So, this update is a bit longer than any of the previous ones, it kind of got away from me. But you guys have been so great, you deserve a long chapter! I'm trying to get better about answering every review (I'm sorry I'm the worst at that!), but I really do appreciate you guys and I credit your feedback with getting this update out as quick as I did.
I hope that you enjoy, even though it's probably not quite as exciting as you hoped. I'm toying with the idea of upping it to an M rating in the next few chapters, I've never written smut or anything like that before so I'm still a little unsure, buuut I really feel like this story calls for it. Let me know what you think! And Happy New Year :)
Fitz stood before his closet, flicking through shirts, trying to decide what to wear. Olivia was coming over in ten minutes to pick up her notebook before class and he wanted to be ready. Part of him was tempted to open the door shirtless, maybe distract Olivia away from her class and do a little of something else. But he knew Olivia was still skittish about the whole situation and making a move on her the second she walked through his door, probably wasn't the best move.
He opted for an olive green fitted sweater, throwing it on over his dark jeans. He headed to the kitchen to make sure his coffee was ready. Once his morning chores were done, his thoughts naturally drifted to Olivia.
Since their kiss last night, Fitz spent his time forming pro/con lists in his head and so far, he had way more pros than cons. The only real problem was that he was her professor and even that was only true for a few more months. Sure, he would still be a professor in the school she was attending but without the direct conflict of interest, it wouldn't be a huge deal as long as they informed the dean, which was Cyrus…he would be a bit of a wild card with the whole thing. Fitz hoped that if he and Olivia managed to sustain a relationship long enough to tell Cyrus about it, he would be supportive.
Fitz was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone rang, he immediately answered hoping it was Olivia, but was disappointed when it was just his father's lawyer, David Rosen.
"David, I really don't-"
"I know you don't have time for me, but I need you to come to California." Fitz's body froze at the thought and he shook his head, even though he knew David couldn't see him.
"No, no way. I won't do it."
"Look, Fitz, I can have you in and out in less than a day. I have you booked on a flight in three hours." David informed him and Fitz tried to talk himself down from screaming.
"You what?! I can't fly to California on a moment's notice."
"You can and you will, you asked me to handle Jerry's things as quick as possible. This is as quick as possible. Come today, deal with the stuff in person that you have to, fly back to DC in the morning." Fitz sighed, hitting his head against the wall.
"And if I don't come?"
"I call you every day until you do. I'm emailing you your boarding pass, I expect to see you in my office by two. I know you're mad at me, but I also know you want to be rid of Jerry. This is how you do it, man." And with that David hung up the phone, leaving Fitz frustrated and undecided.
He didn't teach any classes today since it was a Friday, and he could just cancel his office hours; no one came to them anyway. He groaned and headed back toward his bedroom. He threw enough clothes for a day into an overnight bag along with his laptop and phone charger. It wasn't until a knock at the door came that Fitz remembered what he was originally stressing over, Liv.
He swung the door open, an apologetic smile already on his face. Liv glanced curiously at the bag on his shoulder. He stepped aside to let her in anyway.
"Going somewhere?" She joked.
"Actually, yeah, to California." He had to admit it made him a bit happy when her face dropped at his news. "Just for the day!" He rushed to explain.
"You're going all the way to California for the day?" She questioned as if she didn't believe him. He frowned deeply, but nodded.
"Apparently there are some issues with Jerry's will," he sighed. "And I need to be there personally to see to it. I just got off the phone with his lawyer." Liv grimaced sympathetically and grabbed his hand. Fitz laced their fingers together and gently tugged her closer to him.
"I'm not running away," he murmured lowly and softly pressed his lips against hers for a quick second. She nodded, smiling at him.
"Well, can I give you a ride to the airport?" Fitz laughed and hooked a finger through one of her belt loops.
"You don't have a car." He reminded her. "And you have class." He grinned, pulling her closer. She waved her hand dismissively.
"Yeah, but I've been dying to drive yours." Olivia shrugged.
"Ah, so you've been after me for my car this whole time?" Fitz looked down at her as she nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. He resisted the urge to lean forward and kiss her bottom lip free. Instead he laughed at her attitude, he didn't know where this nonchalant Olivia who didn't seem to care that they made out last night came from, but he liked it. He hoped this was a good sign of where their relationship was headed, but he still wasn't confident in this strange new place they occupied.
