You'll Think of Me (12 page)

Closing her eyes, Olivia grimaced. She couldn't believe she was doing this. It was going to be a one-time deal. In fact, she planned to tell Nathaniel she agreed with him; he needed to find a new doctor. That would be for the best.

She took the last sip of her wine and opened up her jewelry box. She pushed the accessories around looking for something simple, then stopped.

Lying underneath a pile of jewelry was the heart shaped necklace Luke had given her all those years ago. A slow ache crept through her bones just looking at the diamonds as she remembered when he’d given it to her, under the stars, that one summer night. Even though she and Luke hadn’t parted ways on the best of terms, she couldn’t stand to part with either the necklace or the Care Bear he had given her. It was a time in her life she never wanted to forget, not that she ever could. She loved the necklace and wore it long after she left Georgia, but eventually took it off when she finally accepted that Luke wanted nothing more to do with her. She hated that day and cried while doing so; hated removing a heart that was no longer hers to hold. She ached inside, even though she was forced to accept it. Removing it was like ripping out her own heart with her bare hands.

And now she was treating his mother. It was probably just a matter of time before she would come face to face with him again. That thought alone made her more nervous than anything.

Pushing away her trip down memory lane, Olivia pulled out a pair of long turquoise and silver earrings, found a matching silver necklace with an anchor charm and a few silver bangles. She liked the way the jewelry downplayed the outfit so she wasn't too dressed up.

The doorbell chimed and Olivia felt a set of weights drop into her gut. Tom’s bark echoed loudly throughout the house as she made her way down the hall and to the door.

“Hang on!”

Olivia reached down and grabbed Tom’s collar to hold him back as she opened the door.

“Hey,” Olivia said softly as she wrestled with Tom. “Come on in.”

She moved out of the way as Nate walked in while Tom jumped in her grip. Tom was a huge, harmless dog. But his wild wiggling over Nate caused Olivia to put her free hand
over the top of the dress, hoping nothing would fall out.

“Back down, boy,” she ordered. “Why are you going so crazy?”

“Hey buddy, what are you doing to your little lady here?” Nate squatted in an effort to calm her dog.

“There you go. You like that, buddy, don't you?” Nate said in a tone like he was speaking to a child. Olivia’s dog wagged his tail rapidly while Nate scratched the top of his head.

“I'm sorry about that,” Olivia said apologetically.

Nate’s lips cracked into a lopsided grin. “It's fine. I love dogs and I’m used to it.”

Olivia stood up and Nate followed. “You have dogs?”

“I have two little beasts,” he said laughing.

She smiled and waved her hand to follow. “Well good, you can tell me about them,” she said as she made her way into the living room. “Just give me a sec to grab my purse and shoes and we'll be out...” Olivia trailed off. She looked over her shoulder when she realized Nate hadn't moved an inch to follow her. She frowned, wondering why the sudden change.

“Are you okay?” she asked tentatively.

Nate's heated eyes raked over her length. They traveled down her body slowly. She felt self-conscious and worried she picked the wrong outfit.
If he would've just told her...

Sweeping away a lock of hair that had caught on her lip, Olivia pressed a hand to her unsettled stomach. Her mouth ran dry as he sauntered over to her, his steady gaze never leaving hers as he stopped directly before her. She swallowed hard and looked up at him, her heart kicking up a notch.

“Everything's fine, just fine, darlin’,” he answered in a deep, guttural tone. He brought his hand to her face, his thumb caressing her cheek.

Olivia could feel her cheeks burn and her heart rate spiking. Why was it that the lightest touches from this man could draw such a response from her? Make her heart speed up and feel so anxious?

“Uh uh. What did I tell you about that?” he said, lazily shaking his head. Moving his thumb to her mouth, he pulled out her crushed lip from between her teeth. She didn’t even realize she’d bitten down on it. As the roughness of his thumb moved over her wet lips, she found it strangely tempting.

Nate’s chin moved down to look deep into her eyes. “I didn’t get a chance to greet you properly,” he said in a jagged voice, dropping his hand to his side.

“Hi, Olivia,” his eyes traveled her face, “You look absolutely gorgeous in that dress.”

He stepped in and wrapped his arm around her back to embrace her lightly. With his other hand, he swept the hair away from her face then leaned down and gently kissed her cheek, lingering a little longer. Her pulse was sky rocketing as she found Nate’s overpowering presence very exciting.

“Hey…Nate,” she whispered. "You look handsome yourself,” she got out.

Nate chuckled. “So you’re saying you find me attractive? That I look good?” And just like that, the intimate nature of the moment was broken and she chuckled.

Olivia just shook her head as she pulled back and went to grab her stuff from her room. Picking up her clutch and shoes, she turned the lights off and made her way to the living room. She found Nate staring into her unfinished backyard.

“Ah, you’re looking at my messy yard. I’m going to have it worked on eventually. It needs some serious TLC.”

