Secret Baby Lion: A BBW Lion-Shifter Romance (Shift Your Fate Book 2) (3 page)

Kassandra stopped her. “You don’t owe me anything. Let me find Tristan Ward’s address first. Let’s see where this leads to.”

Olivia sighed and stuffed the bills back into her wallet.

“Okay. Okay.” She hesitated. “You need my number…”

“Yes. I’ll text you when I have something.”

“Right. Thank you.”

After they exchanged phone numbers, Olivia left Shift Your Fate with a heavy heart. She took a cab and decided she didn’t need to think about it right now, she didn’t have to make a decision just yet. Maybe Kassandra’s detective wouldn’t even be able to find Tristan. And then what?

CHAPTER TWO

Olivia watched Liam sleep, tucked at her side, his little hands clutching the teddy bear his aunt, Miranda, had given him when they arrived in NYC. In his sleep, his brows were furrowed, as if he was trying to solve a mystery. His mother ran her fingers through his golden hair, and the boy sighed happily, his face relaxing and his breathing becoming deeper, calmer. Olivia smiled down at him and wished she could fall asleep just as easily. But there would be no sleep for her tonight.

She stared at the ceiling, her mind wandering to that night, two years before. She was 24 again, wild and beautiful, free and determined to live her life her own way. Except that was the night she had screwed everything up.

Olivia had always been the favorite daughter of the Jensen family. Stubborn and spoiled, she was ambitions, the first in her class, and never took “no” for an answer. Whatever Olivia wanted, Olivia would eventually get. That had pissed Miranda off one too many times. Her elder sister was calm and calculated, but not as bright and beautiful as Olivia, and she knew it. She envied her, too, and Liv liked the attention. That was until Miranda met Logan, and her little sister didn’t matter anymore, because Logan only had eyes for her. He seemed to be the only one who wasn’t impressed by Liv’s natural charm, killer curves, and wicked smile. And when Miranda noticed her little sister was trying to get under her boyfriend’s skin, she wasn’t mad. For the first time in her life, probably, she felt good about herself. She finally had something… someone Liv couldn’t have. When Logan proposed to her and they established the wedding date, Miranda felt like she had won the absurd competition that had been stressing her out since the day Olivia was born. Or… so she thought.

Olivia closed her eyes and sighed. Miranda would never know she had let her win. That night, two years ago, Olivia had let her sister win. And now she was in this room, in her sister’s apartment, at this late hour of the night, unable to shift her attention to something else, to some other memories that didn’t involve guilt. At the end of the corridor, Miranda slept peacefully next to her husband, Logan, and in another bedroom, their two children, a son and a daughter, were probably dreaming of the games they had played all day. Thinking about Miranda’s family, Olivia couldn’t help but feel out of place. Yes, she felt like an intruder. She shouldn’t have come here. But where else could she have gone? She looked at Liam’s form again, enjoying the warmth of his body pressed to her side. For him, she could make it through a few more days. She could spend time with Miranda, play with her niece and nephew, and keep avoiding Logan like the plague. It wasn’t that hard, as Logan was doing his best to avoid her, too. He worked late and didn’t make it for dinner most days.

“It’s gonna be fine,” she whispered to herself. “I can do this.”

She was thinking of being nice to Miranda, staying out of Logan’s way, and… finding Tristan Ward, the father of her child. And when all of it was over, she’d pack her bags and take Liam back to London, back to their peaceful life there. She missed her job, her colleagues, the rainy days, and even her aunt, Cecilia. She promised to herself that she and Liam would visit Cecilia more often. The old woman was absolutely mad about the boy.

“Tristan Ward,” she whispered, then immediately touched her lips with the tips of her fingers. His name still tasted weird on her tongue. She remembered how weird it had sounded to her when he had introduced himself that night. Weird and interesting. It wasn’t a common name, by any means.

