Chapter Two
They made their way to the restaurant in comfortable silence. Each stealing quick glimpses of the other.
Nick could hardly keep his eyes off Olivia. She was stunning. Her short, black dress was driving him wild, and the way she had her hair up was showing off her gorgeous neckline.It was almost too much for him to handle.
Olivia also noticed how incredible Nick looked for the occasion. His basic black suit was very tasteful..and his eyes.she hadn't noticed til that moment just how green and gorgeous they really were. Almost hypnotic.
Olivia barely noticed when they pulled up in front of the restaurant. Once inside they were promptly seated and began perusing the menu. Their waiter came and took their order. Nick ordered for both of them and ordered a bottle of merlot rose for them. "Nice choice, Nick."
"Thank you." he said with a smile.
"I love merlots, they're my favourite.
"Ah, we have something in common, they're my favourite too." "I'm sure we have more in common than that, Nick." "You mentioned an interest in art."
"Yes, I'm very interested in art. I love looking in galleries. Do you have an interest in art too?"
"I do." he responded. "I actually bought a Picasso." "Did you really?" she asked in amazement. "Yeah, I really did."
"Wow, I bet it's beautiful."
"It is, but it's not nearly as beautiful as you, Olivia." Olivia smiled and blushed.
The waiter brought their bottle of wine and poured it for Nick to taste. Olivia watched as he brought the glass to his lips and tasted the dark red liquid.
"Perfect." he said.
The waiter poured a glass for Olivia and left them. "How about a toast?" he asked.
"What shall we toast to?" she questioned. "To your immeasurable beauty."
"Nick." she said shyly as she blushed again. He smiled as he watched her take a drink. He liked the way she smiled and blushed when he complimented her. He thought the way the colour in her cheeks when she blushed heightened her already immense beauty.
"So, what were we discussing earlier?" she asked. "Our common interests." he replied.
"Yes....things we have in common."
"You also mentioned an interest in music." "I always loved music, but I never had a chance to explore it, since my father wanted me to do well in school and study all the time." "All of your hard work appears to have gotten you very far." "Yes, it has, and it is something I am very proud of....but it's the last thing I feel like talking about tonight" Olivia said with a laugh. "We can talk about anything you want to, Olivia." The waiter appeared again, unnoticed and placed their plates before them. They chatted a little and smiled a lot as they ate.
Olivia stole many quick glances and realized she hadn't noticed just how handsome Nick's face was. They relaxed and drank their wine while chatting. Olivia made it a point to look into his magical green eyes whilst they were talking. Nick liked the way she looked right into his eyes. It gave him a chance to stare into her sparkling hazel eyes. He paid the bill and walked over to Olivia. He pulled her chair out for her and extended his hand to her. He kissed her hand once she stood up and offered his arm to her again as they left Lescher's. Nick hailed a cab and they entered the car. Olivia smiled sweetly and thanked Nick for a lovely dinner. "Your more than welcome, Olivia."
"Where shall we go now?" she asked.
"Anywhere you want. Just name it and we'll go there." "Hmm..." Olivia thought for a moment.
"I would love to go dancing.I haven't been since......" Olivias' voice
trailed off and the look on her face changed.
"What's wrong?" Nick asked with concern in his voice.
"It's nothing, really. I am fine."
"So, did you still want to go dancing? " "Um... yes I think I would." Olivia answered with a smile. "Then dancing it is.although I need to warn you that I am not a dancer.. Don't want you to be all upset when I step on your toes." "Ahh.....something else we have in common." Olivia said with a chuckle When they arrived at the club they went inside and found a corner booth.Olivia and Nick chatted and laughed. She was having a wonderful time.
Nick had been waiting for a slow song to come on before asking Olivia to dance. Finally one did come on.
"Would you dance with me,Olivia?"
Olivia looked up into Nicks handsome face. "Yes." was all she could say.
Nick took her by the hand and led her out to the floor. Once there,for the first time, Nick took Olivia in his arms. He could feel her melt into him. He knew something was on her mind..he just didn't know if he should bring it up or not. "No." Nick thought to himself "When and if she wants to talk..she will talk."
They stood swaying together to the music and all the thoughts in Olivias' mind took a backseat to what she was feeling at that moment. It had been a long time since she had danced with a man..been held by a man. She had to admit she missed it and that it felt nice.

Nick felt Olivia's arms move up from his back to his neck. She was holding onto him tight as she nuzzled her face against him. Nick smiled as he returned the hug.
The slow music ended and was replaced by a much faster beat. Nick and Olivia were still holding on to each other, as if they didn't even notice.
"Nick." she whispered in his ear.
"Hmmmm......" he purred.
"Um, the song is over."
He came back to reality and opened his eyes. "Ah, it is, isn't it? Shall we go back to our table?" "I think so." she said.
They made their way through the crowd and took their seats at the table. "Sorry" he laughed, " I guess I got lost in the moment. I didn't realize the music had ended."
"Neither did I." she chuckled.
"I really enjoyed our dance, Olivia."
"So did I, Nick. So did I."
"And you didn't even step on my toes." he said with a laugh. "You should consider yourself lucky then." She managed to say during a fit of laughter.
Nick looked at Olivia and smiled. She was so beautiful when she laughed. He wanted to kiss her so bad right then.....more than he had wanted anything in a long time.
Nick leaned forward and took Olivias face in his hands. She stopped laughing and stared back in to those magical green eyes. She knew what was about to happen....and had no desire to stop it. When their lips met Olivia felt a shudder run down her spine. His lips were so soft and warm, she felt like she could kiss him forever. But then the guilt in the pit of her stomach began to creep up and caused her to pull away.
"I'm sorry Nick." she whispered while looking down at the floor. "I thought I was ready for this..but, maybe I'm not." "What is it Olivia? Please talk to me." Nick pleaded. Olivia shook her head. " I can't Nick. Could you just take me home now?" she asked as she fought back tears.

