Rio Collection

Miami (3/5)

A few hours after arriving, Olivia was nothing more than a taut bundle of nerves. She sat up in the king sized bed in the guest room of Chris's house, staring at Kai asleep on the opposite side. She hadn't seen Chris at all since he brought her up, and she was left to consider what she was really doing here.

Not able to sit idly any longer, she got out of bed, making sure to tuck the covers tightly around Kai before heading into the bathroom attached to the bedroom. It was massive with a shower spanning one entire wall featuring stained glass windows. She wandered, running her fingers over the finely crafted cabinetry, the expensive soaps and shampoos, the fluffy white robe hanging on a hook beside the shower door. It seemed like no comfort had been skipped over, and she wondered if he did this for her or if it was always this way.

Olivia opened the shower door and turned the tap to the hottest setting and waited for the steam to fill up the glass box. She stripped and stepped inside, letting the heat nearly singe her skin. It stung, but it felt good at the same time. Once her hair was washed and conditioned, she leaned against the tile wall, sliding down to sit and let the water pour over her.

She wanted to believe there was good in Chris, but he wanted Beth dead, and that was something Olivia couldn't accept. She was beginning to think coming here truly was a mistake, but she couldn't deny the way she felt about him, the way he made her skin flush and heart race. Even under his suspicious eye, there was a part of her that was so glad to see him, a piece that felt safe.

There'd been so much happening back home with her quitting the business with Beth and trying to rebuild her life without it that she hadn't let herself feel just how much she missed him, but she felt it now. Olivia rested her face in her hands and tried to clear her mind so she could go back in there and sleep. It had to be close to three in the morning by now, and she'd promised Kai the beach, and she would keep it no matter what Chris or any of his security guards said.

A while later, she toweled off, coated every inch of her skin in the fancy moisturizer by the sink, and wrapped herself in one of the fluffy robes. She headed back into the bedroom feeling like sleep was a possibility, but that disappeared when she opened the door to find Chris sitting on the floor at the end of the bed, his knees pulled up with his elbows resting on them.

"What are you doing in here?" she whispered, pressing a hand over her racing heart.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Olivia checked to see if Kai was still sound asleep. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Shouldn't you?"

She crossed her arms over her chest like a stubborn child and held his gaze. It went on so long that he finally looked down at the floor, shaking his head. "Why am I here, Christopher?"

"I don't know," he said in a moment of vulnerability that was foreign to her.

Olivia came over and sat down beside him on the floor, leaning her back against the bed. "Well, I noticed you have an incredibly well-stocked guest bathroom." She tried to break the tension. "And if you did that for me, then I'm grateful."

Chris turned to look at her, and she felt almost naked under the weight. "This is my room," he said, and she stared at him like an idiot for a second. "Its uh, the one place without twenty-four hour surveillance, but it's the safest room in the house." He looked back down and nodded his head slowly to himself.

"Why am I here?" she tried again.

"I told you already. I missed you."

"You don't do all this just because you missed someone you hooked up with a few times."