Going for Four: Counting on Love, Book 4 (16 page)

The flinch was slight but she saw it. Her own heart clenched when she thought about that, but she was simply going off of what everyone had told her about what had happened to Conner. Cody had seen it.

“Ryan said you went in after him. Without even thinking about it.”

“They would have gotten him out if I hadn’t.”

“I knew you were the one who went in after him even before they told me.” She hadn’t known anything more than it was a fire until Amanda had called. Amanda said Conner had been trapped in the building and they’d had to go in after him.

Olivia had known that Cody had been the first one through the door.

Cody took a deep breath, then let it out. “Of course I was the one who went in.”

She swallowed hard. She had to tell him the conclusion she’d come to. “I’m glad it was you. Because I know that was the only way you and Conner were okay. And I don’t mean physically,” she said when he looked like he was about to respond. “I mean that
you
were only okay emotionally if you could be right there with him and see him and talk to him. And I know that Conner was relieved when he heard you coming for him. As soon as he knew it was you, it comforted him. Because he trusts you. He trusts that you will do anything for him. And knowing that he was comforted by that made me feel comforted.”

She had been focused on Cody’s chin as she talked, but when she lifted her gaze to meet his, she found him watching her intently.

“So, thank you,” she added. “For being the guy that Conner can trust. The guy who will go into the building for him and to do whatever it takes to make sure he’s safe and—” Her voice cracked slightly and she stopped. She pressed her lips together and blinked rapidly. When she could go on, she said, “That means a lot to me that my brother has someone like you.”

She’d always appreciated and enjoyed her brother’s friends, but Conner was the kind of guy to have lots of friends, lots of people who liked being around him. He was friendly and funny and smart and trustworthy—and a whole bunch of other adjectives that made him someone everyone liked.

But she’d never really thought about what his close friendships meant to him.

Olivia didn’t have many girlfriends. Her sisters were her best friends, and she had inherited friendships with the guys who were Conner’s friends and were now her sisters’ fiancés. She took those relationships for granted. Had anyone asked her
Does your brother have people he can depend on?
she wouldn’t have hesitated to say yes.

But today, she knew how much it meant to
her
to have people who cared about her brother and had his back.

“I can’t mess that up, Cody.”

He didn’t reply immediately, but finally he nodded. “I understand.”

Had she not been worked up about her brother’s accident, she might have been irritated that he didn’t try to argue. But it was for the best.

“Okay, so…” She started to turn away, at a loss for words with Cody for the first time in nearly a year. They always had plenty to talk about. She was more comfortable with him than almost anyone. She pivoted to face him again though. “Thank you for telling me the story today. And don’t forget that you
are
the guy Conner wanted you to be back then. You’re…awesome.”

He gave her a single nod.

She let herself out of his office, closing the door behind her. Having him avoid her for a bit sounded good.

She went straight to her computer and logged on.

Cody Madsen was awesome…but he clearly wasn’t her soul mate.

Or, if he was, she needed him to be her brother’s friend even more.

She logged in to the Perfect Pick website and found five matches and suggested dates waiting for her.

There was a ninety-eight percent match.

She stared at it.

There he was—the guy who was even more perfect for her than Cody.

She’d never thought she’d see that.

With a deep breath, she hit the Accept button.

Two nights later, when Olivia looked up from her Coke at the bar at Cliff’s, she realized she wasn’t all that surprised to see Cody walk through the door.

He must have seen her through the window because his steps didn’t falter as he made his way across the restaurant to her.

“Did you change your profile and user name?” she asked as he came near.

He nodded.

Well, of course.

She sighed.

“Are you telling me that you’re Miss Ninety-Eight Percent?” he asked with a grin.

“Who else could it be?” she asked. She pivoted back to face the bar as Cody claimed the stool next to her.

“Tequila?” the bartender, the same one from the last night they’d been here, asked.

“No!” they both said quickly.

He smiled and refilled Olivia’s soda.

“I’ll take a beer,” Cody told him.

Olivia’s head spun as the bartender opened a bottle of imported beer for Cody. Here they were again. Matched up.
Again
. A ninety-eight percent compatible match.

The odds of that were astronomical.

This was unbelievable.

She’d gone back in to her profile and changed some key things, thinking that would make it less likely she and Cody might get matched again. Just in case.

She’d thought about switching dating sites entirely, but Perfect Pick was the only one that offered the blind date option and she really liked that. She liked the idea of being matched up based on personality and similarities first. Lord knew she made bad decisions when it came to basing relationships on feelings—like love and desire.

And Cody was her perfect match anyway.

Even more so now that she’d changed her profile under
Do you want kids?
from
maybe
to
definitely
and
Do you believe in soul mates
? from
definitely
to
maybe
.

Moving from
maybe
to
definitely
didn’t seem like a huge change, but on those two questions it was. Definitely.

It was true that she’d been all in for this after their first setup. It made her nervous, but fate, destiny or good old dumb luck had brought Cody into her life. She’d be stupid not to be thrilled about that…and want to do something about it.

Then Conner had fallen into a hole.

The day she’d decided to go for it with Cody.

That sounded so stupid, but it was the truth.