"And what makes you think I'm just going to hand my car over to you while I'm gone?"
"Um, because you like me." Olivia suggested coquettishly.
"Well, you're not wrong about that," he replied in a low voice and he watched her pupils darken. Her eyes flicked between his eyes and his lips for a moment, he wanted her to kiss him again. Preferably the way she had last night, especially now that they were alone in his house with his bedroom only a few feet away. When Liv never made a move, he leaned toward her but she put her hand on his chest, stopping him.
"I don't think we have time for that."
"Ah, leave that for me to decide." She laughed, but shook her head.
"Nuh uh, loverboy. What time is your flight?" She questioned, taking a step away from him. He immediately felt her loss, but let her go.
"11." He replied, a pout on his face.
"So, you should've called a cab ten minutes ago."
"For your information, Nosy, I called one before you got here. But I'd gladly cancel it, if you wanted to drive me. You're much prettier than any cab driver I've ever had." She blushed, but didn't respond to his compliment. Instead she fixed him with a faux serious gaze and crossed her arms.
"Well, I offered, but then I realized school is more important than you."
"Ouch. Although as your professor I can't disagree." He said without thinking and just like that the playful mood switched. Olivia lowered her eyes and fidgeted as she stood in his living room, a couple feet from him.
"You are my professor." She finally said, barely above a whisper.
"I know."
"We'd both be risking a lot." He nodded in agreement.
They would be risking a lot, but something told him that she was worth this relationship and their connection would be worth whatever challenges they might have to face. And he felt deep down that this would all work out for them. The universe wouldn't be cruel enough to drop the perfect woman down in front of him and then not let him have her.
Fitz stepped up to Liv and grabbed her fidgeting hands, stilling them.
"We would be, but I would risk it to be with you." His words caught her off-guard and her head snapped up, meeting his gaze. He could see the uncertainty swimming in her eyes and he wanted to do whatever he could to reassure her. He pulled away and started to pace, unable to look directly at her while he made his confession.
"Liv, I have never felt like this about anyone. The minute I saw you that day in the coffee shop...I knew there was something here. You just- you see me. For the first time in my life, I feel like somebody really gets me. Hell, sometimes I think we even breathe in sync." For the first time since he started his spiel, he glanced at her. Olivia nodded slowly in agreement and he sighed in relief. He was worried if he came on too strong that he might scare her away, but she seemed to feel the same way.
"I don't want to rush into this," Fitz admitted, feeling confident enough to look at her while he spoke. "Like you said, we'd both be risking a lot so-" He licked his lips and reached for her hands again, slowly running his thumbs across her knuckles. "Take some time, as much as you need to think about it. And let me know what you decide."
"No hard feelings?" He shook his head.
"But I'd hope we can stay friends no matter what." Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Isn't that what we were trying to do? Be friends?" He nodded in agreement. "It didn't work out very well."
"Yes, because you found me so irresistable that you threw yourself at me." He grinned at her gasp of indignation.
"Only after you came over to my house in the middle of the night to tell me you had feelings for me."
"Guilty as charged." Olivia sighed and lowered herself onto his sofa.
"I don't think being friends is going to work." He felt her gaze checking him out. "At least not for us." Fitz didn't exactly like what she said, but he couldn't disagree with her. He hesitated, unsure what to say next when a horn honked loudly outside.
"That's my cab." He said regretfully.
"You have to go." She frowned. Fitz decided to take it as a positive that Olivia didn't seem happy about the prospect of him leaving, even after his impromptu confession. He hoped that in the next few days she would decide to give their relationship a shot, because the alternative, essentially cutting her out of his life, did not appeal to him at all.
"I do have to go." Olivia hestitated for a moment, before she got up and headed straight towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He relaxed into the embrace and pressed his nose against her hair, breathing in her scent. If this was the last time he was going to be close to Olivia Pope, then he was going to take advantage. She pulled away slightly, kissing the corner of his mouth. He was about to pull her in for a deeper kiss when the cabbie honked the horn again, ruining the moment.
"Good luck in California." She squeezed his hand.
"I'll be back tomorrow night."
"I'll see you then." Olivia promised as he held the front door open, allowing her to walk out before he did. He stood on the sidewalk and watched her walk away; he only got into the cab once she was out of sight.
