen let out a sigh, his laughter and smile fading. “And it just goes to show that you’re not ready for that caliber of a relationship.”
My gut clenched. “I never said I wanted to be in a relationship with your sister. I’m at the peak of my career right now.”
“Yeah, okay. What’s the point of having some great career if there’s no one to share that success with?”
“Dude, I don’t know. Just let it go. I admitted to what was bothering me, and now you know.” My eyes bounced back to the restroom where the women had disappeared to but had yet to come out of.
It’s been a long time. Hopefully everything is okay.
“Eli, you’re my best friend, but I just don’t think that you should pursue Olivia.” His words hit me like a punch to the stomach. “I know that she’s special—I agree, but she’s my sister. I know you’d just eat her alive. You’re way too much of a player, dude. I have no qualms with that side of you, really. I just don’t think she’s the right one to deal with that. You’ll break her heart.”
“I don’t know.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say in the moment, unsure if I should be offended by his words or agree with him.
“I do know. She wants to settle down and have a family, and you want to live it up with your big career and shit. It’d never work. I don’t want to see her crushed—and I don’t want to see you feeling guilty for it.”
I already do.
I shook off the thought, ripping my gaze from the bathroom and back to Owen. “I know what you’re saying, and that’s why I’ve just kept my distance from her,” I admitted. “I don’t want to cause any problems between the two of us, either. The last thing I want is to ruin our friendship over some girl.”
Owen’s brow furrowed. “Well, she’s not just some girl, Eli, and that’s the whole problem that you have. When you really fall for someone, and you’re in love with them, they’re not just some girl. They’re worth every risk that you might take.”
I gritted my teeth, holding back a snide reply. He had no idea how many hours I had spent thinking about Olivia. There was no way in hell that she was that miniscule to me. She was the first woman I’d ever met who had caused me to fucking lose sleep.
“It’s all good though.” Owen squeezed my shoulder. “It is what it is. You caught a crush on my little sis, and now you just gotta find someone to fill it with. I have no doubt you’ll move on just fine.” He laughed, downing the rest of his drink before jogging to the main doors where his girlfriend had just appeared.
Find someone to replace Olivia? Impossible.
I turned back to the bartender as Owen disappeared. “Can I have another one of these?” I held up the glass to her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Your birthday party is just starting. If you keep drinking those, you won’t even remember the night at all. I don’t know if your friend would appreciate that.”
“The whole point is to not remember tonight,” I grumbled, giving her a nod.
“Whatever you say,” she laughed, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders as she turned to make a third drink. The bartender was an attractive woman, tall and slim—probably trying to make it in the city as a model and bartending to make ends meet. I knew the type and usually, I’d be all over it...
But fucking no one had anything on Olivia.
And that’s where Owen’s assumptions were wrong.
15
OLIVIA
“No, no, no,” I whispered under my breath. I stared at the test sitting on my lap, while I hid away in the bathroom stall. The two pink lines were clearer than ever, and it took everything I had not to break down in tears right then and there...
