Souls ReAligned (10 page)

Rachel tries to distract her thoughts with conversation about some of the famous people she thinks she’s recognized tonight, but Olivia can’t think straight. Standing abruptly, she leaves the table.

“Where are you going?” Rachel asks, wondering if she should follow in support.

Olivia gives her a calm look, “It’s okay. I’m just going to go and introduce myself.” When she gets to the office door, she finds it slightly open. Hearing voices inside she hesitates for a moment, knowing full well, the disaster it was the last time she eavesdropped in on one of his conversations. As she raises her hand to knock on the door, it swings open further, giving her a clearer view. The beautiful brunette sits on Ethan’s desk, with him standing in between her legs wiping tears from her cheeks.

“You’ll stay with me,” Ethan says in a stern voice as his hand slides a box of condoms across the desk and out of the way.
Condoms?
Olivia takes a deep breath in and holds it.

“No, Ethan. I’ve already checked into a hotel. Besides, what about your girlfriend?” her voice sounds young and sweet; there’s no mistaking her Irish accent.

“I’ll talk to Olivia. I can’t stand the thought of you being here and not staying with me.”

“No. I’m staying at the hotel. You can come visit me there whenever you have time to sneak away. I’ll only be here a few days.”

If this is Jessica, she certainly doesn’t look five months pregnant. He certainly wouldn’t need condoms, if it is she rationalizes. Putting her hand on the door, she intends to open it all the way and confront them. The brunette looks over Ethan’s shoulder and sees Olivia standing there in the half-opened doorway, staring, seemingly frozen, unable to move or speak.

A firm hand on her shoulder makes Olivia spin around, coming face to face with the grin of Griffin. “Come dance with me,” he demands.

“No, I don’t think so,” she says trying to push him away.

He stops her with both hands, not willing to accept her refusal. “One dance,” he demands.

Olivia takes a deep breath and turns sadly to look at Ethan’s office door. Griff firmly takes hold of her wrist and pulls her out onto the floor. He wastes no time becoming intimate with her body, as he turns and rubs against her, moving to the music. There’s something really gross and
dirty
about the way that he touches her.
This is a friend of Ethan’s?
She’s numb, trying to get her head around what she just overheard in the office. Her conscience screams at her to trust Ethan. She tries to relax but there’s something wrong here. Griff leans in, running his tongue across her neck and into her ear. Closing her eyes, she wills it to stop. Praying that this is just another nightmare that will end soon, so she can wake up in Ethan’s arms.

Suddenly she feels Griff being ripped away and she takes a deep breath of relief as she opens her eyes.

“Carter? What the fuck?” Griff screams angrily.

“I’m saving you, Griffin,” Carter says, as he pulls him by the scruff of the neck away from Olivia.

“From what?” he protests.

“From O’Connell. Do you have any idea what he’d do to you if he caught you with your tongue in his girl’s ear?”

“He’d fucking kill you!” Ethan’s voice says in rage as he approaches from the side. Carter lets go of his grip and takes a step back into safety. He knows what’s coming Griff’s way. As Ethan’s fist connects with his jaw, it makes a horrific sound, and drops Griff to the floor.

“Nice shot,” Carter says in admiration. Stepping aside, he makes way for Nigel and Trevor as they retrieve Griffin from the floor, seemingly un-fazed, as if it’s something they did on a regular basis.

Ethan shakes his hand out, opening and closing his fingers and grimacing, as he turns to Olivia who’s staring at him with an open mouth. “Are you okay?” he asks.

She nods, but when he wraps his arms around her, she can’t help but tense, “Olivia?”

“I’m fine,” she finally manages.

“I need to tell you something,” he says, taking her hand and leading her off the dance floor. Dread fills her. She wishes for the umpteenth time since she met him, that she could let go of her fear of conflict and fight for him. The Olivia James she used to be wouldn’t have tolerated another woman around the man she loves. She would have fought for him tooth and nail. She would never have willingly given him up without bloodshed.

