14

“Hey, you.”

Olivia looked up from her notes and met Chris’s gaze. “Hey,” she replied.

He walked around the table and took the seat next to her, breaking his routine of keeping the table between them. “I got you a coffee,” he said, placing one of the coffee cups he’d been holding in front of her.

Butterflies started dancing in Olivia’s stomach, and she was sure her smile betrayed just how pleased she was. She still felt like she was stuck in some strange dream, the events of the previous day too hard to believe.

“Thanks.”

“How’s your day been?” he asked after taking a sip of his own coffee.

He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt that was tight in all the right places, and it was ridiculous how good he looked in it.

“Good,” she replied, forcing her eyes away from his chest. He’d already asked her how her morning was going after her first class, and not much had changed since then. Except for one thing. “Some jerk sitting next to me in my calculus lecture called me a smartass, though,” she told him.

“Let me guess. You corrected the lecturer or something?”

Olivia rolled her eyes. “No. I just answered a question correctly.”

He hummed. “And I’m assuming you make a habit of answering every question correctly?”

“Well, if I know the correct answer, why would I give the wrong one?” she asked, her voice a bit too loud for the library.

Chris chuckled. “Liv, I hate to break it to you, but you are a smartass.”

She shot him a glare. “Are you calling me annoying?”

“No.” He shrugged. “I’m just saying a lot of people find it annoying when someone knows a lot and shows everyone else up. Hence why that jerk in your class called you a smartass.”

“So I’m just annoyingly smart?” she asked, shooting him a disbelieving look.

“Exactly.”

Olivia’s lips tipped up despite her intentions. “In that case, thanks, I guess.” She lifted her hand and pointed a finger at him. “But don’t ever ask me anything about history or geography. I wouldn’t want to shatter the illusion.”

Chris barked out a laugh. “Look at that. You’re funny, too.”

“I’m serious,” she pressed. “I’m hopeless with anything outside the realm of numbers.”

“Sure,” he said in a way that meant he didn’t quite buy it. “How long do you have before your next class?”

“Only fifteen minutes,” she replied, her excitement waning some.

This was the only time they’d been able to meet up, and it would be over far too soon.

Chris nodded. “Maybe I could come by your place after practice?”

Olivia shook her head. “Noah and I are going to his mom’s for dinner tonight.”

Francesca was one of her favorite people. She couldn’t cancel on her, not even for Chris.

“Besides, we got lucky that my mom and dad weren’t home yesterday,” she said in a whisper. “If we don’t want people to know, we’ll have to be more careful.”

She didn’t know how she felt about them keeping it a secret, but she did know that her parents weren’t stupid. If Chris’s car was parked in their driveway when Noah wasn’t around, they’d figure it out quickly.

Chris grimaced. “Right.”

“What if we go rock climbing again this weekend?” Olivia suggested hesitantly, still feeling unsure about their relationship and what Chris actually wanted. “Everyone already knows we went before, so they won’t question it.”

He grinned. “Perfect,” he replied, leaning forward and wrapping an arm around the back of her chair. “But how do you feel about doing something that’s not rock climbing?”

“What do you have in mind?”

He leaned further forward to whisper in her ear. “It’s a surprise.”

Olivia narrowed her eyes on him when he leaned back in his chair. “As long as it’s not shark diving.”

Chris chuckled, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “I promise it’s nothing like that.”

“Then I guess I’m in.”

“How’s Sunday?”

“Works for me,” she replied, having to bite back a smitten smile. Their plans sounded very much like a date, and she couldn’t say she hadn’t spent a significant portion of her teenage years daydreaming about going on one with the man sitting next to her.

“I’ll pick you up arou—Shit.” He dropped his arm from around her chair and straightened. “Ella and Noah are here,” he explained.

“Oh.”

Olivia looked to the side and spotted her half-brother and his girlfriend walking toward their table. Asher was walking behind them as well, but he split off from the group before they reached Olivia and Chris, presumably to find Riley.

“Hey, guys,” Ella said when she reached their table.

“Hey,” Olivia replied with a forced smile.

She’d known she and Chris would have to hide whatever was between them, but this was the first time she’d experienced what that actually meant. And it didn’t feel great. It felt like they had something to be ashamed of. Like she was something to be ashamed of.

Ella took a seat across from her, and Noah sat across from Chris. Olivia’s brother didn’t waste a moment before sliding his chair closer to his girlfriend’s and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“What are you guys doing here?” Noah asked, his eyes fixing on Chris and narrowing in suspicion.

“Working,” Olivia replied for both of them. “Is that a crime in a library?”

Noah pressed his lips together and shifted his focus to her. “As long as he’s not bothering you.”

“He’s not,” she assured him, embarrassment heating her cheeks.

Ella cleared her throat. “So, Olivia, are you planning on going to the game on Saturday?” she asked, making a very obvious attempt at shifting topics.

Olivia nodded. “Yeah. I’m keen to go.”

She and her parents had gone to the last few games to support Noah, but her eyes had also wandered to a different Hoya more than they probably should have at each of those games.

“Great,” Ella replied. “I’ll be cheerleading, but we can drive to campus together and maybe finish Bridgerton after?”

“Sounds good.”

Noah sighed. “Whatever happened to our game-night tradition?” he asked his girlfriend.

“What tradition?” Ella asked.

