Lost Without You: Book 2 in the Chasing Olivia Series
Read Lost Without You: Book 2 in the Chasing Olivia Series Online
Authors: Jillian Anselmi
Lost Without You
Book 2 in the Chasing Olivia Series
Copyright © Jillian Anselmi 2016
Cover Photography & Designer:
Regina Wamba, Mae I Design & Photography
Literary Editor:
Monica Black, Word Nerd Editing
Interior Design & Formatting:
Christine Borgford, Perfectly Publishable
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights are reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.
Table of Contents
“I do,” a familiar voice says, and the hair on my body stands on end. As if in slow motion, I turn toward the source of the voice. There stands Chase with his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. “I do,” he repeats. Straightening, he looks directly at me.
“What are you doing here?” I half-shriek. My heart races, from both excitement and fear.
“You can’t marry him,” he says firmly, walking toward us, “until you hear what I have to say.”
“There is nothing left to say,” I say softly, and look at Brenda. She takes a few steps back. Staring at her feet, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other.
“Oh, but there is,” he says simply. Evan glances in my direction, his eyes refusing to meet mine.
“There is nothing you can say to stop me from marrying Liv,” Evan snarls at Chase, taking a few menacing steps toward him. Chase stops, and plants his feet firmly on the ground.
“That’s great, but you weren’t the one I was trying to stop from making a mistake,” he says to Evan, then turns to me. “You’re correct. Technically, there’s nothing
I
can say, but, there is something
she
can say,” he says, turning to look behind him. There, standing in the shadows of the trees, is my ex college roommate, Brandi. Slowly, she makes her way toward us, a smug smile on her face. I look at Evan and his face falls, his eyes filled with panic.
“Evan,” she murmurs.
“What are you doing here?” he whispers, his eyes wide, like a deer caught in headlights.
“Chase told me you were marrying Liv,” she says, her voice filled with contempt. “I need you both to know something first.”
“What is it you need to say that didn’t warrant a phone call?” I ask.
“This is between me and Evan,” she replies, keeping her gaze locked on his.
“No, I want to know what dragged you all the way down here.” Turning to Chase, I demand, “Why is she here?”
“If it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have flown all the way down here with her,” he says softly. I glance at Evan, but he remains quiet, frozen. The pause in his actions and lack of response tells me all I need to know. He has nothing to go on, which means everything that has yet to be said is true. His eyes shift to Brandi before connecting with mine once more. The panic is gone, acceptance left in its wake. I fight the urge to shove him away, to cause a scene rivaling the one already cast upon us. He lied to me.
“Whatever you need to say, say it,” he growls, still looking at me. “Then we can move on and I can marry Liv.”
“You really want me to do this here?” she asks, lifting a brow. Evan, turning to stare directly at her, nods his head. She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m pregnant.”
The words hang in the air like a pungent smell. I look at Evan in shock.
“How long have you known?” I whisper, my heart freefalling and shattering to the ground.
“The doctor says I’m about three months.” The news slices through me.
“What?” I ask, barely able to get the word out. I turn to Brandi. “But, I thought . . .”
“He told you it was a one-time thing, a big mistake,” she laughs as she continues my torment. “Well, he lied. We’ve been together for a long time.” A wave of nausea begins to overtake me, my head spinning from the truth that’s been staring me in the face for months.
“You lied to me!” I scream. “Again!”
“Liv, please, listen to me. I love you,” he implores.
“The day you answered Olivia’s phone, I told you I would figure out the truth. I knew you couldn’t be trusted,” Chase’s jaw ticks, his hands clenching into white-knuckled fists. “I won’t let you hurt Olivia again.”
I turn my attention to Brandi. “How long?” I manage to whisper.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been together? Was it before I caught you?” I look at Evan, tears streaming down my face.
She shrugs her shoulders in defeat. “Yes, way before. Maybe a year or so.” I gasp, placing my hand over my mouth.
