Long Overdue (River Jewel Resort Book 3) (2 page)

Lovingly, she closed the book, allowing her fingers to glide over the gold-engraved title once more before setting it back in its place upon the shelf.

“Goodbye, old friends.” The bag of her belongings felt light as air compared to the sorrow in her heart. Placing the keys on the front desk, she wiped away a
nother bout of
tear
s
and with her head held high, she walked out of the library, never looking back.

*
* * *

“Olivia, you’ve cleaned that countertop three times since I’ve gotten here. The apartment is spotless. It’s been scoured within an inch of its life. I swear I’m high from the fumes. I thought this was what you wanted? So why are you nerved up and going all OCD?”

She tossed the dishrag in the sink and faced her best friend. “Matt, I never wanted to be unemployed. Sure, I love the chance to have a new beginning and maybe find myself. But, being alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. At least my salary paid for everything and kept me busy.” Olivia smoothed hair back and slipped a ponytail holder around the unruly, dark strands.

“It’s been a month. You’ll find something and let’s face it, you aren’t exactly hurting for money. So, we both know money isn’t the problem. For your own sanity, you need to get out of this house. Go meet a guy, have a lot of sex. That always helps me clear my head.” Matt wiggled his eyebrows as he took a sip from the coffee cup Olivia placed in front of him.

“You’re right, it isn’t about the money. Besides, you’re not a thirty-something spinster and you have women throwing themselves at you when you walk down the street. You’d be stupid not to sleep with them. I, on the other hand, am not exactly in demand.”

“True on all counts except one. You, my gorgeous friend, are not a spinster. Why would you suddenly believe anything that old hag said? You’ve never been one to care about what anyone else thought of you, why start now? Besides, how do you know that you aren’t in demand? You haven’t been out on the town in ages.”

Why had she believed Mrs. Brooks and why was she holding onto her hateful comments? Because the old woman had been right. Olivia had been playing a part during her time at the library and she missed it like crazy. She wasn’t beautiful or exciting. Her ex-boyfriends and fiancé had made that abundantly clear. At five-foot-six, a buck thirty, not-so-bad-rack, raven hair and green eyes, on more than one occasion she’d been discarded for a better, blonder woman. She knew she wasn’t ugly, but she knew she’d never win any beauty contests either.

“I don’t know. Something about that woman has always gotten under my skin. Now, I can’t get her out of my head.” She wasn’t going to fish for compliments from Matt. She knew he had a healthy appetite for blonde bombshells and as a friend, he’d do his best to assure her that she was pretty. Pity, even from her best friend, wasn’t what she needed or wanted.

“Well, stop it. I can’t be friends with you if you’re going to become clingy and whiny.” His lips curved with that crooked grin Olivia had loved since the first time they’d met.

Olivia swatted at him and laughed, even though inside, she wanted to cling to him, to whine. Instead, she used false bravado to make everything seem all right. “You know I could never be that kind of woman. Whiny is so last decade.” Sitting down beside her best friend, she gazed into his sapphire blue eyes, “Matt, thank you for being here for me. I know this can’t be easy for you and
Bitchtoria
, I mean Victoria... Is she mad that you’ve been spending so much time with me?”

He stood, taking his cup to the sink. “Actually, she moved out.”

Thank God
!
“What? When and why didn’t you tell me? I’m so sorry.”

“A few weeks ago. She decided I wasn’t the one. To be honest, she’s right. We weren’t getting along and we both decided we just weren’t right for each other.”

“Oh Matt, I’m so sorry. I know you were crazy about her.” Matt and Olivia had never managed to get their timing right. He was always with someone or she was. There never seemed to be a good time to profess her feelings for him. Maybe now, with
Bitchtoria
gone, she could.

“Yeah, I think that was part of the problem. She made me crazy. Kinda’ the same way you do.” He blew her a kiss.

“Well, that explains it. Your standards were too high.”

“Yeah.” He laughed. “That’s it.”

“Enough chatter. Let’s get outta here before I clean something else.”