Bending over, Olivia slipped on her high heels as she held on to the arm of her sofa for balance. She looked at Nate and found him starring at her shoes. Step by step, Olivia walked as seductively as she could to where Nate was standing.

“Approve?”

“Very much so.” His voice sounded strangled. “Let’s go,” he said turning toward the door.

“You don’t want to hear about my yard?” she asked innocently.

“Not tonight. Maybe another night. Let’s head out. Now.”

“S
o, can you tell me where we’re headed now?”

“It’s a place outside Savannah. Low key.”

Olivia wondered if he picked this place because of the whole doctor/patient issue. Truthfully, she didn’t want to think about the little predicament she was in and was going to try and ignore it for the rest of the night.

Once they were on the street, they drove for about twenty miles. There was a feeling that touched her skin she couldn’t quite place. It wasn’t strange or awkward like most first dates were, but then again most first dates weren’t like this where they’d already had a close encounter…or two.

As they drove, they made small talk for the majority of the time and Olivia was finally able to get a good look at Nate. His dark distressed jeans molded to his legs. The black button down collared dress shirt was rolled to his elbows, a silver watch at his wrist and his hair styled away from his face. Nate was damn good looking.

As they pulled up to a large, dimly lit brick building on the outskirts of Savannah, “Have you been here before?”

“No.”

“Well, this is where we’re having dinner tonight. And that right there,” he said pointing to the place to the right, “is called Rum Bar. It’s a bar that overlooks the Savannah River. It’s a real chill, laid back kind of style. It’s covered in beach sand and lounge chairs with music that plays all night. It’s like being on the beach. They serve these rum buckets that are filled with all different kinds of rum that everyone seems to love. A little too fruity for my taste, though,” he chuckled.

Nate pressed a palm to the small of her back. His touch was warm but commanding, sending sparks from his fingertips throughout her body.

They were led to a semi-dark booth that was boxed in with double doors made of wood. She had never seen anything like it before. Between the ambiance and the privacy of the booths, it was an interesting, but perfect place for them. When the waiter came to get their drink orders, Nate nodded in her direction.

“I’ll have a 7&7, please,” she requested.

“A Corona for me, thanks.”

Nate looked at her with a sinful smirk tipping the sides of his lips. “A whiskey girl. I like.”

Whiskey girl…

Don’t go there. Don’t go there…

Blinking away the melancholy she momentarily felt, Olivia spoke up, “Ah, yeah. Normally I like it straight but thought against it tonight.”

“You’re not going to scare me off, Olivia, if that’s what you’re worried about. I told you I want to get to know you,” he replied, looking into her eyes to make his point.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to get to know me so badly? You keep saying that. I’m sorry… I’m not trying to come off as a bitch. I’m just curious why you’re pushing so hard.”

Clearing his throat, his voice rocked through her. “When I see something I want, I go after it. And before you get all pissed off, relax. I know you’re not a possession to be kept. I just…wanted to get to know more about you. Not to sound cheesy, but I feel like there’s chemistry between us, something worth pursuing. I’m not going to lie to you, I think you’re beautiful, so there’s that. Can’t explain it. Haven’t you ever had a pull toward someone that you can’t explain?”

Olivia’s guilty conscience weighed on her for not being completely truthful with Nate. Her stomach tightened and chest started to ache with the need to tell him it couldn’t go past this date. He appeared to sincerely mean what he said about getting to know her.

Maybe in another life time
, she thought as she sighed inwardly.

When the waiter brought out their drinks, Nate suggested a toast was in order. She raised her glass and said, “To persistent men and tonight.”

A full, heart stopping grin stretched across Nate's handsome face, his white, slightly crooked teeth showing. Her stomach folded over like waves crashing down. If she wasn't careful she could get easily sucked in by his charm.

She brought the glass to her lips and sipped. The dry, carbonated liquid combined with the whiskey moved onto her tongue, burning as it traveled down her throat. Mmmm, she loved this drink. It soothed her stomach and settled her nerves. Nate made her jittery, but a strong drink was just what she needed to relax.

The more familiar Olivia became with Nate over dinner, the more she found herself warming up to him. The conversation was easy and smooth and quite enjoyable. She learned Nate's parents had been divorced since he was a kid. His mother had never remarried, but his father had. Despite the separation early on in his family, Nate never dwelled on it and she liked that about him. She despised when people used past experiences as a justification for the course of their life. Each person has a decision, a path they choose to take. No one can choose it for them.

It turned out his father was the owner of the construction company where he worked. Nate's father planned for him to run the company one day and Nate was actually looking forward to it. It reminded her of what he noticed in the office the other day, about how she had passion in her eyes when it came to her career. She did. It was her life.

Nate-1, Olivia-0, she thought.

An innocent smile curved Olivia’s lips as she realized she was keeping score, something she never did before.