Trace + Olivia Series Boxed Set (50 page)

The door closed behind me and he turned around quickly.

“Hey, you’re home,” he grinned, spooning a mouthful of chocolate ice cream, his thick-framed black glasses were perched on his nose.

“I’m home,” I repeated, smiling as I dropped my purse on the floor. “I’m going to shower.”

“Alright, how was dinner?” He licked a smear of ice cream from his lip.

“It was great,” I started unbuttoning my blouse as I made my way to the bathroom. “Marcy is awesome, and her daughter, Alba, is great too.”

“Looks like we can cross, make more friends off your list,” he chuckled, making his way across the room to me. “I’m so happy your first day went so well,” he planted a sticky kiss on my cheek. “Although, I never doubted that it would be anything but fantastic,” he smirked.

“We can’t all be as optimistic as you,” I joked.

“Need me to wash your back,” he quipped as I moved to close the bathroom door.

“I think I’ve got it covered,” I shook my head at him.

“Are you sure? I’m an excellent back washer,” he grinned.

“I’m know,” I rolled my eyes, remembering the morning after the first time we’d had sex, when we showered together.

I finished my shower, alone, and dressed in my PJs, taking my spot on the couch beside Trace. Ace curled into the curve of my legs to be close to me. I loved that little dog.

I laid my head on Trace’s shoulder, not paying attention to whatever was playing on TV.

I smiled to myself, thinking about how at ease Trace and I were, with living together. True, it had only been a week, but I felt so at peace…and loved, even if he hadn’t said it yet. I didn’t think it was possible for anything to burst my bubble.

I said goodbye to Marcy and made my way home, so I could shower, and get ready. Trace and I had plans to meet Avery and Luca at a restaurant nearby.

“You look nice,” Trace commented when I stepped out of the bedroom in a new sundress I had bought.

“I wanted to dress up,” I shrugged. Lately, all I had been wearing was shorts and t-shirts, so I wanted to look nice. “How long before we’re to meet them?” I asked, sitting on the couch to put on the heels Avery had given me.

“We should be heading out now,” he smiled at me from where he lounged on the couch with Ace curled against his body.

“I swear, all that puppy does is sleep,” I laughed. “Aren’t most puppies into mischief?”

“Probably, but not Ace,” Trace rubbed the puppy’s back, and at Trace’s touch, Ace rolled over to get his tummy rubbed. We had quickly learned that Ace loved belly rubs. “He’s special.”

“Let me fix my hair and I’ll be ready to go,” I informed him as I strolled into the bathroom. I quickly side-braided my damp hair and added some gloss to my lips.

Trace was already grabbing his car keys when I walked out.

“Bye Ace,” I crooned to the dog, kissing his soft head, and handing him a treat.

Trace shook his head at me. “That is the most spoiled dog ever.”

“He deserves to be spoiled,” I laughed, passing by Trace, and making my way down the staircase to the parking lot.

“How was work?” He asked, starting the old Camaro.

“It was great. Marcy is so awesome,” I gushed. After three weeks of working at Marcy’s store, I had yet to run into a hiccup. The customers were great and Marcy was the best boss ever.

“See, you had nothing to worry about,” he grinned, his eyes a light shade of green today, which meant he was in a happy carefree mood.

“Do you want me to admit that you were right?” I laughed.

“Just one teeny tiny, ‘Trace you were right,’ would be awesome,” he held up his fingers a centimeter apart.

“Fine,” I rolled my eyes. “Trace, you were right.”

“Those words warm my heart,” he grinned with a hand over his heart.

“Look at the road,” I warned.

“You worry too much,” he mumbled, but his eyes strayed back to the road ahead.

He hadn’t driven far when he turned into a parking garage. We got out of the car and I followed him around the side of a painted stone building to a gate. He pushed the gate open and I spotted Avery and Luca seated at one of tables with a yellow umbrella.

I saw a band setting up on a stage in the far corner of the outdoor patio.

