All the Difference

  All the Difference

  Deal Breakers Collection #2

  By Jenna Cox

  All the Difference

  “WELL, YOU CERTAINLY know your way around a girl,” Livvi sighed, her breath still coming in pants. She shivered as a little aftershock rippled over her.

  David laughed through his own heavy breathing. They lay in a tangle of grey sheets in David’s bed. “Give me a sec, and I’ll really show you something worth gushing over,” he said, leaning up on an elbow and running his hand firmly over a breast and down her stomach. He grazed the strip of blonde curls and slid his hand between her legs, gripping the inside of her thigh.

  “Already?”

  “Those little blue pills,” he murmured, his lips brushing the skin at her collar bone. “I could go all night.” He gripped her tighter with his hand on her leg, pushing his hand up higher, and bringing his lips down to crush against her mouth at the same time. It was the same aggressive style that had already driven her crazy and she couldn’t help responding again. A moan escaped her and his thumb began to rub against her, causing the throbbing to intensify. She gasped for breath, panting, her body rising up to push against his hand. She cried out as the orgasm rocked her.

  David gave an animalistic growl against her neck and sucked and bit, putting a condom on his ready hardness with one hand, and then he was on her, pushing into her and thrusting in firm, insistent strokes.

  Her body responded to his lust; but as Livvi looked up at him above her, his eyes closed and face contorted, she had never felt so much distance.

  When he rolled off her, without a word, and went to the bathroom, Livvi lay with her arms across her chest, just staring at the ceiling and listening to the crashing water from the rainfall shower. She was still like that when the sound ceased.

  And then David said something that she couldn’t make out.

  “What did you say?” she called. David’s head popped into the opening and a phone was pressed to his ear. He gestured to it with his other hand, and disappeared again. She knew he rarely stopped working, but this was a bit much.

  Livvi rolled her eyes, and sat up, searching around for her underwear. As she was slipping back into it, David reentered the room behind her and ran a hand over her stomach and gave her breast a possessive squeeze. But he was still on the phone.

  “Yeah, sure thing, babe, see you then,” he said, and Livvi stiffened, stepping out of his reach. He didn’t seem to notice.

  “Who was that?” Livvi asked, keeping her voice even.

  “That? Oh, just a friend.” Livvi narrowed her eyes at his back where he was reaching into a draw for some boxers.

  “A friend like we’re friends?”

  “What? Is something wrong?” David merely glanced at her before going to connect his phone to the charger cord beside his bed.

  “No, I’m good.”

  “Thanks for a good night, babe,” he said, and Livvi frowned at the word choice. “I’ve got an early meeting in the morning, though. So really should get some sleep.”

  “I was just going, anyway,” Livvi said, and he seemed relieved.

  “You’re cool like that. Eddie will drive you home.”

  “Mmm,” Livvi said, pulling on her skirt. David was already reclining on his bed, tapping at the phone screen. He gave a little grin as he read it that didn’t look work related.

  “Coming over again tomorrow night?” he asked, turning his face to her.

  “We’ll see,” Livvi said. He took it as coy playfulness, but Livvi wasn’t sure she meant it that way. He was definitely good in bed, and he was rich enough to have a driver on call any time he wanted, but if he used that driver to ferry his women to said bed any time he wanted too…

  Livvi hated to be alone, but she was starting to wonder if it was really worth putting up with this kind of relationship just for a bit of sex and brief company. David didn’t even look at her again as she left.

  ***

  “Sickening.”

  “Totally.” Nicole winked at her, and Livvi laughed. But her stomach did a little flip of jealousy as she watched Chloe kissing Henry goodbye. She saw his hand drift to her behind and give it a little squeeze. Chloe’s hips jerked forward a little in surprise, but she laughed, kissed him again, and then turned to make her way to her desk; Henry watched her go with a look hot desire. But more too. Love?

  “Morning, Chloe,” Nicole said in a sing-song voice, leaning her hip against Livvi’s desk. “A particularly good morning for you, by the looks of it. That’s the third time this week he’s dropped you at work.”