As his cab headed to airport, he cursed the bad timing of the trip. Instead of staying in town and trying to convince Olivia to be with him, he was forced to fly to a place that held nothing but bad memories for him. He resolved to get the will figured out as quickly as possible and not to dwell on the bad things that happened last time he was there. He was a new man now. He was free of Mellie, Jerry was didn't have power over him. He wasn't going to let this trip get to him.
Olivia dropped her backpack down on the table, blowing all the air out of her lungs as she collapsed in the seat across from Abby at their usual lunch spot. Since Fitz left this morning, she was unable to do anything but think about him. She had zombie-walked through her first class and then spent two and a half hours working in Cyrus's office without registering any of the tasks she had completed. She couldn't believe a man had taken over her mind like this.
"What's wrong with you?" Abby asked, barely sparing Liv a glance. She debated for a moment how much to reveal to her best friend before she decided to just spill the whole thing. Abby listened with rapt attention as she recounted the details of what happened between her and Fitz. By the end, her jaw was on the floor and her eyes were wide in excitement.
"Well, you're going to date him, right?"
"It's not that simple, Abs."
"I'm going to repeat everything you just said back to me, okay?" Olivia rolled her eyes, but nodded in agreement. "You had a hot kiss with your hot professor and then he said you're worth risking his career for because he likes you so much. You swooned some more and then he left. Right?"
"I never said it was a hot kiss," was the only reply Olivia could muster.
"You didn't need to, the way your face went bright red when you talked about it told me enough."
"It was a really hot kiss." Olivia muttered and put her face in her hands.
"Exactly. I think you need to stop being good girl Olivia Pope and call him and tell him you want to go out when he gets back." She raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Today?"
"Yeah, don't let the poor guy sweat more than he has to. He kind of laid it all on the line for you. Besides,I know the only thing stopping you is your moral high ground or whatever. If you had met him on the street and he asked you out, you would've said yes, no question. So stop overthinking it and say yes."
Abby was right, he did put it all on the line. And she was also right about her, of course Liv wanted to go out with him. Her feelings for Fitz were already stronger than any feelings she had for Edison and they dated for almost a year and a half. But that was all the more reason for her hesitation. Olivia didn't allow herself to get attached to people and the prospect of letting Fitz in and opening up to him more than she already had, genuinely terrified her.
"C'mon Liv, you deserve to be happy." Abby cajoled her. "Remember how long I resisted Stephen?" She nodded. "And what happened when I stopped?"
"You guys fell madly in love and you get to have great sex constantly." Abby's eyes lit up and she nodded.
"Exactly. And he cooks for me. I bet hot professor would cook for you. He gives off that vibe." Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, Liv, you should call him later. You'll feel better. And I need you to be less mopey if we're going to go out tonight."
"Uh, I never agreed to going out tonight."
"Yeah, but it's Friday and you don't have to work and Stephen does and I want to go to that new club down the street so bad. Please!" Abby begged.
"Fine, I will go, but you have to promise me this won't get crazy."
"It won't." Abby winked.
"What do you have up your sleeve, Whelan?"
"Nothing, just wear something tight! And call your man."
"I'll think about it."
"Just do it, Liv, like I said I want to have fun tonight. And it won't be fun if your panties are all up in a bunch over Fitz." Abby said his name in a mocking tone that had Olivia tossing a balled up wad of paper at her. "Fuck, I'm about to be late for work. I'll call you after my shift for details on tonight. You're going. You have no choice." She called as she flounced away.
Once Olivia made it home, she sat on her bed staring at her phone. She wanted to call him. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to finally allow herself to be happy. But she was scared. The whole Edison saga took a pretty huge toll on her and she barely cared about him.
Her blood ran cold at the thought of her father ever finding out about her connection with Fitz. If Edison wasn't acceptable for her, there was no way her father would ever allow her to be with her professor, if he found out. She cut all ties with Eli when she found out about his involvement in Edison's accident, but she didn't trust her father to stay away. He had contacts everywhere, especially in DC. She felt a chill run through her at even the thought of him.