“Another thing you can cross off,” Trace whispered in my ear with a steady hand on my back as he guided me to the table.

I shook my head in amazement.

Trace and I, met by chance, and something made me show him my list, but somewhere along the way, my list stopped mattering to me. It became, not so much about accomplishing these things, but about living in the moment and just…being happy. As simple as that may sound, it’s true. Happiness is everything.

Trace pulled out a chair for me to sit down and then scooted me into the table.

“Have y’all already ordered?” Trace asked the other two.

“Nah, we were waiting for you guys to get here,” Luca replied, slouching in his chair with an arm thrown casually across the back of Avery’s. He was in one of his vests, again, with no shirt underneath. Quite a few girls kept eyeing his impressive arms, trying to get a peek at what the vest was hiding.

“I already know what I want,” Trace pushed his menu aside. “Luca and I come here all the time,” he explained.

The restaurant’s name, Piccadilly’s, was scrawled across the top of the menu in a swirly font. I perused the different items, settling on the club sandwich. It was a hot evening so I wasn’t in the mood for warm food.

A waitress appeared with her pen already poised against her notepad. She appeared frazzled with all the tables and I felt bad for her. I knew I could never be a waitress. I’d never be able to carry those heavy trays of food and walk at the same time. She was dressed casually for the summer heat, in a pink polo shirt, and kaki shorts.

“Have y’all decided?” She asked.

We all nodded and rattled off our orders.

“Great,” she smiled as she took the menus, “I’ll get that in and I’ll get your drinks right out to you,” she pointed to Trace and me.

We had only been outside, for maybe five minutes, and I already felt sweat beading on my skin. My dress began to stick to my body from perspiration.

The umbrella, although it provided shade, did little to squelch the heat. I prayed for a breeze as I fanned myself with a hand.

The waitress returned with our drinks as the band started to play. They were only a local band but they were pretty good. I recognized the first song as an old beach song.

I slurped greedily at my sweet tea, and soon the glass was empty, but I was still thirsty. I should have been smart and ordered water. In this heat, sweet tea did little to quench my thirst.

“I know it may not be the concert you were hoping for, in a big stadium, but I thought this would suffice,” Trace leaned over to whisper in my ear so that Avery and Luca didn’t hear.

“It’s perfect,” I beamed at him.

He smiled in response and sat back to enjoy the show.

Our food was brought out and the band took a short break.

“This is really good,” I mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Yeah, this place is great,” Avery smiled, dipping her fry into ketchup. I
really
hoped Trace didn’t start up an argument with me about ketchup again. “My family comes here a lot.”

“And now, I feel like the odd man out,” I grumbled, chewing on a non-ketchup covered fry.

“That’s because,” Avery pointed at me, “up until Tracey-poo, over here,” she pointed a finger at Trace and he smirked in response, “came into your life, you rarely left the dorm, unless it was to do your homework or read a book outside.”

“I can’t help it that I have a really strong work ethic and you don’t,” I joked, pointing a finger at her.

Avery’s eyes zeroed in on a spot over my shoulder, just before I heard the words, “Well, well, well,” from a voice I never wanted to hear from again.

The hairs on my neck stood on end as I cringed.

“Can I ever catch a fucking break?” Trace grumbled under his breath, turning around to face our visitor. “What do you want, Aubrey?”

I recoiled at the sound of her name coming off of Trace’s lips.

“I was hoping my
date
,” she emphasized the word, “and I could join you?”

“Hell to the mother-fucking no,” Trace seethed.

I turned to watch Aubrey’s reaction. Her blue eyes widened briefly. I was sure she had expected Trace to remain cordial since we were in public. “Trace,” she scoffed, “you shouldn’t use language like that, with small children nearby.”

“And maybe
you
shouldn’t walk up to people that obviously don’t like you. You’re not welcome here,” Trace waved his hand like he was shooing her away. “When things ended between us, they ended,” his words were harsh and Aubrey crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Stop trying to revive something that died a long time ago.” Trace looked up at Aubrey’s date. “If you were smart, you’d drop this one, she’s nothing but trouble.”

