TWENTY-TWO

Twelve days had passed since Olivia walked away from Zane, and she'd spent ten of them roaming the beach. The current day being the most relaxing. Soft sand cushioned her feet, the wind blew gently against her face, and the sun warmed her shoulders, making her question why she hadn't made the friendly beachside community home.

She'd hightailed it out of Haven hours after the confrontation with her lover and driven directly to her sister's house on the Outer Banks. Thankfully, Callie was elated and welcomed her to stay for as long as she liked. An offer she had taken seriously.

They'd been cooking up a storm during the evenings and indulging in every feel-good movie that Netflix featured. It had been too long since she'd had uninterrupted time with her baby sister. She was more grateful than ever that they both pursued their careers from home, albeit in diametrically opposed disciplines.

Callie was a genius programmer and did all kinds of work for government agencies that she couldn't and wouldn't name. Her faded yellow house that sat steps from the ocean was not the idyllic getaway that most people would suspect but headquarters for some high-level dark web something or other.

Bella gave her a happy bark, and she realized that she hadn't thrown the tennis ball yet. Pitching it as far as she could, she watched her girl thunder in the direction of the bright yellow ball and watched her snatch it out of the water right before a wave crashed against the shore. As she ran back with her prize, Olivia thought about Killer and hoped that Zane didn't offload the dog before she could find it a new home.

She'd made Lucy promise to keep an eye out for the little darling and take in the dog if her neighbor thought the pound was a viable option.

Not that she thought he would stoop so low. He wasn't heartless, after all. "Twenty-six," she said quietly as Bella dropped the ball and sat on her feet. She'd been keeping track of the number of times Zane came to mind, and the fact that she hadn't hit triple digits before lunchtime was an encouraging sign. "Road to recovery, Bella. We're definitely on it."

She collapsed onto the sand, adjusted her hat, and leaned back. "Maybe we should stay here and become beach bums."

"You say that every time you visit," Callie remarked as she plopped down and handed Liv a water bottle. "But we both know you'd miss Haven too much."

"I'm evolving, sis. It might be time to stretch my wings and embark on a new adventure."

Callie swept her hair over her shoulder. "I wish that were true, but we both know you simply don't want to go home and see Zane on a semi-regular basis."

"I'm guessing my absence has allowed him to embrace his reclusive nature. He's probably gone full troll under the bridge and is having everything delivered to his door so he never has to speak with another human again."

Callie chuckled. "I doubt that since you spent at least a day and a half describing in great detail all the friends he's made and his growing popularity."

"Thanks for pointing out that my hermit theory is full of holes." She stroked Bella's head. "I guess that means moving is the only answer."

"Or you could just go home and do the unimaginable."

She dropped her sunglasses. "And what might that be?"

"Face your fears. From everything you've told me, it sounds like you and Zane are doing the same dance of avoidance. For wildly different reasons, of course."

"I am not avoiding anything. I did everything short of prostrating my naked body on his porch to get him interested." She ran a hand through the sand and barely stopped herself from drawing a broken heart. "I was the pursuer and gave him little chance to avoid my romantic gestures."

"I'm sure a Green Beret could've found a way to avoid your naked bits and overtures if he wanted to. The few I've met could topple an insurgency without breaking a sweat."

"Wait, when have you met special operators?"

Callie turned her face toward the water. "That's not the point of this conversation, is it?"

She studied her beautiful blonde sister, who resembled a woodland sprite and narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to tell me about your secret life anytime soon?"

Callie lifted her mouth into an innocent smile. "I'm just a programmer."

"That takes six-week trips abroad to undisclosed locations at the spur of the moment."

She grinned. "What can I say? Travel is my happy place."

"There's a Hawker brother in Black Ops; I wonder if you two run in the same circles."

Feigning a look of puzzlement, Callie took her sister's hand. "What did we decide to make for dinner? Should I run into town and pick up some crabs?"

"Fine," she said with a huff. "I'll change the subject."

"Let's get back to this neighbor thing and how you're going to take the universe up on its offer and face what you fear most."

"Are we talking about my dread that white cheddar Cheetos will sell out, and I will be forced to start eating the puffs?"

"Nope. Not that one."

"Oh, then you must be referring to my terror of discovering a worldwide shortage of chocolate, then."

Callie raised an eyebrow. "I thought you could deal with the one that tells you that if you love someone thoroughly and without reservation, they will be taken from you."

"I'd rather leave that one in a locked box. It doesn't care for the light of day or really any careful consideration."

"And yet, happiness is all but guaranteed if you do."

"No, it's not, sister." She folded her hands. "I tried to love the lonely out of him, and it didn't work. What a fool I was."

"Now, we're getting somewhere." She covered Olivia's hands.

"He never really wanted to take me on. He said it in a dozen different ways, and I ignored every one, thinking that if I just gave a tiny bit more affection, he'd see that I was worth the risk."

"Did he give in just enough to make you believe it was possible?"

"Yes," she whispered against the wind. "He'd say the loveliest things out of nowhere, and as much as I told myself it wasn't possible…"

"A part of you believed it was because who in their right mind can ignore such tempting proclamations?"

"I started to love him, Cal." Turning toward her sister, she felt a tear slip down her face. "As best as anyone can when the person isn't yours."

"And Zane…what did he feel?"

"Lust," she replied firmly. "Because if it were anything more, he never would've let me go."

"I'm gonna channel Grams for a second, so don't get mad."

Olivia let out a strangled laugh. "Hit me, sista, with your best shot. I am as ready as I'll ever be."

"There's a difference between someone who is not actually choosing you and someone struggling to trust themselves enough to open their heart and be vulnerable. Maybe Zane is the latter and couldn't get out of his own way."

Feeling something that felt suspiciously like an arrow piercing her heart, she sucked in a breath. "That's something I never considered."

"Well, now's as good a time as any to do just that." Callie pushed herself to her feet. "I've got a couple more hours of work, so I'm gonna head in."

"Thanks for the wise words, Callie."

"Just remember Mom's favorite mantra; you can't screw up anything meant for you. If this thing with Zane is meant to be, then you'll find a way to work it out."

Olivia nodded and watched her sister trudge along the sand toward her house. All the over-the-top gestures she'd made Zane endure allowed her to believe that she was ready to open herself up to the idea of love. But that wasn't the case at all.

She let fear corrupt her burgeoning feelings. The moment he announced he didn't want any part of her chaos, she folded her emotional tent and kept her soft heart under lock and key as best she could.

But she hadn't entirely succeeded, had she?

Her grumpy neighbor owned a tiny corner of her heart, and she had no idea how to get it back. Maybe she could simply demand he return it. Tell him in no uncertain terms she wanted no part of his…anything.

It's not like he was some grand prize with his stupidly handsome face, indomitable grit, and heart that, if ever left to its own devices, could love down the world.

There were much better options, and she should start exploring them the minute she snatched her heart back from Zane. He probably didn't even know he had it, so wresting it out of his grip shouldn't take much effort. "What do you say, Bella? Should we go home and put our emotional house back in order?"

When she got nothing but a loud doggy snore, she lay back on the sand and put her hat over her face, thinking about what the next part of her life would look like.

When Zane's handsome face kept popping up, she groaned. "Nope, not going to take it as a sign. It's simply old programming, and all I have to do is make sure I come up with a fabulous new one." With great concentration, she mentally replaced Zane's face with Liam Hemsworth's. He could be her new boyfriend. All she had to do was run over to Australia and find him.

How hard could it be?