Laurel Heights: Return To You Part 5

She looked up to find Eve waiting expectantly. She shrugged. "We kissed for the first time that night. No, that's not true. It was the second time. The first time we kissed was on the playground in first grade." His eyes had been the same blue of the sky as he gazed at her and touched his lips to hers.

d.a.m.n it. Why did she have to have such a good memory?

She drank some more, wondering how much wine she'd have to consume before she couldn't remember.

"Eat this." Eve pa.s.sed her another saltine.

Sighing, Olivia dutifully nibbled on it and continued. "Everything was great until my father came back."

"What did he do that made you so angry? You've never said."

"My father, the movie bigwig, offered Michael a job." She winced at the wine. Suddenly it tasted bitter.

"And that was bad?"

"Yes. All Michael ever wanted was to direct movies. It was his dream. Parker knew this and exploited it. Michael couldn't resist the offer." She laughed mirthlessly. "He wasn't meant to. So he left."

"I don't understand," Eve said. "Why didn't you just go with him?"

"That's just it. I would've gone if he made any kind of overture, but he didn't want me. According to him, I would've gotten in the way. He needed to focus on his career."

"The b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Eve said with feeling.

"I can't blame him for taking the job," she grudgingly added. "All Michael ever wanted was to be a director, and my father gave him the shot. But I do blame him for believing I'd get in his way."

She only wanted him to love her enough to make their relations.h.i.+p work regardless of where they ended up.

He hadn't.

She lost Michael, and then three weeks later she lost him all over again.

Leaning forward, she grabbed Eve's hand. "What I'm going to tell you can't ever leave this room. You can't tell anyone-not even Treat. Swear to me on your unborn children's heads."

"It must be pretty serious to invoke that kind of oath."

"Swear."

"Okay. I won't tell anyone." Eve crossed her heart with two fingers.

"I was pregnant when Michael left."

"What?" Eve half fell off the couch.

"I miscarried." That was Michael's fault too. She lifted her gla.s.s and blinked. "Someone drank all my wine."

Eve automatically refilled it. "He left you knowing you were pregnant?"

"I never told him."

"You had to tell him."

"I didn't want him to stick with me because he had to. I wanted him to want me for myself. But he didn't, so I thought I could raise the baby on my own. But she died. That's why I went to Paris. I could feel myself sinking into a deep pit of despair." She looked up at Eve, who had tears in her eyes. "That wasn't me. I thought if I distanced myself I could figure out who I was. For the longest time, Michael and I were one ent.i.ty. I had to learn to be my own person."

Eve wiped her eyes. "No wonder you hate your father. It seems wrong of him to offer Michael that job knowing it could break you up."

"Not if you know him. He probably did it on purpose. He's a manipulative b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"But why?"

"What difference does it make? Whatever the reason is doesn't change the outcome." The room was starting to spin. She laid her head back and tried to focus on the wine bottle on the coffee table. "Did we drink that whole bottle already?"

"No, you drank the whole bottle. Have another cracker. I'm surprised you're still upright considering you haven't eaten all day."

"I have a strong const.i.tution." She hiccupped.

"I can see that." Eve took a small sip. "So what's your plan?"

Olivia wrinkled her nose. "Plan?"

"You're the one who always wants a plan of attack."

"Oh. Oh, right." She nodded, wincing at the way the room jerked sickeningly. "A plan. My plan is to stay as far away from both those cretins as I possibly can. The Bay Area is big enough, right?"

"So that just leaves your home," Eve pointed out.

Olivia growled.

Eve held up her hands. "Don't kill the messenger. I was just making sure you realized that."

"I can ignore my father."

"And Michael?"

Olivia folded her arms tightly across her body. "I'll avoid him too."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Of course I do. Why would I want that faithless dog back?" In her mind, she saw his blue eyes aged with wisdom, the broad expanse of his shoulders, and how good his b.u.t.t looked on his way out the door.

She downed her entire gla.s.s in one gulp and held it out for a refill.

"So you don't still have feelings for him?" Eve asked, handing her a cracker instead.

"Other than tense loathing? Not a thing." She took a savage bite out of it.

"Isn't that telling?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you feel for David?"

"David?" She frowned. "David Mariner? What does he have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question. If you ran into David on the street, how would you react?"

"I haven't thought of David in ages. He was several dates ago." She pursed her lips. "I suppose if I ran into him I'd make some small talk and then get back to whatever I was doing."

"Exactly. So what does it tell you that you're so worked up over seeing Michael again?"

"That I need more to drink." She reached for the bottle and almost toppled off the couch. "Whoa."

"Here." Eve steadied her. "Sit back and I'll do that."

"You're a pal." She m.u.f.fled another hiccup behind her hand and leaned back until she was reclining against the armrest of the couch.

"I wonder if you'll feel that way in the morning."

"Don't worry. I've never had a hangover," Olivia said proudly.

Chapter Six.

Olivia heard the door open and click shut but she couldn't lift her head to greet her customer, and getting up from the stool was completely out of the question. It was all she could do not to groan.

"I wondered what kind of condition you'd be in," she heard Eve's voice say, followed by the sound of something set in front of her.

She cracked her eyes open. This time she did groan. In relief.

"Here. Let me." Eve opened the bottle of aspirin and offered her three tablets. "You're going to have to stop holding your head for a moment to get these down."

"My hands are keeping my brain from spilling onto the counter."

"I thought you never got hung-over."

"You were right. There's a first time for everything." She took the pills and sighed when she noticed the steaming latte Eve held in her other hand. "Have I told you how much I love you?"

"I figured you needed it. You didn't stop by Grounds for Thought this morning."

"I woke up too late." Olivia took a sip of her drink and waited. When her stomach didn't roil in protest, she drank some more. "Thanks for letting me crash at your place."

Laughing, Eve said, "I didn't have much choice. You kind of pa.s.sed out on the couch."

Olivia frowned. "I did?"

"Yes."

"How did I get to the guest bedroom?"

"Treat carried you."

"And I wasn't lucid. I can't believe I missed that."

"How are you really? Do you feel as green as you look?"

"I feel chartreuse. Is that how I look?"

"Just about."

"Great." It probably didn't help that she was in yesterday's clothes. Although, she took a shower at Eve's so she didn't feel completely grungy.

Eve leaned on the counter and peered closely at her. "So, other than the hangover, how are you?"

She decided to play dumb. "What do you mean?"

"I mean about everything that happened yesterday."

"I hadn't really thought about it." She'd been too busy trying not to puke all over herself. Testing her tension, she rotated her shoulders a few times. They felt remarkably light. "Actually, I'm pretty good. Talking must've helped."

"Good."

"I can ignore Parker."

"Right."

A deaf person would have heard the skepticism in Eve's voice. "I can. Once they start filming, he'll be too busy to plague me. Worse comes to worse, my room has a lock."

Eve shook her head. "So you're going to let him make you a prisoner in your own home?"

"You're right. I'll lock him in instead." Olivia frowned. "I just wish I knew what he was after."

"Maybe he had a change of heart and wants to show you he loves you."

The earnestness of Eve's eyes showed she actually believed that. Of course, she didn't have as much experience with Parker as Olivia had. "And the gla.s.s is half full."

Eve grinned. "Is that your plan for Michael too?"

"Michael's easier. He's not staying at Gran's." She wrinkled her nose. "At least not that I know of. There's no reason I have to run into him. Ever."

Eve just stared at her.

"What?"