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“Olivia, are you okay? You don’t sound too well Is everything okay?”

What could Olivia say? She was supposed to be gettingdinner with another man A ht about it Of course, if she wasn’t going to dine with Dane, she would be alone in her hotel roo in Jack Daniels Not that she was a regular drinker but it seeht

Then Olivia remembered what Dane told her earlier He said they would sit down to dinner and discuss what to do tomorrow Olivia didn’t want to spoil what he had in er of the Bel that he’d allowed her to have at the beautiful facility at a discounted rate, didn’t he?

“Macy, I’m just a little tired,” she continued “By the way, hoas your flight?”

“Oh, it was fine I’h about me Are you and Jack okay?”

No We’re not okay Far from it

“Well, everything is the way it’s supposed to be…but listen, I’ve got tons of things to sort out I proood chat tomorrow…at the…reception and ceremony” Olivia almost choked on her own lie Her reception? More like her rejection

After she got off the phone with Macy, Olivia decided to wear a simple black dress she always packed with her noshe’d taken hera little black dress on hand Olivia took a quick shower and freshened up with a soothing aromatherapy body spray The least she could do was not sulk over dinner since she had been so generously invited by that kind er

She pressed the button to the lobby floor in the glass elevator that revealed a sweeping view of the holiday decorations She was enjoying the scenery and al Christrand lobby that closely resembled the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City must have been close to one hundred feet tall Its white spruce branches were heavily decorated with colorful glowing golden glass balls and shiny vintage glass icicles Light radiated fro the splendor It was breathtaking

Olivia could hear the enchanting sound of a string quartet in the grand foyer playing the upbeat sounds of Christ Deck the Halls She could just hear the words in her hs of holly, Tis the season to be jolly, It re with her ht back fond ht back fond memories or at least created new ones but instead it would be filled with heartache and humiliation At that hs of holly

Olivia tried to push the thought of what he’d just done to her out of her head

She’d been used!

She sucked in a deep breath She re a grudge is like letting so to allow Jack to live rent free in her head, in her heart or any part of her Olivia was determined not to let his actions sink her spirits She just had to

Yeah, right! Easier said than done!

“You look beautiful, Olivia,” Dane said to her in a low, sultry voice There was soift forpeople feel special If he didn’t know it, she should tell him

“Thanks!” Olivia looked around the plush Belhts were dim, romantic yet festive Hand-crafted holiday decorations eeousthan the room “I’m surprised this restaurant isn’t actually inside the hotel itself”

“It was built before the hotel back in 1960 by…” he hesitated for a moment, “By Jonah Bel of theuess you could call this his landmark place”

“Right Nice”

Olivia glanced down at the luxurious velvet-textured menu There were no prices listed beside the entrees which meant…the food was expensive as hell In other words, if you had to ask how much, it meant you couldn’t afford it It fully sweet of Dane to invite her along

She made her selections first and Dane followed suit Moments later, the waiter, dressed in a tuxedo, came to take their orders and addressed Dane as “sir” It was as if she ith a celebrity in a private booth away from other patrons

“Thank you, Dane”

“For what?”

“For doing this I mean, I don’t knohat to say, you’ve really taken time out of your busy holiday schedule to help me out”

“Hey, you’re going through a rough time You need sorief,” he said in a low voice

“Grief?”

“Most people don’t realize you don’t just go through grief and pain when someone you love dies, but when they leave your life The sorrow can still be as intense It’s rough when you lose someone, in a break up—even if you wanted it to end People don’t realize that the end of a relationship, whether it’s planned or unplanned, is emotionally hard”

“That’s true I’ her eyes “In fact, you ood point A client whose husband left her told me she would have understood how she felt better if he had died It just tore her apart more that he left her and her kids and ith someone else—her sister, in fact”

“Oh, no That’s very sad”

“I know Oh, God, I’ awful”