Aubrey’s mouth opened and closed in shock. “Trace!”

“What? It’s true?” He shrugged. “You’re like a fucking plague, sucking the life out of everything you touch, just like you did with me. And yet, somehow, you wonder why no one likes you?”

My stomach clenched, not because I felt bad for Aubrey necessarily, but if, for some reason things between Trace and I ended, I didn’t think I could stand it if he spoke to me that way. Why? Because I was hopelessly in love with the man sitting beside me. I loved his cocky attitude and smiles. I loved that he could be arrogant. I loved that when he was with me, he was sweet and attentive. I loved that he was caring and passionate. Hell, I even loved those stupid plaid shirts he always wore. But most importantly, I loved
him
. Down to his very core, the good and the bad, I loved it all.

And despite being upset that Aubrey was once again, causing a scene, I decided in that moment that I was going to tell him that I loved him. Not now. But soon. It didn’t matter anymore that he hadn’t told me. I had to get these words off my chest.

Aubrey’s face turned an unhealthy shade of red, like those kids who held their breath when they got mad. It made her already light blonde hair appear even lighter.

“I am a very likable person,” she hissed, causing Luca to snort.

“Yeah, and a great white shark doesn’t have sharp teeth,” Luca said sarcastically.

Her dark blue eyes narrowed.

“Who are you, bitch?” Avery snapped, standing slowly.

Oh, God. Avery was about to lose it.

“
I
am Aubrey Montgomery, who are you?” Aubrey looked Avery up and down with a sneer marring her pale pink lips.

“
I
am Avery Callahan,” Avery mimicked Aubrey’s snarky tone, “and
you
Malibu Bimbo Barbie, have overstayed your welcome,” she scowled. “Stop harassing my best friend’s boyfriend. Understand?” Avery smiled but it was anything but friendly.

Aubrey’s eyes narrowed further as her gaze slid to me. “You are nothing but a piece of ass to him. You can’t love him the way I can,” she glared at me. “You watch and see, it won’t be long until he’s over you, and comes crawling back to me. Let’s go, Zach,” she tugged on the guy’s arm to leave.

“Listen here,” Avery’s voice had turned icy cold and I knew trouble was coming.

“Avery,” I warned but she ignored me. I pleaded with my eyes for Luca to do something but he was rooting her on. Some help he was.

“
You
are nothing, because if
you
were
something
, Trace would still be with
you
,” Avery spat. “Obviously, you’re nothing but a cold-hearted bitch, while my friend here,” Avery pointed to me, “is the kindest, most giving person, I’ve ever met. So no, Trace won’t be
crawling
back to you. It’s you that’ll be doing the crawling,
honey
,” Avery glowered, “and it won’t be to a man. You’ll be crawling on your precious hands and knees, scrubbing floors because I’m gonna make sure your world crumbles around you.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who you think you are, but that’ll never happen.”

“I’m not someone to mess with,” Avery warned in a deadly tone.

“You’re really hanging out with some low class people,” Aubrey scoffed at Trace. “When you decide to climb back up the social ladder, don’t expect me to answer the phone.”

“That’s it!” Avery tried to lunge across the table to grab Aubrey but Luca, thankfully, sprang into action and caught her around the waist, forcing her back into her seat.

“She’s not worth it,” Luca told her.

“I’ll be right back,” Trace muttered, pushing away from the table, his jaw rigid. He strode quickly after Aubrey and disappeared around the side of the building.

My stomach sank.

Had he realized she was right and was going after her to beg forgiveness?

I bit down on my lip to hold back tears.

I had finally admitted my feelings for Trace, to myself, and watching him run after his ex-girlfriend, was breaking my heart.

“I’m not very hungry,” I pushed my chair back and stood slowly. “I have to go,” I mumbled, not meeting Luca or Avery’s eyes.

I didn’t have any money on me so I hoped Trace returned to pay for the bill. If he didn’t, I’d owe Avery later.