Page 78 of The Recovery Coach
“Good.Get that bag.”He relaxed in his chair, spread his knees to a ridiculous angle, and rubbed the stubble on his chin.
“Your Plan A could work,” he finally said after several seconds of shared thoughtfulness.“I like Lover’s plan.But I bet I can make him way more jealous than Lover.”
“I don’t see how two fake breakups is better than one when this fails.I’ve been trying to get this man to notice me forfifteen years.A month won’t change anything.”
“Ew, no.I’m not fake-dating you.That’s gross.”
The words didn’t hurt coming from him like they had from Connor.Still, she gave a performative frown.
“Gee, thanks.”
Jake snickered.“That’s not what I meant.Lover can take care of the love life stuff.I’ve been told he is an excellent meddler.I’m going to use the power of friendship.”
“The...power of friendship.”
He nodded enthusiastically.“It’s going to work.He’s never seen you around someone who knows you as well as he does.”
“You don’t know me as well as he does,” she pointed out.
“So?For all he knows you’ve told me all your deepest, darkest secrets.”
“I basically have.”
“And that’s good enough.I’m going to steal you away from him, and it’s going to drive him fucking crazy.This is going to be fucking fun.”
Olivia rolled her eyes and gulped her coffee.She slapped her hands on her thighs and stood.
“Well, why the fuck not?If we’re going all in, we’re going all in.We can start with movie night.I’ll tell Connor.”
The smell of peppers and onions filled the air at Connor’s house.A Chappell Roan song played over the surround sound system.Olivia hung her purse on the hook and piled her shoes by the door, motioning for Jake to do the same.
In the kitchen they found Connor and Valentine belting out raunchy lyrics into wooden spoon microphones while moving their hips in a way that made Olivia regret introducing them toDirty Dancing.She slid onto a barstool at the kitchen island and tapped the one next to it, inviting Jake to sit.
Valentine rounded the island, leaving Connor to watch the stove.He pushed his way between Olivia and Jake, taking turns leaning into each of them to serenade them with vulgar lyrics.To Olivia’s surprise, Jake joined the singing and dancing, going so far as to hop off his stool and grind on Valentine.
In that moment Olivia realized these silly, playful, ridiculous men were her absolute favorite people on the planet.She’d never experienced as much joy and comfort with Lance, and whatever happened, she needed to keep them all close.Any romantic partner she might consider had to compete with her love for them.She could have cried from the rush of emotion, but she chose to channel it into singing and dancing with her boys.
They worked their way through the entire album while Connor finished cooking dinner, and when they shut the music off Olivia asked Jake, “What happened to disliking Chappell?”
Jake grinned, accepting a plate of food from Connor.
“People change.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, but he didn’t elaborate.They all piled onto Connor’s massive sofa and watched an action movie Olivia had no real interest in, but Connor and Valentine had been waiting on for weeks.
When they finished eating, they paused the movie to clean the kitchen, a sense of camaraderie washing over them as they worked.
“I haven’t had an evening like this in such a long time,” Jake said, breaking the comfortable silence.
“What do you mean?”Valentine asked.
“Like.Hanging out, eating dinner, watching a movie.”
“Do you think making dinner and watching movies with friends counts as a hobby?”she asked.
“For sure,” Valentine said.
“I would count it as a hobby,” Jake agreed.