She was angry that she still let her father have this much power over her. After all, wasn't this the reason she cut him off? The reason she refused his money? So that she could be her own person, so he couldn't force his lifestyle on her. She went through hell and back at the beginning of this year to ensure that Eli couldn't make decisions for her and yet she was still allowing herself to be tortured by thoughts of him. No, no more. If she wasn't going to be with Fitz, then it would be for her own personal reasons and not fear of how her father would react.
Olivia pulled open Fitz's contact on her phone, her finger hovered over the call button. Finally, she hit send. She wanted to go out with him. He was nice. He was charming. He was handsome. Fitz was everything she didn't know she was looking for. Since her mother died when she was a child, Liv felt utterly alone. Sure she had friends, but they didn't really understand. Even Abby, who had known her longer than anyone, struggled to make sense of Liv at times. But with Fitz she felt comfortable enough to let her walls down and be who she really was. After listening to all Fitz had to say this morning and taking Abby's advice into consideration, Olivia decided she wanted to see where this thing went with Fitz. Consequences be damned.
There was a ball of tension, a pit at the bottom of her stomach, as she listened to the phone ring. She almost hung up. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he didn't want to talk to her. Or maybe he was in a meeting with the lawyer. Maybe she should call him back later. Just as she was about to hang up, the ringing stopped.
"Hello?" It was a female voice and Olivia felt the tension inside her coil even tighter. Why was a woman answering Fitz's phone?
"Um, this is Olivia Pope. I was calling to talk to Fitz?" Olivia tried to keep her tone authoritative and not sound as worried as she felt on the inside. "Who is this?" She asked, her tone even. The woman laughed melodically, but something in the sound made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"Oh Fitz just ran to the bathroom, he should be back in a moment, if you want to hang on. If not, I can take a message. My name's Mellie Cunningham." The woman said and a weight pressed down on Olivia's chest as she connected the dots.
Mellie, his ex-fiancee. The woman Fitz had been with for ten years, before he dropped everything and moved across the country. What was she doing with Fitz's phone? Did Fitz regret everything he said to her this morning? Had going back to California reignited his feelings for Mellie?
Olivia was torn between hanging up and leaving a very colorful message for Mellie to give to Fitz when she heard his voice.
"Mellie, what the hell are you doing on my phone?" He sounded angry and annoyed, but Olivia had no desire to speak to him anymore. She quickly hung up before she could hear Mellie's answer. Less than five minutes later, her phone rang. Fitz. She quickly hit ignore and threw her phone under the pillows on her bed. She was going to forget Fitz and she was going to have fun with Abby tonight.
Fitz washed his hands and splashed some cold water on his face in an attempt to keep his cool before he went back into David's office, where Mellie was. In retrospect, he should've expected that David would blindside him like this. He knew the history of the Grants well enough to know Fitz never would have shown up if he knew Mellie would be there. He sighed and pushed the door open, heading back to David's office.
She was on the phone when he walked in, David nowhere to be found. It took him less than five seconds to realize Mellie was on his phone.
"Mellie, what the hell are you doing on my phone?" He demanded an explanation as she whirled around, surprise written on her face.
"I didn't want you to miss the call." She said sweetly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you'd be so upset about it." Mellie batted her eyelashes and handed him the phone. "I think she hung up."
"Who was it?" Fitz asked, heart in his throat. He could only think of one 'she' that would be calling.
"Olivia Pope." Mellie told him dismissively and Fitz felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. God only knew what Olivia thought when his ex-fiancée answered the phone.
"Thanks a lot, Mel." He glared at her, pulling Liv's number up and praying he could fix this situation.
"A little soon to be moving on, don't you think, Fitzgerald?"
"Moving on from what? Our farce of a relationship?" Mellie put a hand up to her chest and feigned offense.
"Now I know we weren't always happy, but we were together for ten years-"
"And you were fucking my best friend for what? Five of those ten?" He turned his back toward Mellie as he dialed Olivia's number.
He could feel his chances with her slipping away with each ring. Then after the third ring, Olivia ignored the call. He seethed in frustration but figured if space was what she needed, then he would give it to her. He whirled around to say something hurtful to Mellie, but was thankfully interrupted when David walked into the room.
"If it isn't two of my favorite clients," he grinned, rubbing his hands together. Fitz deposited himself in the seat next to Mellie and gave David a blank stare.
"Let's cut to the chase. I don't know how much longer I can sit in a room with her." He could feel Mellie glaring into the back of his head, but he refused to turn around and acknowledge her.
