Page 7 of The Recovery Coach
She abandoned her bag on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at him.“I’m sorry, too.I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
Lover’s cheeks turned pink again, and Olivia bit her lip to hide a smile.He didn’t acknowledge her apology, instead saying, “You’re different from what I expected.”
The smile she’d been fighting morphed into a frown.“Different how?”
Valentine shrugged.“I expected some whimsical little fairy tale creature, with how Hazy described you.”
Olivia took stock of her appearance.Gray blouse with a coffee stain down the front, dirty blonde hair pulled into a messy updo, no makeup except the concealer and lipstick she’d just applied, and fingernails bitten to the quick.About as far from a mythical creature as you could get.Oof.If she had been trying to flirt earlier, she would have gotten nowhere.She sighed.
“Yeah, I can see how if that’s how Connor sold me you’d be disappointed.”
“Whoa,” Valentine said, closing the distance between them in two strides before taking a seat on the bed next to her.He hovered an arm around her shoulders but froze before making contact.She leaned into him, welcoming the touch before he could pull away.
That tiny moment explained so much about Connor’s relationship with Valentine to Olivia.Connor had always been great at surrounding himself with wonderful people.It was a skill Olivia lacked.She had a habit of choosing friends who didn’t care as much about her as she did about them.Valentine’s willingness to comfort a virtual stranger, and his hesitance to offer that comfort without consent spoke volumes.
She’d seen his sense of humor in team interviews and got to know little pieces of his personality from the few stories Connor had told her.But that one small act of kindness, with nobody there to witness, was the tip of the iceberg.She knew that’s what had drawn Connor in, and it made her excited to get to know Valentine better.
After a quick squeeze he said, “I didn’t say I was disappointed.”
“But you are,” Olivia pressed, unsure why she couldn’t let it go.
The hug helped lighten her mood, and she plopped onto the bed, probably inadvisably comfortable with this new man in her life.
Valentine followed her lead, flopping back so they lay side-by-side, their feet dangling off the end of the bed, both of them staring at the ceiling fan spinning in lazy circles.
“I’m not disappointed,” he said.“I’m surprised.There’s a big difference.”
“I used to be like Connor described me.I was fun.And cute.But life happened.It sucked.I thought I had it all.Maybe I never had anything.”
Valentine nudged her with an elbow, prompting her to meet his eyes.
“Nobody gets to have everything.But you have Hazy, and that’s a pretty good start.”
Olivia huffed out an unamused laugh.“Connor can’t be everything for me.And he shouldn’t have to be.”
“I never said he should be everything.I said he was a start.You know what always cheers me up?”
“Hmm?”
“Watching people beat the shit out of each other on the ice.You should come to our next game.Daisy would be thrilled to meet you.”
Daisy was the wife of Connor’s other linemate, Connor Greene.Connor had been trying to convince Olivia to meet up with her for months, but she’d never been able to find the time.Anything would be better than waiting around a giant, cold, empty house for Connor to come home.And who knew if he’d come home alone.Her stomach churned at yet another reason she couldn’t stay here indefinitely.Maybe Daisy would be nice.She needed some new girlfriends since her work friends had abandoned her.
“That does sound fun,” she said.
“Sweet!”Valentine swung his legs in the air, using the leverage he created to hop off the bed.“I’ll tell Daisy.”
The next day, Olivia braced herself to talk to Lance.She hadn’t reached out to him since finding him wrapped up in Amanda.While trying to figure out her financial issues without talking to him, the bank said someone had reported her card stolen.They’d thankfully issued her a new card, but they also told her she only had seven dollars.
Olivia didn’t know how Lance organized their money.Maybe an unexpected bill came out.But he also had his own private accounts.She requested a printed copy of the recent transactions.Lance had drained their account of thousands of dollars, filtering it into his private accounts the same night she discovered his cheating.
She set her paycheck to deposit into a separate account so moving forward her finances would be her own to manage, but payday was a week away.
She waited in the parking lot after work, since he would arrive shortly after her shift ended.Her anger grew as she waited for him.He had an assigned parking spot, and she leaned against the wall in the parking garage in front of it.As he parked, he rolled his eyes.
“Hi,” she greeted him as he climbed out of his car.Her hands balled into fists at her sides in an attempt to keep from strangling him.
“What do you want, Olivia?”he asked, annoyance heavy in his tone.
