Second Impressions Book 3: Second Chances
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M.C. Capocci
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Let It Slide
Book 3: Second Chances
OLLIE
âDid you work on your speech?â Thomas raised his eyebrows.
I ignored him, just as I had been ignoring my bridesmaid duties, while lifting the window shade and looking through the porthole: sea and more sea.
âTwo more hours,â I said, glancing at my watch. The destination wedding sounded more like destination hell to me. âTwo more hours and we land in Hawaii.â
My heartbeat increased just thinking of those silver eyes.
Because I was afraid, and not of flying.
I was afraid of being in close proximity to Darius Rothschild.
A whole week around him after everything that happened between us, and now I was with Archer.
Yes, I was now with Archibald Price.
Donât ruin something good, Ollie.
âSay that to my flat ass. I am not made to fly in economy,â Thomas growled.
âYou know, for someone so spiritual, you are quite a diva. Not so long ago, you enjoyed eating pop-tarts on the old carpet of my previous crappy apartment.â
âYour new apartment is still crappy.â
I gasped. The audacity.
âI will send Sarah the memo.â I crossed my arms, giving him the side eye.
âNine hours trapped in a tuna can changes a person,â he explained, unable to rearrange his legs without waking up the granny he had to his right.
For a moment, I felt sorry. He was too tall to fit like a normal person would.
âRemind me again why you refused Sarahâs jet. You played me.â
âBecause it is a Rothschildâs jet.â I rolled my eyes.
I would rather be dead than take the chance of flying with Anna or any of the Rothschilds on our way to Alexander and Sarahâs wedding.
âAnd besides, now that I make money, I get to invite you.â I tapped my friendâs hand lightly and smiled at him, knowing he was my prisoner.
Who would swap a private jet flight for an economy flight? Well, no one.
I was selfish and needed his support to avoid a breakdown, even if he was unaware of that.
âWell, thank you for the cheap airplane ticket, honey.â
âAh, stop being such a crybaby. Look, I know what you can do. You meditate for hours in that cocoon pose, just close your eyes and relax. Relax, Thomas,â I said, while ignoring the gym rat in the seat in front of us opening a Tupperware full of boiled eggs.
âI have tried,â Thomas said slowly, his voice full of irritation. âBut you continue making that weird noise with your throat.â
I touched my neck, feeling my throatâdrier by the second.
âTwo more hours and we will be there.â The baby crying and the teenager that kept kicking the back of our seats were not helping the situation at all.
âHell, this airline is hell!â Thomas raised his hand and pressed a button, calling the flight attendant, and soon spoke to her.
âWhen will food be served?â he asked.
âDepends on the package you purchased. Our airline doesnât provide any complimentary meals, snacks, or drinks,â she replied.
âCharming,â Thomas exclaimed. His miserable expression made me feel guilty again. âWhat package did you buy, honey? Let me guess. Is it the cheapest one?â
âOh, stop it. It is called smart saving,â I replied, giving the flight attendant our order and my new company card.
âBesides, I am paying my debts.â
Liar.
I was debt-free because of Darius, but I was not sharing that with anyone. Ever.
âOnly because I feel proud you paid for my ticket, and even though I am in physical painâŠI will let it slide,â he said. He then read my eyes.
âI will return with Sarah, though. Did you book a cheap hotel too? I know about the villa. Olivia Summer, we are staying in the villa with your sister and the whole family for her wedding, right?â
âYes, yes, we will stay in the beach villa with Sarah and all the Rothschilds.â I exhaled loudly.
Fuck my life.
âThank God,â Thomas exclaimed. âDid you fix things with her?â
Silence. I scratched my neck.
Sarah and I hadnât exchanged a single word on how we left things. I knew we were off.
I was walking on eggshells with her now.
I interrupted him before he could lecture me. âShe has been busy getting all the wedding stuff.â
And she had no time to deal with her cray-cray sister, alias me.
âYeah, but you said the same with baby Sophie.â
Oh, just thinking about baby Sophie brought a smile to my face. The last time I saw the Rothschilds was when I visited the hospital for her birth.
âShe is fine, believe me.â
âYou mean she is fine with the baby arriving early and pushing all her wedding preparations to the fire?â
âI assure you, Alexander has ensured she has nothing to worry about. She is basically a real-life princess.â
âRight,â Thomas added.
âRight.â I huffed, grabbing the edge of my seat. Oh, we were beginning to descend, and my time was running out.
âI still think his intention of marrying her before the baby popped was beautiful.â
âYes, how traditional.â
âDear, the Rothschilds are traditional,â he said, emphasizing the last word. âWith a traditional jet.â He touched the plastic arm support of our economy seats.
I rolled my eyes, knowing he had a point there. We were suffering because of my hurt ego.
âWhat is really bothering you?â He frowned.
âAlexander doesnât like me, okay?â There, I said it out loud.
Could you blame him? Fucking his brother while he was looking to propose to the love of his life.
I tried to bring my head to my hands, but I immediately bumped my head against the seat in front of me. Fucking cheap economy seats.
âThat, just there, itâs called instant karma.â
I just made a face at him and rubbed my forehead.
Delayed karma was coming for me after that day on the boat where I was more than eager to play the role of Dariusâs slut.
I wanted to think that he fucked me, but we fucked each other.
No more role-play. I needed to stay away from him. Yes. Away.
âYes, Olivia, hate me.â
Darius Rothschild wanted me to hate him, and he succeeded. I huffed.
Yes, I did hate him. I hated Darius Rothschild so, so badly. I hated him for hurting me and for publishing my mistakes.
I hated the way he changed me and how he made me his slut.
Argh! Most of all, I hated finding out he cared.
Why did he offer to protect me and Sarah from his father? Why did he have to return my motherâs bracelet?
Why did he take care of my medical bills? Why did I have to find out he got me out of debt?
Darius Rothschild had gotten so deep under my skin in ways I couldnât comprehend, and now was not the time to let that man creep into my life again.
âThat was six months ago, and Iâve kept my distance from every Rothschild ever since,â I said calmly.
Exactly. I had moved on. I was in balance now. I was dating Archibald Price.
My life was smooth sailing now.
âWell, congratulations on not adding a new one to the bunch in that timeframe. Hooray!â
I sighed and hit Thomas with my elbow. âI still have one Rothschild who doesnât hate me.â
Vivian Rothschild genuinely liked me.
âHuh, I thought your new boyfriend slash business partner was a Rothschild.â
âHe is a Price,â I said. âAnd he is not my boyfriend yet. We are⊠I think we are dating.â
âDating?â Thomas clapped in excitement. âOlivia Summer. Please donât fuck this up by fucking Darius Rothschild again. You already fucked him at your sisterâs surprise proposal. If you⊠Damn it, Ollie, if you fuck this guy at her wedding, you will not only screw this up with Archibald but your relationship with Sarah too, and for good.â
My heart raced again, and my shallow breathing appeared. Thomas slapped me lightly on the face. âChill the fuck up.â
Chill the fuck up?