"Okay, so as you know most of Jerry's assets have been divided and handed out, but the Ranch still remains."
"Doesn't that just go to Fitz?" Mellie asked and he nodded in agreement, not that he wanted it. Once his childhood goggles had worn off, he saw the place for what it really was: a prison. A beautiful prison, but he always felt trapped there nonetheless.
"Actually Jerry left it in equal parts to each of you," David explained, showing them the paper work. Fitz let out a bark of laughter in disbelief.
"Well, she can have it."
"What?"
"I don't want it." Fitz said adamantly. "I was going to sell it anyway." He turned to Mellie. "I'll be there tonight to pack up any of the things I want and the rest is yours to do with as you please."
"That went much smoother than I expected." David looked pleased as he slid the paperwork that needed to be signed across the desk. Fitz quickly scrawled his signature on several different items, before standing.
"I'll be leaving at noon tomorrow, don't even think about setting foot in the ranch before that." He bent over and collected his things.
"What about after that?" Mellie asked hesitantly.
"You can burn it down for all I care." Fitz shrugged, leaving the room without a second glance.
Olivia smoothed the gold halter dress over her legs as she looked over herself in the mirror in the bathroom at the club Abby dragged her to. She had to admit, she looked good and she had several interested male suitors, but after five drinks and two hours of dancing, Fitz was still the only thing on her mind.
She cursed herself for not answering when he called her back, because all her mind could conjure up were worse case scenarios. She was sure none of them were true and Fitz could have dispelled all of them if she just answered. But she was being stubborn and she allowed her insecurities to get the best of her.
She exited the bathroom and headed back into the club. When she looked around and couldn't find Abby, rather than search further for her, she sent her a quick text letting her know she'd be outside and went out a side door. She wrapped her arms around her body to shield herself from the cold as she dialed Fitz's number, since clearly she wouldn't stop obsessing about this until she found out what was actually going on.
He answered on the third ring.
"Hello?" Her heart dropped at the defeated tone in his voice and she forgot that she had spent the better part of the day being mad at him.
"Fitz? Are you okay?"
"Liv? You're calling me," she grinned at the genuine happiness in his voice once he realized it was her.
"I'm calling you," she confirmed. They both paused for a second, listening to the other breath. "So, you never answered my question. Are you okay?"
"I'm just-" she heard his audible exhale on the other side of the line. "It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me." She admitted, in the morning she'd probably blame the alcohol for making her more vulnerable.
"My father," he laughed bitterly. "My father left the family ranch, fifty percent to me and fifty percent to Mellie."
"That's why you were with her earlier." She cut him off before he could continue.
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, by the way. I was ambushed; I had no idea that she would be there. She answered my phone while I was in the bathroom." He rushed to explain and Liv felt dumb for all the conclusions she had jumped to earlier.
"It's okay," she soothed him. The guy was clearly having a rough day and she almost felt bad that she contributed to it, but she did feel a genuine betrayal when Mellie picked up the phone so she wouldn't apologize for refusing to answer his call. "So, where are you now?"
"Sitting on the floor of the ranch's basement, deciding which of my mom's things I want to keep before I hand this place over to Mellie tomorrow."
"Fitz…" She said quietly, wishing she was with him so she could wrap him up in a hug.
When her mother had died, Eli let her go through everything, before he got rid of it. At the time, she thought it was cruel that he would just throw away everything, but she couldn't imagine having to reopen all those old wounds by going through her things now. She cleared her throat before she could get too emotional or lost in thoughts of her mom and focused back on Fitz.
"So, you're giving the ranch to Mellie?"
"Well I certainly don't want it and this was just Big Jerry's hilarious way to punish me after his death." He laughed humorlessly. "Joke's on him though, because I'm not going to deal with it. He way overestimated my sentimental value for this place." Olivia took a deep breath before she asked her next question, hoping she wasn't overstepping her boundaries.
"Are you sure you're not making a mistake? Don't give away the ranch just to get rid of Mellie." The line was silent for a few seconds and she was convinced that at any moment, Fitz would hang up on her.
"It turns me into a person that I hate. I feel so small here; like that same little boy who did whatever Jerry wanted, no questions asked. I'm not that person anymore and I hate that he's gone and he can still make me feel like this." Olivia hummed sympathetically, knowing exactly how he felt. "The only good thing about this place was my mom."
