"Thank you for tonight," he said. "I can't wait to see you again!"
She waved goodbye and then closed the door. Leaning up against it, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Oh boy, Olivia," she said to the empty room. "You're in a heap of trouble!"
Pulling her shoes off, she flexed her toes and ran her fingers through her hair. It had been a wonderful evening. Great company, terrific food, and a kiss. And what a kiss! She couldn't recall feeling that way about a kiss in a long, long time. A kiss that made her feel so wholly female.
She sat down at her computer and pulled up her email. She wrote out a brief message to Terri and April. As her best friends, she knew they would be wondering how the evening went, and she wanted to let them know she was home safely. After sending the email, she tidied up the kitchen and set out some breakfast for the morning. She went into the washroom and cleaned her face, preparing for bed. Just as she was ready to crawl between the sheets, she noticed a red dot next to the dating app on her phone. Tapping on it, her heart skipped a beat when she saw that she had a message from Luke! She had thought the evening couldn't get any better, but it did as she read his sweet words:
"Thank you for a great evening. I can't believe I have found someone as wonderful as you! I wasn't sure if I was supposed to kiss you or not, so I figured I best just ask, I hope that was okay? I have to say, even if it wasn't, I can't say I regret it. That was an incredibly hot kiss, and it was all I could do not to stay longer. You have the most beautiful eyes, and your lips are amazingly soft; I could have kissed you all night. But enough from me, I hope you sleep well - I know I will."
Olivia threw herself onto her bed with what she was sure was the most ridiculous grin on her face. It had been such a long time since she had felt the heady rush of attraction and romance, and every nerve in her body seemed to tingle with anticipation.
Chapter Twelve
She
S he found herself staring out the window instead of dealing with the deadline looming in front of her. Picking at the cuticle on her left thumb, she barely winced when she pulled it back so far that it drew blood. Jumping when someone laughed loudly in the hallway, she realized her nerves were strung more tightly than she had thought. Damn it! She needed to get a handle on her life and her emotions. This wasn't doing her any good, and now it was starting to interfere with her work. It was growing increasingly difficult to worry about things like deadlines when she was faced with so much uncertainty and unhappiness in her marriage.
She turned away from the window and faced her computer. Calling up her browser, she did a quick search for bed and breakfasts in a nearby mountain town, which was an easy drive from her home. She was surprised to see that there were several options available for the weekend, and she felt her burdens ease a little as she began preparations for a get-away.
After spending some time investigating, she settled on a bed and breakfast that offered a private balcony off a rustic styled bedroom. A small breakfast was included in the price along with the promise of some silence and privacy, all sitting nestled in the Rocky Mountains. It was perfect. For the first time in quite a while, she felt in control of something in her life. She may not be able to say how her husband treated her, when he came home or what he said to her, but she was still in control of what she did, where she went and how she spent her time.
Pushing away from her desk with renewed determination, she rose and went into the lunchroom to refresh her coffee. As she added milk to her coffee, she began to think about the deadline ahead and mentally walked through the steps she needed to finish to get the project done on time. She would get this project out of the way today, tie up some loose ends tomorrow and be off for the mountains the day after for two glorious nights of fresh mountain air, some light reading and a brisk hike along scenic trails. For a fleeting moment, it crossed her mind that the trip would be more romantic if only her husband would come with her. She pushed that thought away as she knew that to even bring it up would probably cause another fight. She didn't want to hear him make excuses, and worse yet, she didn't want to listen to herself beg.
Making a determined effort to shrug off the negative thoughts, she sat down at the lunch table and tried to join in the conversation her colleagues were having. She was tired of feeling isolated and alone. She needed to make more of an effort to engage with the people around her. She needed to stop obsessing about herself.
"Any big plans this weekend?" Stacey asked.
"As a matter of fact, I just booked a lovely little B and B in the mountains," She said a big smile on her face.
"Ooooh, that sounds lovely!" Stacey responded. "Is your husband going with you? How romantic!"
"No, this is just a 'me' weekend," she said. "Time for me to recharge my batteries and spend some alone time."
"Oh, I wish I could do that!" she said enviously. "There is no way the hubs would be okay with me going away and leaving him with the gremlins for a whole weekend!"
"I guess that's one of the benefits of having kids young," She smiled. "When I was married to my first husband, and the kids were little, I never had the chance to spend time just on me."
"So, you're saying one day I too will be so lucky?" Stacey asked with a smile.
"Something like that," She laughed.
"Well, I'm envious," her coworker said. "But I better get back to work, these invoices won't pay themselves you know."
"Talk to you later," She waved. "And take care of those kids and that husband!"
She still had a smile on her face as she walked down the hallway towards her office. It felt good to take some positive steps.
For the next several hours, she worked almost non-stop on her project, and as she gathered her things at the end of the day, she realized it would easily be completed before the deadline of noon tomorrow. Walking out to her car, she knew she wasn't ready to go home. She unlocked the door and sat there, just thinking. After a few minutes, she decisively started the vehicle and headed out of the parking lot.
Instead of heading toward home, she turned in the opposite direction and ended up in the parking lot of a group of big box stores. It was time for a new outfit. She couldn't remember the last time she had bought new clothes for herself, and this trip was the perfect excuse. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but she also knew the hunt would be part of the fun.
A few hours later, she returned to her car, bags in hand. She had found a lovely pair of lounging pajamas that would be perfect for her weekend getaway. Although soft and comfy, they were also stylish so she didn't feel like she was in her mother's clothes. She also picked up a new tote, just large enough to fit her camera, phone, and wallet. It would be ideal for nature walks this weekend. And of course, she picked up a bottle of wine. Not the usual inexpensive kind she often drank, this was one she had wanted to try for a while but hadn't been able to justify the price tag.
Buying for her weekend, made it seem all the more exciting and somehow exotic. She mentally shook her head. How many times in the past had she jumped in her car with a friend and taken off for the mountains at the last minute? It had been no big deal and something that happened regularly. For some reason, this trip felt different. It felt freeing and daring. To take time for herself, to spend money frivolously, was something she missed. She wasn't quite ready to stop. She smiled to herself as she placed her bags in the trunk, slammed the lid shut, and headed off toward the upscale lingerie store. Who said she needed her husband along to feel good about herself? Nothing like some new underwear to help a woman feel ultra-feminine.