  Chloe just blushed prettily. “Henry’s doing you good, I reckon,” Kaye said leaning over the partition as she did every morning until they all decided they better get to work before anyone noticed. “You’re looking really…relaxed. Don’t you reckon, Liv?”

  “Definitely.” She smiled warmly at Chloe. “Your hair looks really nice today, too. You should wear it like that more often.”

  “Oh, thanks. I actually just ran out of time to put it up,” Chloe said, running a hand over her long, loose waves. “How about you, Liv?”

  “I put mine up. Does it look like I ran out of time?”

  “Oh, no, not your hair,” Chloe laughed. “I was changing the topic. I’m actually surprised you haven’t brought it up yourself already.”

  “What would that be?” Livvi said, feigning ignorance. Not to be coy — though that was something she did sometimes — but because, for once, she didn’t actually feel like talking about it.

  “Tom was it? No, T…revor?” Nicole said, clicking her fingers as she fished her brain for the name. “Titus?”

  “Titus? Who is called Titus? And it was David.”

  “Oh. Who was the T guy then?”

  “That was Tim, and that was last week.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Livvi coloured in the middle of the numbers on her desk calendar with a red pen, feeling the heat from the stares of all three women, waiting for her to answer.

  “Come on, Liv. It’s not like you to hold out on us,” Kaye said, with a grin, but she crinkled her nose a bit.

  “Not so great?” Chloe asked quietly.

  Livvi shrugged. “It was…good. In some ways. But he’s not interested in being exclusive or anything, so I probably shouldn’t even bother seeing him again.”

  “Oh, bummer,” Chloe said. Livvi looked at her. She had been with Henry for a couple of months now, and everywhere they went they made eyes at each other like lovestruck teenagers. And so while Livvi appreciated Chloe’s sympathy, the appreciation was tinged with envy.

  “I’ll decide tonight,” Livvi added. “At least I get a good dinner out of it. And…dessert.” She wiggled her eyebrows at the women and they all laughed.

  “You never change, Liv,” Nicole said. Livvi’s smile faltered. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way, hun. You’re irrepressible. We all think you’re so…brave…” Nicole faded out with a little grimace.

  “I’m getting sick of being brave, I think,” Livvi said.

  “Why don’t you try something different then,” Chloe said.

  “Different, how? I don’t do well with celibacy,” Livvi laughed.

  “No, I don’t mean you have to stop dating. Just date differently.”

  “What about Eric in Accounting. He’s—”

  “Not my type,” Livvi cut Kaye’s suggestion off.

  “That’s our point, though,” Nicole said, claiming collective ownership over Chloe’s comment. Livvi furrowed her forehead. Clearly they had all been discussing her love life and come to a consensus. “Maybe you need to widen your dating pool. Fewer divorced guys.”

  “It’s not like only divorced guys are my type. I just like guys who are older, more
mature. And it just happens that most of the single guys that age are divorced. Or, if not, there are clear reasons why they are still single.”

  “But what’s wrong with Eric? I’m pretty sure he turned thirty-one last week. That’s two years older than you,” Kaye said.

  Livvi pulled her lips into a grimace and shook her head.

  “So how much older are we talking?” Nicole asked.

  “At least five years,” Chloe answered for her. “I’m pretty sure the youngest you’ve dated lately was thirty-five. And Nigel was almost mid forties.”

  “And what’s wrong with that?” Livvi protested.

  “Nothing, hun,” Nicole said. “But it can’t hurt to try something different, if the guys you’re meeting now aren’t turning out so crash hot.”

  Chloe shook her head and smirked a little. “She won’t do it.”

  “I could if I wanted to, but I don’t.”

  “What if we make it a challenge. I’ll bet you $50 that…” Nicole began, then paused and tapped her lip thoughtfully. The three women looked at each other like they were colluding telepathically. “That you couldn’t go a month without choosing your own dates.”

  “A month? No dates?”

  “No, not no dates. Just that you don’t get to pick them. We do.”

  Livvi looked at them. They were all grinning at her, and she could see in their eyes they didn’t think she’d do it.

  “Hey,” she said, lifting up her hands in surrender, “don’t complain when I take your money.”