Determined to find that woman inside herself again, she stops walking, “Ethan, wait,”

He turns to her, looking confused.

“I saw you with her earlier. I came to find you and the door was open. I overheard your conversation, and I know that you want to be with her.”

Ethan is dumbfounded and it’s reflected in his expression, “Be with her? You think I want to be with her? As in romantically?”

The will to fight, grows inside her as she stares into his eyes. This time, she’s going to go down kicking, screaming and biting. She’ll even pull hair, if she has to resort to that.

“I don’t know exactly what you heard that made you think that,” he says with a strange tone in his voice. It’s a mixture of amusement, anger, and embarrassment.

“I saw the condoms on your desk,” she challenges. Sensing his irritation, she struggles not to look away from his sharp glare. Ethan shakes his head in disbelief and reaches up to take hold of her elbow. Without saying a word, he pulls her a few steps to the left, toward the men’s bathroom.

Ethan!” she protests as he yanks her inside.

A young man standing at the urinal protests as he finishes his business and tucks himself away, “Dude! What the fuck?”

“Sorry,” he apologizes. “I have a point to make to the girlfriend. You know how it is.”

Zipping up his pants, he laughs, “Yeah, I know how it is.”

Ethan smiles and then turns his attention back to Olivia. “Look,” he says pointing to the dispensing machine mounted on the wall.”

When she realizes what it is, the point that he’s making is embarrassingly clear. She looks at him with regret.

“The reason I have condoms in my office is to refill it. Not for my personal use.”

The door swings open and a few more guys enter and look uncomfortably at Olivia.

“Sorry guys, we’re leaving,”

Bolting out the door, she waits for him to follow. “Ethan, I’m sorry.”

“Stop it,” he warns. “I don’t want to hear anymore. You’re driving me insane. If you’re finished accusing me of intending to fuck another woman, I’d like to introduce you to my sister.”

Sister?
Did someone just suck all the air out of the room? Olivia puts her hands over her face and groans, “Oh my God! Just kill me now. Ethan, I’m so sorry.”

He starts to say something, several times, and then stops, giving up on being angry with her all together, “Let’s just forget about it,”

“Okay,” she says frowning.

His lip starts to twitch and then curl into a smile, “Hey, no pouting. I’d prefer it if my sister doesn’t think that I make you miserable.” Bending down, he bites her lower lip playfully, making her finally start to smile. “Come on, I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

“She saw me at the door.”

“I know, she told me. That’s why I came after you. Good thing I did, too. Fucking Griffin.”

Olivia would like to forget all about that, “Do you think he’s okay?”

Ethan laughs, “Yeah, he’s fine. If he only gets punched once, it’s a slow night for him. He has a steel jaw.”

Olivia watches Ethan rub his knuckles, remembering the impact. Reaching down, she grabs his hand, lifts it to her mouth, and trails soft kisses across every bruised knuckle, “I’m glad you hit him.”

Ethan raises his eyebrows, “Well, well… aren’t you full of surprises?”

“I know. Usually, I can’t tolerate physical violence; anymore than you can tolerate being late.”

He scowls at her and it makes her smirk, “There’s something just not right with that guy, Ethan. I can’t put my finger on it, but he makes me feel really uneasy.”

Ethan scratches his head as he looks over at Griffin. Sitting on the edge of the stage, he has a bag of ice against his face. “Hmm. I don’t think he’ll bother you anymore.” Looking up, he steers her toward the bar where his sister is now waiting. “If he does, you let me know. I’m glad Carter was there so quickly to put a stop to it.”

Olivia nods in agreement, “Me too. He’s a good friend.” She looks up to see a moment of insecurity flash across Ethan’s face.

“You are
just
friends, right?” he asks, swallowing hard. That thought has been skulking in the back of his mind all night since Carter’s reaction to her dress.

