Have faith.
As calm begins to ripple through me, my focus spreads out to include other things, other people.
"Our things … I left without finishing. I need to get that stuff to the condo so Sophie can have a place to stay."
"I'll take care of it. Don't worry about that right now."
"I would go back, but I don't know what to expect from the next few hours. Or the next few days for that matter. I don't want to leave just yet."
"I've got it, baby. This is where your focus needs to be. It's more important. Leave the rest to me."
I pause, nibbling my lip in indecision. "Cash?"
"Hmmm?" he murmurs, his hand stroking my hair in that way he does that makes me feel like the most adored and cherished person in the history of the world.
I almost hate to bring this up, but I'm so emotional right now it seems to be beyond my self-control not to ask.
"Sophie said she hurt you. Did she?"
I feel as much as hear his sigh. "At the time she did."
I close my eyes. I had hoped he would say that she didn't, that she was just being dramatic. Or arrogant. Or clueless. I was hoping that he never really cared about her very much. Only it seems that he did. At least for a time.
"Wh-what happened between you two?"
"Olivia, I know all this with your dad has turned you inside out, but don't let it cast a shadow of doubt on things you know to be true. Like the fact that I love you and only you. Like the fact that nothing and no one will ever come between us. Like the fact that you're the most important person in my life. Period. Sophie is a girl from my past. Nothing more. If you couldn't reach out and touch her, I'd tell you she was a ghost. There's not even enough there for you to sink your teeth into. Please, please, please don't let her get to you."
"That's easier said than done," I reply quietly, my heart aching all over again.
"Then when it gets hard to do, come to me. I'll set you straight. I'll tell you who comes first. And second. And third." He leans back, forcing me away from his chest so that he can peer down into my face. "It's you. And it always will be. No matter who comes rolling through our door, you'll always be the one who matters most. Got it?"
I do my best to grin. "Got it."
He brushes his lips over mine and then urges my head back onto his chest. When his phone bleeps again from his pocket, I don't ask why he doesn't check it. I just remind myself of his words. And try my best not to worry about ghosts.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cash
When Olivia takes a call from her father's neighbor, I reach into my pocket for my phone. Two texts from an unknown number, but the first line of the first text tells me who the number belongs to.
Cash, it's Sophie.
I don't bother reading the rest of the message or the next one until I've angrily tapped out a single question.
Me: How did you get this number?
Within seconds, I see the three little bubbles pop up, an indication that she's typing a response. I read her other text as I wait. She's asking if everything is okay and saying that our things are still there. Before I can reply, her answer to my question displays on the screen.
Sophie: The business cards on your desk. I saw them when I went in to wake Izzy.
Her answer diffuses some of my irritation. I'd forgotten about those.
Me: Oh. Right.
Sophie: Well?
Me: Well what?
Sophie: Is everything okay?
I toy with how to respond. For some reason, telling Sophie too much feels like a betrayal to Olivia, even though she could find out from any number of other people. It's not like it's a big secret.
Me: Olivia's father is having surgery, I respond vaguely.
Sophie: I hope he's okay. If there's anything I can do, just ask.
Me: Nothing you can do.
Sophie: I'm going to fill in at the club tonight. Don't worry about a thing. I've tended bar before.
Me: But not at my bar.
Sophie: No, but I'm a quick learner. Remember?
She adds a winking smiley face to the end of the sentence. It makes the question seem flirtatious. Suggestive. Unfortunately, I know exactly what she means by that. It's a reference to a conversation we had many years ago when I took her virginity. She asked me to show her how to please me. So I did. Not long after that, during a particularly … heated night at her house when her parents were gone, she teased me after sex, saying that she was a quick learner. At the time, it was good sex, but I was a kid. What the hell did I know about good sex?
I don't rise to her bait. If she thinks that there's a chance for us to get back together, I mean to put an end to that little spark of hope right off the bat.