Claiming Olivia II Read online

  Claiming Olivia II

  Yolanda Olson

  Published by Yolanda Olson, 2014.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  CLAIMING OLIVIA II

  First edition. December 31, 2014.

  Copyright © 2014 Yolanda Olson.

  Written by Yolanda Olson.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  With Many Thanks!

  Claiming Olivia 2

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Memories | (Times and Trials Book 1) | Meagan Moyer

  CHAPTER ONE

  With Many Thanks!

  This book is dedicated to Megan Boyko. A fan of Olivia’s from the start, I can only hope this book made the year’s wait worth it for you!

  A special thank you Lindsey Farrar for once again being the face of Livie. I love you to pieces and am so honored to have you on my cover! Thank you to Guiler Photography for taking the amazing photo as well.

  To my Tomcats; holy hell do you girls crack me up! Thanks for the constant and never ending support! You guys make my day especially over in WTHWWTA.

  Dear Readers,

  The end is here. The story of Olivia has come to a close and you’ll find out the answer to the question that has been burning deep inside of her for some time now. If you had to do it all over again, who would you chose?

  Claiming Olivia 2

  Prologue

  The silence in the living room was heavy enough to suffocate me. I was sitting with my hands in my lap, carefully inspecting my fingernails. I knew why we were all here again. I knew that everyone was expecting a decision.

  “Livie?” Sofia, my sister, prompted softly.

  I sighed heavily and looked out the bay window I had been sitting next to. We were sitting in her living room with Mitchell and Alejandro.

  It had taken a full year of physical therapy to be able to recover from the plane crash that almost killed Alejo, César, and I. It took half as long to get my memory back and it took three times longer than that for me to learn to trust either of them again.

  I glanced over at Mitchell, who was sitting directly across from me in his usual black baseball cap, denim jean shorts, and as always some sort of print t-shirt. He was leaning forward with his hands locked together in front of him, giving me a small hopeful smile.

  Mitchell. The man that denied me sexually and emotionally more times than I could count. The man that would belittle me, and then spend his time stuck in front of a television playing video games. The man who saved me when I was younger with nowhere to go and the first man to love me unconditionally.

  I returned his smile, and glanced over at Alejandro who was sitting on the same couch on the opposite end of Mitch.

  Alejandro had given me the most intense sexual encounters I ever had. He set my body on fire with just his touch and together, we went to places of ecstasy that I had never known existed. My young lover with a heart of gold who only wanted to be loved for once in his life and made me feel like nothing could go wrong when I was in his arms.

  Except for a plane crash, I thought dryly to myself, staring into his serious hazel blue eyes. There wasn’t a smile on his face. Hell there was no emotion at all really. He just kind of sat there waiting.

  “Olivia,” Sofia said a little sterner this time.

  I stood up, walked around the couch, and stood in front of the window I had been sitting next to. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched the neighbor’s Border collie chase after a ball that was thrown. It grabbed it happily in its mouth and sauntered back toward the seven year old who had tossed it. I smiled as it sat patiently waiting, its tail wagging at one hundred miles per hour in anticipation, before the ball was thrown again.

  The dog was so happy doing the same redundant thing over and over again. I stood there, watching the little boy throw the ball for the third time, wondering how the animal was kept happy by the simple monotonous actions. Because the person initiating the actions, loves the dog unconditionally and the dog loves him.

  I chewed my lower lip in silence for a moment. That was the answer. Whoever loved me the most would prove it, and I would know what to do. I couldn’t base my future on past actions. It wouldn’t be fair to them or me.

  “I think I have this figured out now,” I said quietly.

  “And?” Sofia asked.

  I turned to face them. Mitch’s smile never faltered, and Alejo’s face never showed emotion. Sofia, however, looked like she had the world’s most painful headache because of how long this had taken me.

  I took a deep breath and sat on the arm of the couch. I knew that no one was going to be happy with what I was going to say, least of all Sofia, but I couldn’t think of any other way.

  “The only fair way is to do it all over again,” I replied.

  “So, you want to give each of us time with you? For you to decide?” Mitch asked. I looked at him, stealing a quick glance at Alejandro, who seemed just as confused.

  “Well you know how a dog will be happy playing fetch for hours on end? No matter how boring we may find it, he will always play because it loves the person that’s throwing the ball or the stick or whatever, right? That’s what I wanted to do,” I explained.

  “You wanted us to throw balls at you?” Mitch asked with a smirk.

  I stared at him outraged for a second, but only just a second, because I had to admit that was a clever response.

  “No,” I replied with a laugh. “What I mean is, since I’m sure that if I got time to spend with each of you separately, I think I would make the right decision...” I trailed off not wanting to finish the sentence. But from the looks on their faces, I could tell that they both knew what I was going to say.

  “Who’s first?” Mitch asked.

  Oh. Yeah.

  “I don’t know,” I replied quietly. “I hadn’t thought about that yet.”

