Page 163 of The Temporary Fiancée
DECLAN: It’s an incredible thing to find the right woman. Worth celebrating. I know how that feels firsthand.
COLE: Btw, Riley is totally thrilled about this, which is a plus.
I chuckle at that—yeah, I bet she is. The double-date potential just went through the roof. She’ll definitely be seeing a lot more of Olivia now.
I start to type out a reply, but pause at the sound of Olivia’s voice from the other room.
“Shit!”
I lower my phone, frowning, and get to my feet. When I emerge into the living room, I find Olivia sitting cross-legged on the couch. Her laptop is open in front of her, and her head is resting in her hands. She’s scowling, clearly frustrated.
“Hey—everything okay out here?”
She looks up, heaving a sigh, and gestures to the laptop. “I was looking into the steps for starting a business. Trying to figure out how to set up my own domain name, and stuff. But I ended up going down a rabbit hole reading articles about taxes for small businesses, and now I’m just…” She trails off, shaking her head.
“Overwhelmed?” I guess.
“Yes. That.” She bites her lip, staring at whatever is plaguing her on the laptop’s screen. “This is just crazy, isn’t it? Like… it feels like it’ll never be worth it. There’s no way I can succeed at this.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you can.”
“That’s a nice platitude, but… what if I can’t? Running a business seemssocomplicated. What if it all goes to shit? What if…”
“Hey.” I cross the room and sink down onto the couch beside her. Over her shoulder, I can see the article open on her computer—Eleven Major Mistakes First-Time Business Owners Make.Gently, I reach over and close the laptop, hiding the article from view. “This may be complicated, but it’s still worth doing.”
“Are you sure?” She looks at me worriedly, her eyes round. “All of these articles make it sound like I’m going to fuck it up. One of them said that one-fifth of all small businesses fail within the first two years. That’s scary!”
“Of course it is,” I say, nodding. “It’s terrifying. But it’s worth taking the leap. If you want something bad enough, then it’s worth the risks.”
Over the past few months, I’ve become more aware of that fact than ever. I could be talking about business… or I could be talking about the two of us, the leap we’re taking together.
She breathes in deeply through her nose, seeming somewhat mollified. “Okay. Yes. You’re right. I just… I have no idea where to start. There’s way too much to do.”
“There’s no need to jump straight into the deep end,” I point out. “Just start slow. I’ll help you. Let’s just start with the website, okay? Build it up little by little.”
She nods. “Okay. If you say so.”
“Listen, I know you can do this.”
“Well, that’s a nice vote of confidence.” She chuckles, her cheeks flushing, and adds, “Are you really ready to talk me off ledges like this for the rest of our lives?”
I grin at her. “Of course I am. I like doing it.”
Her smile widens, becoming more genuine, and she leans against me. I let my hand run through her hair once before tilting her chin up and kissing her gently.
I try to go in for the second kiss, but she stops me. She pulls away, and I make a quiet sound of dissent in my throat.
“Sorry,” she says sheepishly. “I’ll be right back. I just remembered that I have something for you.”
“For me?”
“Yeah.” She heads toward the hallway, shooting me a wink over her shoulder. “For you.”
“What is it?”
“I thought I was the one who did the surprising around here,” I call after her as she disappears around the corner.
Her voice floats through the hallway: “Just be patient for five seconds!”