Of course Olivia, anything you want." he said softly.
He was taken aback by the sudden change in her mood. He helped her out of the booth and held her as they walked out of the club. He felt her shaking as they waited for a cab. He finally waved one down. They entered the car and sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, until Olivia broke their tense silence.
"I'm so sorry Nick. I didn't mean to ruin our wonderful evening." she said as the tears streamed down her face.
"You didn't ruin anything, luv."
Olivia looked into his eyes and knew he meant what he'd said.
"I'm just concerned about you, Olivia. You say you're alright, but I sense something different."
"I'm really ok, Nick."
"Olivia, you can talk to me."
"Oh Nick, it's such a long story and there's no sense in getting you involved."
"I've got plenty of time, Olivia. And besides, I'm already involved." he said as he wiped away her tears.
He gently kissed her on the forehead. She gazed into his deep green eyes and she knew she could trust him.
"Maybe talking would help. But not here." she said as she looked around the cab.
"Would you like to go somewhere else? Maybe out for a drink?"
"Would it be ok if we just went to my house to talk? It's quiet there, no crowds and I have a bar."
"Anything you want, Olivia."
"Thank you Nick."
"What are you....."
She put her finger over his lips to let him know he didn't have to say anything. She laid her head on his shoulder and felt a little happier inside.
The cab reached her house. Nick paid the driver and met Olivia at the door. They entered the house and went into her living room.
"The bar is over there, please make yourself at home." she said as she sank into the sofa.
"Would you like something?" he asked.
"Anything strong and you might want to make it a double."
He returned with 2 highball glasses and sat beside Olivia. She took a drink from her glass.
"Hmmm....vodka. Good choice."
"You said make it strong. I figure Stoli's strong enough to do the trick."
She turned toward Nick and took a deep breath.
"Nick" she began. "The night I met you, I wasn't very nice to you in the beginning. I shouldn't have been rude to you, but I was and I'm very sorry. There's a reason for my behaviour the past 2 nights. It's very hard for me to talk about Nick, so please be patient with me."
He nodded to let her know that she had his complete attention.
"Ok" she began. "A few years ago, I got engaged to a man I'd been dating for awhile. He was a good man and was patiently waiting for me to set our wedding date. My life was so crazy then. I was up for Junior Partner at the law firm, along with several attorneys. I was advised by the Senior partners that I would really need to show them how dedicated I was to them. In the meantime, I was putting my fiance' off and he began to feel left out, but I didn't have time to notice. I worked my ass off day and night and convinced myself that once I made Junior Partner, our future was set. I loved him with every ounce of my being and would do anything for him. I thought I was doing the right thing by fighting for that partnership."
Tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.
"Olivia?" Nick said with concern in his voice.
"I'm ok, really."
"You don't have to continue if you don't want to."
"No, really. I'm ok. I need to tell you, I want to tell you."
"Sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Well" she began. "When the fight for the partnership started winding down, I had more time to spend with my fiance' and we set our wedding date. We were the happiest we'd ever been. The law firm was ready to announce the new Junior Partner."
Olivia broke into tears and began crying so hard Nick thought his heart would break.
"I was made the new Junior Partner and it was the happiest moment of my life, because I'd worked so hard for it. I went into my new office and thought about my upcoming wedding and how perfect everything was. I was startled back into reality by a call my secretary patched through. I answered the phone and....."
Olivia's soft crying turned into heavy sobs. Nick was getting worried. He wanted to soothe her, but how?
"There was a man on the line." She continued as she sobbed. "He confirmed who I was and proceeded to tell me that my fiance', Drew had been in a terrible wreck and by the time someone found him and called for an ambulance, he was dead.
Olivia was sobbing so hard that she could no longer speak. Nick took her in his arms and held her tight as he stroked her hair. She held onto him and buried her face in his chest as she cried.
"It's ok luv." he said as he kissed her head. "I'm so sorry for you, Olivia."
Olivia raised her head and looked up at Nick. He cupped her face in his hands and planted soft kisses on her tear-stained cheeks. She stopped crying and gave him a small smile.
"After Drew's death, I pretty much stayed away from men. I stopped going out and if a man even approached me, I turned the other way. Like I said, it was a few years ago, so I just dove into my work and buried myself in it to keep my mind off Drew."
"I can understand that." he replied.
"Last night was the first time I'd gone out since then and when you approached me, I got defensive and I was rude to you."
"It's ok, Olivia."
"No, it's not. I'm very sorry for the way I behaved. You're a nice person and you didn't deserve that. I'm also sorry for ruining our wonderful moment after you kissed me. Even though I wanted it, I just feel so much guilt sometimes for neglecting Drew when I was busy with work and only giving him my attention when it was convenient for me. Right when we were back on track, he was gone. I'm sorry, Nick."
He took her hand and gazed into her eyes.
"No need to apologize luv." he said with a smile.

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