I take a few steps back, toward the path that led me here. “Before you proposed, I asked if you had seen her, and you adamantly said no. You lied to me. Straight to my face. You said it was a one-time thing. That it was a mistake, ‘a very big mistake’,” I quote. With every sentence, my voice becomes increasingly louder, and I become angrier. Brandi spins, pinning her gaze on Evan.
“A mistake?” she snarls.
“Why? Why go through all this trouble? How can you say you love me when you can’t be faithful for even a second?”
“Liv,” he stutters. He has nothing to say. No argument to win. It’s time for him to accept defeat.
A wave of emotions wash over me. Mostly rage. Over and over, he’s ripped out my heart, and what’s worse, I let him. Well, no more. I need to get a handle on this situation before I explode.
“This is over! “ I shout. “I can’t believe you lied to me again! I am so done with you and your bullshit. I don’t even want to breathe the same air as you,” I hiss.
“Liv, wait!” Evan pleads, reaching out for me.
Without looking back, I run down the beach toward the hotel, away from everyone.
“Olivia, wait!” Chase calls from behind me, but I don’t wait. I don’t want to talk to him either. “Olivia, please. We need to talk.”
I stop and turn to him. “Why?” I ask through tears. “What can you possibly say?”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s it? I’m sorry? Sorry for what, that my life is in shambles? Sorry for doing the exact same thing Evan did to me? Sorry you got caught? What exactly are you sorry for?”
“That you are this miserable. I hate seeing you in pain.”
“You’re part of the reason I’m in so much pain.
You
,” I say, waving my arm behind me, “are just as bad as he is!”
“Olivia, what you saw and what you think you saw are two completely different things,” Chase whispers, running his hands through his hair.
“I know what I saw.”
“No,” he says, his tone soft. “Tell me what you saw.”
“I saw a beautiful woman coming out of your apartment half-dressed.”
“Yes, that is correct. But there’s more, things you couldn’t possibly know.”
“What else is there? She was coming out of
your
apartment, buttoning her shirt.”
He takes a deep breath and exhales through his nose. “That was my ex, Natalie,” he says, resigned. He motions for me to sit on one of the benches along the path, but I fold my arms over my chest and raise my brow. Knowing this is the best he’s going to get, he sits and looks up at me. “Remember when I left Fire Island in a rush?”
I nod my head.
“She was the reason. We broke up just before I met you. We weren’t together long, but long enough for me to realize she was bat shit crazy.” I move toward the bench, still not sure whether I should sit down or run. “She called me that evening to tell me she was pregnant and needed me. Naturally, being a gentleman, I rushed home so I could be with her. Not too long after I got there, I found out it was all a rouse to get me back. She was never pregnant.” Sitting down next to him, I concentrate on his voice.
“She must have made a copy of my apartment key, considering I never gave her one. The day you saw her, she let herself in while I was taking a shower. When I came out of the bathroom, she was lying on my bed. Naked. I picked up her clothes and threw them at her, demanding she leave. She pleaded with me to take her back. I told her I was in love with someone else.” Wait, does he mean me—in love with me? He continues, and I don’t try to stop him. “She was still dressing when I chased her out of the apartment. When I realized she still had the key, I came out to get it back. That’s when you saw me.”
I stare down at the ground, fidgeting with my fingers. “So, you never—”
“It’s only been you since that day you walked into me at Davis,” he says, taking my hands and cutting me off.
I look up, straight into his big, beautiful eyes. They’re a true blue, with ripples of rich sapphire, and little specks of emerald glistening through them. There isn’t a single thing I have witnessed that could possibly be more beautiful. “I had a dream. You were in your office with a blonde similar to Natalie, and she was lying across your desk. I walked in, and you uttered those exact same words: ‘Liv, it’s not what it looks like’. I panicked,” I say, my voice barely a whisper. Chase strokes the inside of my palm with his thumb.