Olivia had already had a couple of drinks before going to the club. Her make-up was a bit smeared, and her hair was messy in a sexy way. She had no red lipstick left on her lips, as she had walked out on the man she had eventually refused to sleep with in too much of a hurry to re-apply it. She felt horny and wild and capable of anything. The alcohol had gone to her head, her temples pulsed with adrenaline, and her heart pumped with… that feeling she didn’t like, that feeling that made her feel stupid and embarrassed. That feeling she needed to drown in more alcohol and more kisses. But it had to be a different man this time. A man she didn’t know, a man who could make her forget the one she had refused and the guilt that she hadn’t run far, far away from him earlier. She should have run. She would run. She couldn’t live in this city anymore. But before she made her escape, she still had this one night.

She noticed him as she was drinking her second gin and scanning the room. He noticed her and immediately stood up, as if someone had just lit a fire under him. He strolled towards her, and she let her eyes wander all over his body as he walked confidently, the people around him making way for him as he passed. It was as if they felt his power and bowed under his authority, even if he never graced them with a glance. He was tall and handsome, built like a rock. Olivia licked her lips as she took in his tight abs, strong chest, bulky arms, and wide shoulders. Yes, this man could make her forget everything. And he would, she had no doubt. He was walking straight towards her, he had no intention to stop. When he took the bar stool next to her, bought her a drink, and told her his name, Olivia’s knees shook a little, goosebumps rose on her skin, and her nipples hardened under the soft fabric of her yellow dress.

They didn’t talk much. Actually, she didn’t talk much. Tristan asked her a lot of questions, showed interest in her hobbies, wanted to know what she did for a living and, most importantly, how come a gorgeous woman such as herself was alone at a club. Olivia drank her third gin, smiled mysteriously from behind her glass, and gave him the vaguest answers. She never asked any questions in turn. She wasn’t interested in this handsome stranger’s life, career, or hobbies. She was, however, very curious to find out what was hiding inside his ridiculously tight jeans.

Then they danced, and danced, and danced. Her full curves pressed up against his chiseled muscles, their faces inches apart, their lips almost touching, green eyes boring into intense blue orbs. Tristan had the most amazing blue eyes Olivia had ever seen. And oh, how she loved his long, blond hair. She had never dated a long-haired guy before, so she couldn’t wait to run her fingers through that soft, golden mane. When he kissed her, hard and deep, his tongue seeking her relentlessly, Olivia loved the way his neatly trimmed beard scratched the delicate skin around her mouth. And he smelled so good! It wasn’t the cologne he was wearing; it was his own personal scent. It drove Liv mad with lust, made her drunk with desire. And she was already quite drunk thanks to the numerous glasses of gin she had failed to refuse when she knew she probably should have. In her state, it would have been the sensible thing to do. On the other hand, Olivia had stopped being sensible the moment she had thought it wouldn’t be such a big deal to sleep with the man she had just run away from. What had saved her had been a split second of lucidity, when she had realized her actions would hurt everyone she cared about, and ruin her forever.

She had been sensible enough for one night. Storming out of the man’s apartment at the last moment… Olivia was proud of herself. The guilt was still there, burning steadily in the pit of her stomach, but Liv was doing her best to ignore it and focus on the thought that, eventually, she had done the right thing. She wasn’t such a horrible person, after all. The strong arms enveloping her gently, the unique scent of the tall, drop-dead-gorgeous stranger who called himself Tristan Ward… all these helped, too. If she was lucky, his body would make her forget about her guilt forever. The next day, when she’d leave New York for good, she would take this one last memory with her, a memory powerful enough to wipe away everything else that had happened before coming to the club.

Tristan didn’t disappoint. The memory she took with her fed her heated imagination for months. She almost changed her mind in the morning, when Tristan went to take a shower, and instead of ordering breakfast, Olivia took her dirty, crumpled clothes off the floor, threw them on, and left the hotel room. She couldn’t stay. She had made a decision the night before, and she knew for a fact that it was the right one, the only one that could somewhat mitigate the damage she had already done. She most definitely couldn’t change her mind because of a hot, hunky man who had just given her more orgasms than her body had probably been designed to handle. She could still feel him between her legs, long, thick, hard… If she allowed herself to think about him inside her, she risked turning around, barging into the shower, and throwing herself at him. He would take her right there, under the hot spray, and she would love every second of it. But then… she’d be lost forever, wouldn’t she? No. She had made a plan and she had to stick with it. For her family’s sake.