“Ethan,” she grabs his hand and locks their fingers. “Carter and I are just friends. I belong to you.” She lifts their tangled hands and places them together against her heart. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out.” His meadow green eyes shine as she gives him the reassurance that he needs. He has so few moments of vulnerability. When she gets a glimpse of it, it’s a welcome reminder that he’s not just a hardened, controlling badass, but a man with a heart capable of being hurt.

She feels extremely embarrassed as they approach Ethan’s sister, who smiles warmly at her trying to put her at ease. “Olivia, this is my sister, Madison.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Olivia says, feeling like a complete moron. She extends her hand only to be pulled into Madison’s embrace.

“Call me Maddie. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. My brother doesn’t stop talking about you.
Ever!
” she giggles.

Olivia flashes a quick look at Ethan who shrugs. “Guilty,” he confesses.

“I can’t wait for you to meet McKenna and Kaylie next week,” she says with excitement.

“Next week?” Olivia asks, confused.

“Yes. When you come home with Ethan, next week.”

There’s that sick feeling again, as she glances over to see the look on Ethan’s face. “You’re going home next week?” she asks.

Ethan flashes Madison a distraught look, “She’s not coming with me, Madison. She can’t take time off right now.”

“NEXT WEEK?” Olivia repeats again sounding anxious.

Ethan glances at her with regret, “A week from Monday actually. We talked about this, Liv. You knew I was going.”

“Well yeah, but… I guess it seemed like it was far away at the time.”

“Ethan, you can’t possibly tell me that you’re considering coming home without her? Kaylie will have a meltdown.”

“Fuck, Maddie, I don’t want to,” he snaps. “I can’t force her to get on the plane and come with me!”

Olivia looks over at Madison as her spine straightens with tension at Ethan’s sharp words. Then suddenly as if she’s terrified of his reaction, she tries to appease him, “You’re right, Ethan. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

What the?

Ethan expels a frustrated breath and wraps his arms around his sister, “No, I’m sorry, Maddie. I’m sorry I yelled.”

Olivia is curious about the confusion on Maddie’s face, as Ethan makes his apology. She almost looks like she’s in shock.

Pulling away, Ethan looks at her. “Did you get here in time to see Nate perform? You should go over and say, hello. I bet he’d love to see you again.”

“I will,” she reassures him.

Olivia watches Maddie’s face, as she turns a pale shade of pink and avoids her brother’s eyes. It’s a subtle reaction to Nate’s name that only another woman would recognize. When Maddie looks over at Olivia and gives her a smile, it’s as good as an admission of guilt.

Ethan turns at the sound of his name and excuses himself, leaving the two girls to chat on their own.

“I’m sorry about earlier, Maddie. Ethan didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Well, that’s because he didn’t know. I wanted to surprise him.”

Olivia laughs, “Well, that explains the look on his face when he saw you.” She pauses a moment and notices the glow on Maddie’s face. A quick look over her shoulder confirms that Nate Ross is on his way over to them. “Nate sure is hot, don’t you think?”

“Very,” Maddie agrees, her eyes locked to his.

“Well, why don’t I leave you two alone to catch up?” Olivia makes her way back to Shannon and Rachel with a smile. “That’s Ethan’s sister, Madison,” she explains.

“We know,” Shannon says, “John came over to tell us she was here, but you had already gone to his office.”

“What happened to Griff?” Rachel asks.

Olivia cringes, “Ethan hit him for sticking his tongue in my ear.”

“Shut up!” Rachel says, playfully. “I miss all the fun.”

Ethan’s friends finish a song and Nigel takes the mic and introduces another very popular artist.

“See Scott! I knew it was him!” Rachel says, glaring at her husband. Scott grins and leans in to give her a kiss.

The band engages the crowd in a little show business banter, welcoming everyone and asking if they’re having a great time. The place is buzzing with excitement, “I’d like to invite your host, and my friend Ethan O’Connell to the stage to sing one of my favorite songs with me.

Olivia beams at the sight of Ethan with his guitar as he joins the band on stage.