  Sofia got to her feet and looked around the room. She had the all too familiar look of I know exactly what to do written all over her face. I watched her dig into her pocket and pull out a quarter.

  “Call it in the air, gentleman,” she said, flicking it with her thumb.

  Alejo said tails and Mitch said heads. Sofia caught it in her palm, flipped it onto the back of her hand, and walked over to me without looking at it. She took a seat next to me and together we looked at the coin, as she moved her hand away.

  “Batter up, Señor Castillo,” she said as I looked out the window again. I didn’t know how I felt about the coin flip. I was honestly hoping to go with Mitchell first. It would’ve been so much easier that way, but instead Alejandro would be the first. I would have to leave Mitch again like I had done before and it felt like a knife had just been driven through my heart.

  Alejo got to his feet and nodded at Mitchell before he came over to me. A smile never crossed his lips; ever. It didn’t have me worried but it made me wonder why he had become so serious.

  “Ready?” he asked opening the door and stepping aside. I looked at him for a moment then at Mitchell, who was leaning back in the chair watching us. He smiled at me. I returned his smile and then I walked out the front door with Alejandro.

  One

  “I can’t believe how beautiful this place is,” I remarked for about the hundredth time.

  Alejandro chuckled as we walked hand in hand down the streets of Pamplona Spain. I knew we had been here
before for the Running of the Bulls, but it was nice just to be able to walk through and look around.

  I remembered when he said he wanted to take me to Spain for our time together; I had asked him if he had lost his mind. The last time I was on a plane with him, it didn’t end well, but he had assured me that we would be using a private jet and that it would be safe. So here I was a week later, walking in what felt like an entirely different world, with a kind, soft spoken, handsome man.

  He had been quiet for the majority of our time here so far, but now he seemed a little more comfortable.

  “Ah, there it is!” he said suddenly. I glanced up at him and followed his gaze. I couldn’t help at smile but the beautiful restaurant in front of us. Alejo said that he wanted to take me somewhere nice for our first time back in his native country again and thought I would enjoy El Restaurante de Baluarte.

  “That’s so pretty!” I exclaimed.

  “Let’s go in. I think you’ll find the view from inside even prettier,” he replied with a small smile.

  “Señor Castillo!” the host greeted us cheerfully, following it with something in Spanish that I didn’t understand.

  I felt Alejo’s hands on my shoulders as he responded and I heard my name somewhere in the mix. The host smiled at me widely, before leading us to a table with the most beautiful view of Pamplona. I sat down and set my purse on the chair next to me. Then I fixed my fancy cloth napkin on my lap, keeping my eyes on the outside world. The waitress brought a fresh basket of rolls and they spoke for a moment before she left.

  I must have been grinning like a fool as I watched the cars and people because Alejandro laughed and threw a piece of bread at me. I jumped and looked at him sheepishly.

  “It’s so pretty out there. I can’t help it,” I said.

  “I know how that feels. When you see something so beautiful that you just can’t help but stare,” he replied softly.

  My almost immediately face felt hot. I looked at him with a shy smile and he grinned.

  “Can I ask you something, Livie?” he asked leaning back in his chair. I nodded curiously.

  “How long did it take you to remember everything?” The waitress came back at that moment and handed Alejandro a glass of white wine and a glass of red wine to me. I took a sip and glanced out the window again before I answered.

  “After I woke up? About six months of Sof’s nonstop harassment,” I said with a laugh.

  “What was the first thing you thought of?” he asked softly.

  “Actually my first thought was ‘how the hell did I survive that?’” I replied truthfully. I grabbed one of the rolls and broke it in half thoughtfully, “My second thought was ‘I hope he survived too’.”

  He let out his breath in a shaky gust. I hadn’t realized he had been holding it and I wasn’t quite sure what he was expecting for an answer, so I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

  “César survived as well. The three of us survived the crash, but there were four. Don’t you remember, Olivia?” he asked his voice slightly cracking.

  I stared at him for a moment, and then turned my attention toward the sight of the sun setting in Pamplona trying my damndest to remember. I leaned back in my chair and tossed the roll onto the table. Who else was there? César was the one that got the door open. Alejandro was the one that met me in the zoo. And Teresa was at the airport. Oh. Oh shit.

  My hand covered my mouth in shock. I had always just assumed that we all survived the plane crash completely forgetting about his sister being there. Tears stung my eyes even though I didn’t remember her much. I think it was more because of the look of absolute heartbreak on his face that made me want to cry.

  “Let’s talk about something else. She is a conversation for a later time,” he added abruptly. I stole a glance at him and saw him wiping his tears away as well. I couldn’t help but think that if my own insecurities with Mitchell hadn’t taken me to Spain, then Teresa would still be alive.

  “You’re probably wondering why we’re in Spain again,” he said conversationally. Actually yeah; the thought had crossed my mind. “We won’t be staying here. I just wanted to come home for a bit. Our destination is Italy.”