Olivia blinked rapidly and came back to the present. She was slightly cold, the blanket having fallen off her shoulders. She looked around her, at the bedroom drowned in darkness, then looked down at her son and touched his forehead. That night, Tristan had left her with more than a memory. He had left her with this little guy for whom Liv was now willing to do anything. Even live with her sister and her husband for a couple of weeks. Even walk all over her own pride, and look for the man she had selfishly used for a one-night stand and then left hanging in a hotel room.

***

Something wasn’t right. The apartment was too silent. Olivia snapped her eyes open, then blinked rapidly when the bright sunrays blinded her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sat up, stretched briefly, and went to close the curtains. When she finally turned around, she noticed Liam wasn’t in bed. She sighed and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower before getting dressed. Her son had a unique way of sneaking around. It didn’t matter whether she was asleep or wide awake. If Liam didn’t want her to notice him moving around or simply disappearing, she wouldn’t. It was beyond her comprehension. Not even a cat could be so stealthy. She wasn’t worried, though. He had probably woken up early and gone to play with his cousins. Except that the apartment still seemed unnaturally silent.

Olivia chose a cute, comfortable dress that stopped right above her knees, and put on just a bit of make-up. She let her slightly damp hair fall down over her back and shoulders, and went looking for her little rascal. The children weren’t in the living room. The next room she checked was her niece’s and nephew’s bedroom, but they weren’t there either. The two small beds were neatly made. Liv threw a quick glance at her sister’s and brother-in-law’s bedroom door, then walked towards the kitchen. A barely audible gasp left her lips when she saw Logan at the table, smartphone in hand, probably reading the newspaper.

Logan raised his eyes and studied her from head to toe.

“Good morning!”

His low, smooth voice sent a chill up Olivia’s spine. How in hell’s name had they managed to end up in the same room after days of actively, obsessively avoiding each other?

“Good morning,” she answered after clearing her voice. She walked to the table and poured herself a cup of coffee.

“Looking lovely today,” he said casually.

“Thanks.”

He took a small sip of coffee and cocked an eyebrow. “You can sit down, you know…”

“Sure.” She gave him a small smile.

“I don’t bite.”

She tried to laugh, but it sounded fake. “Of course you don’t.” She eventually sat down.

Logan went back to his phone for another five minutes, and Olivia cursed herself for having left hers in the bedroom. The situation wouldn’t have been this awkward if she had had something to do aside from drinking her coffee and pretending to study the kitchen appliances. It was inevitable. After two minutes, her eyes fell on the man sitting across from her. Logan hadn’t changed at all in the past year. He was the same tall, handsome man both she and her sister had fallen in love with. Yes, Olivia had fallen in love with Miranda’s husband the second she had laid eyes on him and he on her. That was almost two years ago. It felt like a lifetime… The shock when she had realized Logan wanted her sister and not her, the betrayal she had felt then… For the first time, she wasn’t getting something… someone she wanted.

Logan switched off his phone and placed it on the table, next to his cup of coffee. He caught Liv staring, and he smiled.

Olivia blinked a couple of times, cursing herself for acting like an idiot.

“Where are the kids?” she asked. There. A simple, normal subject of conversation. And also genuine, because she really wanted to know where Liam was.

“Grocery shopping with Miranda. She needed a hand and ended up with six.” He laughed wholeheartedly.

Liv tried not to laugh with him. As always, his laughter was contagious, and the cute dimples in his cheeks reminded her why it had hurt so badly that he had married her sister.

“Have they been gone long?”

He threw a glance at his phone. “Half an hour, maybe.”

“Oh. Okay.”

They were silent for a while, sipping coffee and stealing glances at each other, both trying to figure out what the other was thinking. It was all in the past, wasn’t it? Olivia kept repeating to herself that they were adults, they knew where they had been wrong, and they didn’t need to discuss it. They could talk about trivial things, right?

“So… how’s work?” she asked.

Logan bit the inside of his lip. “Good. Good.”

Olivia nodded. Well, that hadn’t gone as expected. She had hoped he’d start talking about his projects, given that he had been spending so much time at the office lately. Then, another half an hour would have passed, and maybe her sister and the children would have been home.