Some people might say it was a sign. She didn’t care one way or the other. The truth was, their setup had prompted her to push for the story of Cody and Conner’s history. Which had sparked her protective instinct for Cody. Which had prompted her to take off her clothes and plop herself down on his lap. Which had prompted a whole bunch of delicious things that had nothing to do with cake batter.

If Conner had fallen into that hole and Cody had pulled him out
before
she’d known what had happened between them and before she’d felt that surge of emotion that made her want to take care of Cody and make sure he was happy, she might not be so convinced that she needed to leave him alone.

But part of Cody being happy was having a friendship with Conner.

Cody needed to know that he was good enough, that he had changed, that he could be forgiven and trusted.

Him going down into that hole had been as good for him as it had been for Conner.

Whether or not the whole burning-building-the-day-she-finally-made-out-with-Cody was a sign from the universe, she didn’t know. But it had put front and center how much
she
cared about the relationship between Cody and Conner.

It was even more important to her that Conner and Cody have their bond than it was for her to have anything more than a friendship with Cody.

And now here he was, her ninety-eight percent match, her Perfect Pick for the second time.

Damn, Fate was a bitch.

“You know, I get it, but your continued obvious disappointment about being set up with me is starting to sting.”

“Well, this sucks.”

“Seriously, babe, my ego’s in good shape. No need to keep me in check.”

She turned to face him. “Seriously, babe,” she repeated. “This is not good.”

“Maybe it’s just a funny coincidence,” he said, clearly trying to keep things light.

“Really, Cody?” she demanded. “Or maybe it’s proof that I’ll never find anyone I can be deliriously happy with.” Or that she’d never find anyone
other than him
.

He finally turned to her, his light, joking expression now a frown. “You were pretty frickin’ deliriously happy the other day on my lap.”

Heat flooded through her.
Deliriously happy
wasn’t quite right. It wasn’t quite
enough.
But it was very, very close.

“Exactly,” she said, rather than deny what they both knew was true. “I can be deliriously happy with
you
. Except for the fact that it would ruin an incredibly important relationship for both of us. I know that my sisters are right and that Conner shouldn’t make my decisions for me, but
I’m
making this decision. You are too important to him for me to take you away. And his trust is too important to you for me to take that away.”

Cody leaned in, and she could see in his eyes that he was completely serious now. “Liv, I let you walk out of my office the other night because it was an emotional night for both of us, and it was easier. We both know that I like to do things the easy way. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do things the hard way.”

He reached for her, cupped the back of her head and pulled her to his mouth.

Her reaction was instantaneous. God, she’d talked herself into believing this was never going to happen again and that she’d be fine, but as she gripped his shoulders and opened her mouth she realized she was an idiot.

How could she ever be fine without this? Without him?

He kissed her like he’d been starving for her. His lips were firm, his tongue possessive, his hand holding her without any chance of escape. As if she’d want to escape. Ever.

She was sizzling and stunned by the time he finally pulled back.

She swallowed hard at the look in his eyes. It was greedy and hot and she loved it.

He stared into her eyes. “Glass not plastic,” he muttered, almost to himself.

Olivia blinked. Then repeated the words in her head. Nope, still didn’t make sense. “What?”

“Just a reminder to myself.” He tossed a few bills onto the bar, took her hand and tugged her from her barstool.

“Where are we going?” she asked as she tried to follow his long strides with her three-inch heels and short legs.

“I think you know the answer to that.” He shoved the door of the restaurant open and stalked out onto the sidewalk. He barely paused at the curb before he crossed the street against the light.

Olivia knew exactly where they were headed. To the Britton Hotel.

It was the nicest hotel in the city, and it was directly in front of them.

Her stomach swooped as her heart thudded in her chest.

Conner needed him. She knew that. But in that moment she also knew that there was no way Conner needed Cody more than she did.

She couldn’t trust herself maybe, but she could trust fate. Surely. And if not fate, then an objective computer system that knew nothing about her past or what her heart and libido were feeling, a computer that would match her up with the right guy for the right reasons. “
Yes
,” she murmured.

But he heard her. He stopped on the sidewalk in front of the Britton and swung to face her. He was breathing a little harder than a walk across the street should cause, and the look in his eyes held a myriad of emotion. But one stood out from the rest—determination.

He suddenly tugged her forward, one big hand going to the back of her neck, and again kissed her senseless.

When they parted, she said breathlessly, “I could get used to that.”

His jaw tightened as if he was fighting saying or doing something. He abruptly pivoted and pushed through the rotating door, dragging her after him.

Olivia barely paid attention to anything Cody said to the woman behind the front desk. She heard “suite” and “just one night” but other than that her mind was too busy swirling with what was happening and what was about to happen.

She was going to make love to Cody. He was going to make love to her. She was going to have sex. With Cody. For the first time.

With
Cody
.

She actually shivered from excitement. Every nerve ending was jumping and popping, like fireworks were going off throughout her body and she was having trouble standing still.

She knew all about sex. Her sisters were very forthcoming with information, and Olivia was a naturally curious person. She’d read extensively, listened keenly and never once shied away from visiting Tease, the lingerie and adult toy shop downtown, with her sisters.

And what she knew best was that she had been waiting for
this
with
this
man her entire life.