They left Olivia’s house arm-in-arm, strolling down Main Street and turning down Vine Avenue. Many afternoons on her lunch break, she and Matt would head to the river for a long walk. Matt Osgood had been Olivia’s best friend for a decade and they’d been fast friends from the moment he’d hobbled into the library on crutches. Matt had knocked over a display of brand new paperbacks in his attempt to wiggle through the narrow aisles and he’d apologized profusely when Olivia ran to his side.
.

“I really didn’t mean it. I’m so clumsy.” The poor guy was so distraught about the books that Olivia immediately recognized a kindred spirit and their friendship was forged immediately. After that, they were inseparable. She’d brought him coffee every morning, groceries when he needed them and took him to therapy appointments for weeks. After he’d healed, they’d only gotten closer. Through every break-up, one-night stand and emotional crisis, they’d been each other’s rock.

Sure, there’d been plenty of women who ran in and out of his life. Hot women, who were always ready and willing to help him feel better, seemed to appear from thin air. Olivia felt she could never compete with them. So, she’d held on to the friendship she had with Matt and nurtured it. Even when jealousy reared its ugly head, Olivia squashed it down. She refused to lose an awesome guy, even if he was only a friend, to something as silly as insecurity and ridiculous emotions. She didn’t have the right to be upset. After all, she’d never confessed her feelings for him. It was her own fault. Maybe, after all of the sexcapades she’d had, she deserved to be alone, sitting on the sidelines and watching as her best friend found lover after lover. After a while, she did the same thing. Flings and one-night-stands became normal for her. None of her relationships had ever become serious after Randy’s death, but that was all right with her. No strings attached meant there wasn’t a chance for her heart to be broken.

She’d never admitted to Matt that the men she dated were nothing more than a way to fill the void within her heart. Olivia knew he’d worry about her and his career demanded a drama-free zone. Olivia knew better than to run to him with her every sob story or moment of depression. Besides, one good romp could quickly fix her mood for a little while. She soon learned escaping into a book or a new sexual conquest was a lot easier to deal with than reality.

“I think that skiing accident was a blessing in disguise.”

“I was just thinking the same thing. I don’t know what I’d do if I hadn’t met you that day at the library. Without you, I’d feel so incomplete, Matt.” Had she just said that? She searched his face for a sign that he knew she’d been dead serious.

He wrapped his arm around her as they walked along the shoreline. “It’ll be okay, Olivia. You can do anything you want now. I’ve never understood why you locked yourself away in that library morning and night, anyway.”

“It felt like home to me. Books never judge and they’re always there. They can’t hurt you.”

“Or break your heart like certain cheating boyfriends in the past, right?”

“Something like that.”

Matt pulled her closer to him and held her in a warm embrace. “Sweetie, you have to open up your heart again. You have so much life left to live and I hate seeing you alone. Besides, hanging out with a beautiful woman all of the time isn’t exactly helping me pick up any hotties in this town.”

“This old river town has hotties?” she teased. “And what beautiful woman have you been hanging out with?” An all too familiar twinge of jealousy snuck up on her. Matt should find a nice girl to settle down with. Someone like her.

“You’re funny. You, my dear, are the only beautiful woman I hang out with around here. And the few hotties I’ve seen aren’t really what I’m looking for. Forget I mentioned it. Although, lately I’ve had to fish in a bigger pond. I can’t seem to get my hands on the one thing I truly want. I needed to branch out.”

“Really?” She toed the mix of river rock and sand along the shore. “Where is this bigger pond?”

“River Jewel Resort.”

“No way! You’re hanging out at that fancy hotel now? You swore you’d never.” Olivia stepped back and teased. She could only imagine the rich, elegant women he was meeting there. If she was honest, she’d admit it felt like she’d been socked in the gut. How did she not know he’d been hanging out up there? Apparently, they both had secrets.

When the River Jewel Resort first opened an hour and a half north of Salem Ridge, it drew a ton of wealthy customers who passed through town for local wines and souvenirs. Most of them were people who the townspeople thought to be quite snooty. Based on the idle gossip that floated around, she wasn’t really interested in joining anyone at the resort. Olivia had heard the grand resort was capable of creating magical memories for all who stayed there, but she didn’t believe it. Even though she’d lived in the paranormal town of Salem Ridge all of her life, she still couldn’t believe a building anywhere could make dreams come true for people. She’d bet Matt had had all of his fantasies fulfilled and then some. Fantasies that she longed to fulfill for him.