"She would've wanted you to do whatever was best for you." She said without hesitation, Fitz didn't talk a lot about his mom, but from what she gathered all of his good characteristics came from her.
"So, I give the ranch to Mellie," he sighed. "And I come back home tomorrow."
Liv hesitated for a second, before blurting out, "And then we go out."
"We go out?" She could hear the surprise in his voice and she couldn't help but smile.
"Or maybe not 'out' since we probably shouldn't be seen together, but I'll come over."
"You will?"
"Yeah, that's actually what I was calling to tell you earlier but-"
"Mellie," he grumbled. "So, you're gonna give this a chance?" He asked hopefully.
"Abby convinced me."
"It wasn't my charm or amazingly good looks?" He flirted and she let out a loud laugh, her mood lifting when he joined in. She hated to think of him sad and alone on the other side of the country.
"That might've had something to do with it…"
"My flight gets in at three tomorrow." He informed her after a few moments of silence.
"I'll come over around five?" She suggested.
"I was thinking more like three thirty."
"Someone's impatient."
"Yeah, I've got to get you to fall in love with me before you change your mind."
Olivia thought she was already too far gone for anything to really change her mind, Mellie had ben a slight road block, but after a whole day of obsessing about Fitz and how she felt about him and what it'd be like to kiss him again; she was fairly confident that she wouldn't (and couldn't) change her mind.
"Don't worry, I won't."
"Won't fall in love with me or won't change your mind?"
"I won't change my mind," she laughed. "I'm still not sure about the first one yet."
"Then I'll have to be convincing since I'm pretty sure I'm already halfway in love with you." His frank admission took her breath away and didn't scare her nearly as much as it should have. She still deflected with a joke, unsure of how exactly to respond to Fitz's candor.
"Okay, Casanova, I'll see you tomorrow at five."
"Four."
"Fine, tomorrow at four." Even though she couldn't see him, she could practically picture his cheesy grin on the other end of the line.
"Can't wait. See you tomorrow, Liv. Sweet dreams."
"Night, Fitz." She hung up the phone and leaned back against the wall, a huge grin splitting her face in half. So maybe pursuing this thing with Fitz wasn't the smartest move logically, but the thought of spending time with him tomorrow had her stomach churning with butterflies and she felt happier than she had in years, which was good enough for her.
The next morning, Fitz taped up the last box of the things he was taking from the ranch. It was mostly pictures and some of his mom's things, but he had a small box of his own childhood keepsakes. The ring box that he'd been staring at for the better part of the morning, still sat on the kitchen counter.
It was a family ring, his great-grandmother's. Right before his mother's death, she had given it to him. She told him it was special; it was a ring for his soul mate. He could never stomach the thought of giving it to Mellie, so when he proposed to her, he shoved his great-grandmother's ring to the back of his dresser and assumed he'd never see it again. He found it this morning when he was cleaning out his drawers and for some reason he couldn't tape the ring up in a box, so instead he placed it off to the side unsure of what to do.
Every time he glanced at it, Olivia's face popped into his mind. He knew it was way too soon to give her a ring like that, but a part of him thought eventually Olivia would be the one. So rather than packing it away in a box that he might eventually go through, he shoved the ring box in his pocket. He took one last look around the ranch, making sure he took everything that he wanted. He felt a sense of calm pass over him as he moved the last of his belongings out of the home. He was almost thankful for Big Jerry's final punishment, allowing Fitz to wash his hands of the place and let Mellie deal with the sale.
He pushed the thoughts of his past away as he made the journey to the airport, Olivia immediately taking over his vacant mind. He didn't know what her friend had said to her to convince Liv to give them a shot, but he was unbelievably thankful.
When he finally arrived back in DC, his body jittery with nervous anticipation. He stopped at the grocery store and decided to cook her a real, romantic dinner. As he cleaned his apartment up, set up the music, and put the flowers he had purchased for her in a vase on the dining room table, he gave himself a small peptalk. The knock at the door came earlier than he anticipated, but he was eased a bit when he opened it and Liv looked as nervous as he felt. She looked beautiful in black leggings and a light blue sweater dress, her curly hair tied up in a bun. The grin that stretched across his face at her presence was matched by hers.
"Hi."
"Hi."