I say bitterly. “If I hadn’t caught his side piece in our bed with him on accident, I might have still married him. That’s how bad my judgment is.”
Julia waves a hand dismissively. “He had everyone fooled. And none of that is on you; it’s on him. Don’t make Olivier pay for Aiden’s mistakes.”
I meet my sister’s eyes, grateful there’s someone in this world who knows me as well, and sometimes even better, than I know myself.
“There are times when I’m with Olivier and…I can hardly even breathe,” I admit. “I don’t just like him, I feel connected to him. Sometimes I lie in bed at night and I think—I mean, Jules, I seriously think—that when he saved my life that day, it bound us together in a way. And after Aiden, I planned on being a smart, savvy woman who never fell hard for any man again.” I shake my head and look away, my emotions threatening to spill over. “And now, fate throws this perfect man in my lap. I should be thrilled, right? But instead, I’m terrified.”
A few seconds of silence pass as I realize what I just said. Every word was true, but I haven’t really thought about it in the way I just vocalized it. Is the real issue with Olivier that I’m scared of what I feel?
“I think we just made good progress,” Julia says, looking smug. “Now what are we going to do about it?”
“We?”
“Okay, you. What are you going to do about it?”
I sit back on the sofa, feeling drained.
“I don’t know. I guess I have to decide how much the fear means to me. Whether I’m willing to risk getting hurt.”
“Look, you don’t have to lay everything on the table with Olivier. It’s okay to still move slowly. Just don’t shut him out, that’s all I’m saying.”
Someone pounds on the closed office door, and Julia says, “Who is it?”
“What are you doing in there? Is Daphne with you? Tell her I want to talk to her.”
Ugh, my mother. I roll my eyes and shake my head no.
“We’ll be out soon,” Julia says.
“Well, you should be. This is your son’s birthday party after all.”
I look at my sister and whisper, “She’s a delight.”
“Mother of the fucking year,” Julia whispers back.
“What?” our mom cries. “Did one of you just say something?”
“Nope!” Julia says. “We’ll be out soon.”
Grumbling, our mother walks away.
“And you wonder why I’m so fucked up,” I say to my sister.
“Actually, I don’t wonder. Not even a little bit.”
She raises her wine glass and I pick mine up, too. We toast each other before I toss back the last of my wine. I already know I’ll need several refills to get through this afternoon.
Chapter Sixteen
Olivier
“Your usual, Mr. Durand?”
I look up from my seat in the owner’s box at the Carson Center, the server’s voice pulling me out of my train of thought about Daphne.
“Yes, thanks,” I say.
Usually, I ask any Carson Center staffer I encounter how they’re doing, and I check in on how their families are doing, too. But tonight, I’m distracted. I’m not even doing a good job of entertaining my guests, an attorney from my New York office and her husband, who flew in to be here.
Jill and Brian seem to be doing a good job of entertaining themselves—they’re walking back into the owner’s suite with big smiles, bags of merchandise in one hand and drinks in the other.
“Guys, I would have comped anything you wanted from the store,” I say, standing up.
“You already flew us in on the company plane and took us to an amazing dinner,” Jill says. “We just wanted to pick up a few things for our kids.”
“This place beats the hell out of that shitty New York team’s setup, right?” I joke.
Brian’s a huge New York sports fan. He gives me a look like he’s about to argue, and Jill steps in to mediate.
“I think both teams have lovely arenas. I will say, though, that this margarita is one of the best I’ve ever had.”
I point at her and grin at Brian. “This is why I have her running my legal department. She could talk her way out of anything.”
“Don’t I know it,” Brian says, putting an arm around her.
“Giselle’s not coming?” Jill asks, looking at the empty chair next to me.
“Nah, she’s way too cool for her boring old dad,” I say.
“We completely understand that. Our kids feel the same way about us.” Jill sits down in her seat and Brian sits