Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

LIVY

"I can't believe I said I would go with him, is it too late to pull out?" I ask Mia over the phone as panic starts to fill me. I knew why I did it, because Ethan needs support, because deep down I wanted to be the one to give it to him. But it hasn't stopped the panic from thinking about a week alone with Ethan.

I moved out as quickly as I could with Matthew because of the feelings that were developing towards him. I moved out to get space away from him so that I could get a handle on them, so that I wouldn't do something incredibly stupid and ruin the current dynamic between us. But then I did the incredibly stupid thing by offering to go with him.

"Yes, it's too late to pull out, he is picking you up in an hour. And besides, this will be good for you," Mia states, her voice muffled and I have no doubt she has her phone against her shoulder as she speaks to me, instead of putting me on speaker phone like a normal human being.

"What are you doing?" I ask, knowing that she must be busy.

"I, ah, I have a date," she says quietly. A small smile forms on my face as I put the last of the clothes I'm taking into my suitcase.

"Oh, is he hot? What does he do? What does his parents do? How much money does he make?" I ask quickly, imagining the eyeroll I would receive on the other end.

"Yes DAD, he is hot, now back to you and Ethan," she grumbles making me chuckle, remembering how Mia would complain about when boys met her father and the million questions he would ask. "You and Ethan need time alone so that you can rekindle everything and finally get back together."

I roll my eyes as I zip up my suitcase. "We aren't getting back together." I tug the suitcase off the bed and onto the floor, sitting it beside the bed.

"Yes, you are, you just don't know it yet," she mumbles yet again. I grab my phone off of my bed and carry it into the bathroom, scanning the room to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.

"I can't be with Ethan. We didn't work last time," she cuts me off before I can finish my sentence.

"You didn't work last time because of his psycho good for nothing parents. Without them in the picture, you two would still be together." Her voice is louder now, no doubt focusing more on the conversation. "I get it Livy, you're scared of getting hurt again, but you will miss out on a second chance with your greatest love if you don't take a shot at it."

I sigh as I collapse back onto the bed, laying back against the soft mattress and staring at the ceiling. She's not wrong, I'm terrified of the feelings that Ethan evokes. I was so madly in love with him eleven years ago that I was blind to everything. I didn't even see the way he kept us a secret, never even questioned that I didn't know his parents, or any of his friends, or even where he lived.

I was so damn lost in him that I couldn't see anything past what he showed me. And while I understand why things were the way they were between us now, I don't ever want to be that naïve again.

Shaking the thoughts out of my head, I focus back on Mia.

"So tell me about this date," I say, changing the subject away from my own inner turmoil.

"Well, I actually met him when I was in Perth." Mia states, I can practically hear her smile.

"He lives in Perth?" I ask, rolling over on the bed to check the time on my alarm clock. Forty-five minutes until Ethan gets here.

"He does, but he travels a lot. He's a fed." A smile forms on my face as she says that. Mia always said she would never date a fellow cop, and here she is dating someone from the Federal Police. "I know what you are thinking and it's different, he's not state police." She reads my mind.

"What's his name?" I ask

"Brandon" she sighs dreamily into the phone. I remember Nicole mentioning her friend Brandon who is in the AFP, I couldn't help but wonder if it's the same person.

"He doesn't happen to be friends with Nicole, does he?"

"Yeah, all of your Perth friends actually." She states. I nod my head in acknowledgement, thinking what a small world it is.

"So how did this happen?" I ask, pulling myself up to sit against my bed head, my eyes constantly checking the clock.

"Well, we exchanged numbers after Ethan's parents' saga, for work purposes mostly. Then, after a while our texts stopped being about work. This is our second date." I can tell by the tone of her voice that she is smitten with him already. Mia doesn't fall for guys often, it takes a while for her to even admit to liking someone, so he must have made an impression on her for her to sound like this.

"Well, I've only heard good things about him. I'm happy for you Mia," I say earnestly. Mia deserves all the happiness in the world, and if things go well between them, who knows, she may end up moving to Perth.

"We'll see where it goes," I can hear the shrug and fake nonchalance in her voice, but I know her better, I know she is actually excited and hopeful for whatever is happening with Brandon.

We talk for a little while longer, Mia mostly trying to convince me to give Ethan a chance. Though, I think her point is moot. Ethan hasn't shown any indication that he has romantic feelings towards me. He's shown kindness and friendship, and that he wants to coparent with me, but that doesn't mean he wants anything more than that with me.

Mia, on the other hand, is convinced that he is crazy about me, or as Mia put it "head over heels in love with you and wants to stick another kid in you." I rolled my eyes majorly at those comments.

Mia hung up five minutes before Ethan would arrive, giving me enough time to lock up the house and try to compose myself. She didn't really help with my nerves, instead had me wondering what would happen if I did let my guard down with him. Would he reciprocate my feeling like Mia thinks he would? Or would I just make everything awkward between us?

Pushing all the thoughts out of my head, I focus on supporting Ethan with meeting his mother's family. That's what I am going for, after all. That, and nothing more.