  I raised an eyebrow and reached for the glass of wine the waitress had set down in front of me. Alejo asked me if I knew what I would be ordering, and I turned the menu to face him and pointed. In absolutely flawless and spine tingling Spanish, he told the girl what we wanted with a charming smile on his face. When she left he turned his attention back to his glass of wine and took a hearty drink.

  I reached for my purse and fished my cell phone out. Once I brought the screen to life, I found my contacts and opened up to Cassidy’s name.

  APPLE BANK.

  I waited for her response. I smiled at the thought of such a silly pair of safe words, but they always got a great reaction out of her and being in Spain without her just felt wrong.

  WHAT? OLIVIA WHERE ARE YOU? OH MY GOD! I’LL COME GET YOU!

  I giggled. I loved Cassidy like a sister and she was always trying to keep me out of trouble. I looked up at Alejandro and help up the phone.

  “Smile, Mr. Castle!” I said cheerfully. He laughed and held up a hand, asking me to give him a moment to regain his composure. “Tick tock! I’ll take it right now if you don’t smile!” He quickly ran his hands over his face and gave me such a big grin that I couldn’t help but laugh after I took the picture.

  And there we sat. Two former lovers, laughing like nothing had ever happened. We laughed like there was not a care in the world, like there wasn’t another man that wanted my heart or like I hadn’t almost died to be with him.

  Two

  I soon found myself becoming serious as those thoughts echoed throughout my mind and I sent the picture to Cassidy with a simple caption. SPAIN. ITALY NEXT.

  “Something wrong, Livie? You look so serious all of a sudden,” Alejo remarked.

  “No. Not really,” I replied, tossing my phone back into my purse. “I just miss Cassidy is all. I haven’t seen her in a while.”

  “How come?”

  “Didn’t you know? Cassidy Mendez is like Super Girl! She’s always off to explore and save the world,” I said leaning back in my chair thoughtfully. “I wish I was more like her honestly. Sometimes it seems like she’s trying to save the world and I’m trying to destroy it. It’s weird, but I guess it works.”

  Grabbing my glass of wine, I sat there silently until I finished it. Alejandro was quiet too, looking out the window as the sun kept descending over the horizon. I wanted to ask him what he was thinking, but I wasn’t sure if I exactly cared enough to want to know.

  “I would think speaking of Cassidy would make you happy and not sad,” he said, still gazing out the window.

  “I’m never sad when I think of her. It just doesn’t feel right to be here again without her,” I replied with a shrug. “Anyway, why Italy?”

  Alejo turned his attention back to me and smiled, “Because I haven’t been there in a while. Have you ever visited Italy?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then it’s an even better reason,” he replied cheerfully.

  Before I had a chance to ask another no, but really why Italy? question, the waitress returned with our food. I grabbed my fork and knife and cut a tender piece of fish off. I stabbed it with the fork and placed it curiously into my mouth. I still wasn’t sure what he had ordered now other than it was fish, but the flavors were like nothing I had ever tasted before and I was pleasantly surprised.

  “¿Es bueno?” he asked with a smile. I nodded and took another bite.

  “Super bueno,” I replied putting my fork down. I sipped some wine while he laughed and smiled into my glass. “What about you, Alejandro?” I asked after I set my glass down. “Are you bueno?”

  “I like to think I am,” he replied softly.

  Unfortunately all I can think of when I see you is almost dying, I thought glumly to myself.

  “I’ll never ask you to choose m
e, Olivia. Especially after what happened. But I will tell you that I would be the happiest man in the world, if you found something about me that you could love. Something about me that would make you want to be with me forever,” he said, reaching across the table and taking my hand.

  I sighed deeply and leaned forward on the table, cupping my chin in my hand. I looked at Alejandro who had gone back to eating and drinking wine. I wanted him to look at me but he didn’t; it seemed like his mission was to avoid eye contact until I said something.

  “So, where in Italy are we going?” I finally asked to break the uncomfortable (for me anyway) silence.

  “It’s a surprise,” he replied with a smile. I was quickly becoming frustrated because he still didn’t look up.

  “Alejandro?” I asked.

  “Hm?”

  I dropped my hand and crossed my arms on the table. He still didn’t look up, instead “hm’d” me into his damn plate.

  “Alejandro?!”

  “Yes?”

  I’m going to throw his plate out the window if he doesn’t look up, I thought irritably. After waiting a few more seconds I pushed my chair back and got to my feet. I figured maybe wandering off to the bathroom, wherever the hell that was, might snap him out of his “don’t look at Olivia” game.

  As I walked away from the table, I shook my head because he didn’t react. He kept eating and drinking like I hadn’t even left, although I could’ve sworn I heard him chuckle. It took me a few laps around the restaurant before I found the restrooms and I pushed the doors open with a frustrated grunt. I went over to the sink and looked at myself in the mirror.

  “Why am I even here?” I asked myself quietly.

  I turned on the faucets and leaned into the sink to splash water onto my face. I heard the door open and close and I rolled my eyes as I splashed more water onto my face. I couldn’t even get a moment alone to think about things.