“I’ve only been going up there for a few months now, but I’ve seen incredible things.”

“Such as?” Olivia shivered as a breeze blew across her back.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.” Matt turned away, and took a giant breath.

“I could never think you were crazy. You should know me better than that.”

He paused a moment and seemed to be gauging his next words carefully. “Olivia, I wish I could explain it to you.” He shook his head. “It’s something you have to see for yourself. All I know is, a lot of miserable people go through those doors and only happy people come back out. Everything people have been saying about it is true.”

“Don’t tell me you believe the hype?”

Matt shrugged. “I’ve seen things even you wouldn’t believe. I didn’t tell you because I wanted to make sure the stories were true.”

“Oh? What kind of stories?”

Matt reached for her hand and led her
down the
cement
boat
launch
that led to
toward
towards
the floating dock. After they were seated on the aged, wooden planks, he started trying to verbalize his experiences. “Olivia, that place is magical. That’s the only way I can think of to describe it.”

She had never seen such an enthralled look in Matt’s eyes before. There was something new and lively about him when he spoke of the River Jewel Resort. In fact, his eyes reminded her of the hot, summer nights when moonlight would dance across the small waves of the Ohio, glittering like a million floating diamonds.

“Well, it must be something special if you, an incredibly talented romance author can’t think of anything better than ‘magical’. I can see it in your eyes. It’s just a resort. I’m sure with the kind of money they charge, they must have one helluva spa and massage salon, but magic? Really? And if everyone is so happy when they leave, why haven’t you found anyone who makes you happy yet?”

Matt laughed. “Yeah, the salon is amazing and what makes you think I haven’t found my happiness? I can sit on the gambling boat and have my pick of any available woman. In fact, it’s become my favorite place lately. When I walk on that boat, it’s almost as if they are there to serve me and only me.”

“Oh, wow!” Olivia tossed her head back laughing “You, my friend are hot, but I think you might be getting a bit of a big head.”

Matt wiggled his eyebrows and nudged her with his elbow. “I know how it sounds, but I’m serious. You have to experience it for yourself.”

She ruffled Matt’s already unruly brown hair and looped her arm through his. “I’m glad you’re having a great time, Matt. You deserve it.”

“What about you? If anyone needs to find happiness, it’s you. You’ve been alone for too long, Olivia. You have a huge heart, you’re smart, beautiful and kind. Instead of wasting all of that on temporary lovers you should be married to someone fabulous and having lots of smart, beautiful babies. Someone who truly loves you for you.”

Olivia knew he meant well, but she just wasn’t ready. Besides, who would want her now? Star of the latest town scandal, plus being officially unemployed, her reputation didn’t exactly scream, “Pick me! I’ll rock your world!” Besides, if she couldn’t find the nerve to tell the man she truly loved that she loved him, what was the point of looking for anyone else?

“Sometime.”

“You always say that. I love you and I feel it’s my duty to be honest with you. Get over it. Ever since Randy died, you’ve had a wall up and all you’ve done is float from guy to guy, mostly at the library.”

“So? They need my help. Besides, I’m good at what I do.”

“Sweetheart, it’s time to let go of the past and open up your heart. Make your own happy ending. Every guy out there isn’t worthless. Yes, you’ve met a few assholes, and yes, you’ve been hurt. But I think you do it to yourself. Don’t be angry. I understand, I really do. The pain you’ve been feeling, the emptiness, it means you’re alive. I get it. This bravado you show to the world isn’t a flaw. You’ve had a lot to cope with
, b
. B
ut
,
it’s time to find that one in a million soulmate instead of hooking up with people you have no intention of ever loving, for random quickies on campus. Whether you admit it or not, you know I’m right. Now, let’s get you home so you can clean your house
.
, a
. A
A
gain.”
He rolled his eyes and Matt’s lips slid into that mischievous grin
that filled her with a longing to kiss him senseless
.
T
T
hey laughed, falling into step with each other as Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders
and Olivia
sent up a silent prayer that someday he’d
want her by his side forever.
.