Noah smirked in a way that made Olivia grimace in disgust. “Gross,” she groaned.

Her brother held up his hands. “I didn’t say anything,” he said, all innocence.

Ella rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you sleep over on Friday night instead?” she asked Olivia. “That way, you can come to the nail salon with me and my gran on Saturday morning before the game?”

“Are you sure?” Olivia asked. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Are you kidding? My gran would love to meet you.”

Olivia smiled. “If you’re sure, then I’d love that.”

“Maybe we could invite Riley as well?” Ella asked.

“Oh,” Olivia said, unable to feign enthusiasm after her half-sister had brushed her off the day before. “Sure, if you want.”

Ella’s smile turned sad. “Why don’t we keep it just us this time?”

“Yeah,” Olivia agreed, guilt tightening her chest. “That would be great.”

She knew she was being unfair, but she just didn’t want her time with Ella to be invaded by Riley just yet. She just wanted a bit more time before the three of them started hanging out together and it became apparent that Riley was the favorite again. She and Ella had been friends for longer, after all.

“I better go,” Olivia said, glad she had an excuse to escape the disappointed look Noah was sending her way. She stood up and started packing her things. “My next lecture starts in a few minutes.”

“I need to get going, too,” Chris added, standing as well. “I’ll walk with you.”

Unsurprisingly, Ella and Noah reacted to his words with suspicious stares.

“That’s nice of you,” Ella said, but her words weren’t phrased as a compliment as much as a doubtful question.

“We’re going rock climbing again this weekend, and we need to decide on a time,” Chris explained. “Is that a problem?”

Ella’s eyebrows shot up. “Not at all. I’m just glad to see you two are getting along.”

Noah looked between Chris and Olivia with a frown. “I thought you said you didn’t want to go again?” he asked his sister.

She shrugged. “I guess I changed my mind.” She lifted her bag onto her shoulder. “I’ll see you guys later.”

She and Chris left the library together, their walk down the stairs quiet.

“Noah really doesn’t like that I’m spending time with you,” Chris noted once they’d left the building behind them.

Olivia sighed. “He’s worried you’re still angry with me.”

“It’s funny,” Chris mused. “He hounded me for months to be nicer to you, and now that I am, he’s suspicious.”

She hummed in agreement. “Give him some time. He’ll come around.”

“Do you think they suspect anything?”

Olivia let out a full-bellied laugh. “Do they suspect we’re in a secret relationship after months of you calling me a murderer?” She scoffed. “I doubt it.”

“Hey.” Chris gently grabbed her elbow and pulled her to a stop. “You know I don’t think that anymore, right?”

Olivia looked up into his sad brown eyes, regretting saying what she had. If he knew what she’d been hiding from him and everyone else, he wouldn’t be looking at her like that. He would never look at her with anything other than hatred ever again.

“I mean, I know you wouldn’t have ever kissed me if you still felt that way,” she replied, feeling the sting of deception on her tongue as she spoke.

“I’m sorry,” Chris said, his fingers softly squeezing her arm. “I never should have blamed you.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she replied with a shake of her head. “You never need to be sorry for that.”

His eyebrows pulled together, but whatever argument he was going to say died when another student striding down the path bumped into Olivia. Her muscles tensed, but that didn’t stop her from stumbling into Chris.

Olivia looked to the side to see a female student looking over her shoulder. She called out an apology without stopping, clearly in a rush.

“You okay?” Chris asked, his hands still resting on her waist from steadying her.

“Yeah, fine,” she replied a bit breathlessly. She took a step back and pulled in a deep breath. “Just got a fright.” She let out a choked laugh.

Chris’s hands finally fell from her waist, but his eyes traced a trail down her body. “Have I mentioned how much I like your outfit?” he asked, a grin pulling up the corner of his mouth.

Olivia looked down at herself, remembering the plaid skirt and pale blue sweater she’d very purposefully put on that morning. It wasn’t quite the outfit she’d worn the night of Chris’s birthday, but it was similar. The skirt was also long enough to hide her scars.

“Oh, this,” she replied with a devious smile. “Very librarian chic, don’t you think?”

“Very,” Chris agreed, his eyes darkening as they met hers.

“Does that mean you approve?”

His grin broadened, and his gaze lowered to her skirt again. “You know I do.”

Olivia chuckled. “Who would have ever thought heart-breaker Chris Hartley would go for the nerd type.”

“A very sexy nerd,” he corrected. “Besides, who doesn’t love a woman in glasses?”

She rolled her eyes. He clearly knew nothing about men despite being one of them. “Lots of guys.”

Chris shook his head. “Then they haven’t seen you in those.”

Olivia scoffed, but her cheeks warmed with a faint blush. “You’re a real charmer, Chris Hartley.”

“Just telling the truth,” he replied with a smile.

She stepped back and pointed over her shoulder. “I better go before you spout more ridiculous nonsense, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“It’s not nonsense,” he retorted. “But yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“At our usual table,” Olivia said before turning away and heading to her lecture with a smile on her face that she knew she didn’t deserve to wear.

She knew she’d have to tell Chris the truth eventually, but she also knew that whatever was between them would end as soon as she did. It was entirely selfish of her, but Olivia wanted things to stay as they were for as long as possible.

She’d tell him soon. She knew she had to. But not just yet.