  “It’s a deal? One month, you date only who we pick out for you?” Nicole said, sticking out a hand.

  “Sure. Why not.” Livvi shook on it.

  “Starting right now. So you’d better call up Titus or whatever his name is and cancel your booty-er…date tonight.”

  “David. And I didn’t realise we were starting right away,” Livvi protested.

  “What’s this? Breaking the deal already?” Chloe said.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll cancel. But what am I going to do tonight instead?”

  “I’m pretty sure Eric’s free,” Kaye said.

  Livvi’s mouth dropped open. Then she narrowed her eyes at the women. “You all planned this, didn’t you. Have you already set me up with him?”

  “Uh…maybe,” Kaye said with a sheepish grin. “He said yes. And he’s hot.”

  “Why don’t you date him then,” Livvi said. She suddenly felt sweaty, and pulled at the collar of her shirt.

  “Wish I could,” Kaye said, then flushed. “Uh, anyway. I’d better get to work.” And she dropped out of sight. Livvi winced.

  “Work. Right. We should all get to that,” Livvi said to the other two women. “You’ve got me. You can go now. I’ll stick to your silly deal.”

  ***

  Ok, so he was hot. Livvi would admit that much. Short hair, just a hint of stubble on a strong jaw. She approved. Of that much at least.

  She approached the table and watched him. He was fidgeting with a napkin. When he spotted her, he jumped up with an eager grin and greeted her. It was an awkward hand-squeeze, cheek-kiss combo. Livvi laughed lightly, but inwardly rolled her eyes.

  “I’m glad we’re doing this,” Eric said, and smiled at her as they sat down.

  “Yeah,” she said. “And this looks like a nice place. I’ve never been here before.” She looked around the restaurant, trying to give herself a bit of breathing space to get her head straight. She turned back to him, with a flirty smile and saw his eyes light up.

  “Is this table okay? I asked for a better one, but this was all they had,” he said. They were right in the centre of the busy floor.

  “It’s great,” Livvi said, and reached out to touch her fingers lightly on his hand where it lay on the table, fiddling with his fork.

  Eric really did have a great smile. And she encouraged him to use it any chance she could, because the alternative was the painful overeagerness. So she continued to flirt her way through the dinner. It was fascinating. When she brushed his hand while she spoke, his eyes would become glued to the movement. And when she grazed her foot up his shin under the table, she watched him jump and had to stifle a laugh.

  Livvi tilted her head as she laughed at a joke, and felt his eyes drift down the line of her neck and the scoop of her dress. It would be so easy. To just reel him in, and take him home. Perhaps his eagerness to please would continue there.

  But every time he turned the conversation back to her, every time he said something self-depreciating, every time he reacted so easily to her simple flirting, Livvi found herself watching the clock. She was bored.

  “Do…you want to get some coffee somewhere,” Eric asked her, swallowing, watching her movements as she pulled on her coat. As she went to rise from her seat, he jumped up, and took her elbow. He had a pleasant scent. Livvi looked at the line of his jaw, that looked nervously tense, and down his neck to where the smooth tanned skin disappeared. She thought about what was underneath his shirt and almost wavered.

  “This was really nice, Eric. And you are going to make some lucky girl very happy, I know,” she said, pressing her hand against his upper arm. It was warm and firm.

  “Just not you,” Eric said. Livvi gave her head a little shake. Regretfully watching his face fall a little.

  “I just don’t think we’d make each other happy,” she said.

  “You know that so quickly?”

  Livvi considered him, then nodded. Eric lead her out of the restaurant into the cool night. When he leaned to kiss her goodbye, just a brief brush against her cheek, she almost changed her mind.

  But then he was gone, thanking her politely but cooly, and Livvi felt the chill settle in.

  Well, she’d agreed to go on the dates her friends set up, but she’d never expected to like it. It was going to be a lonely month.

  ***

  “Did you even give him a chance?” Nicole said, tutting.

  “Yes, I did. He was lovely and sweet. And he’s hot. God, he is hot,” Livvi said, and a flash of desire rippled over her but she pushed it away. “But I just knew nothing would come of it. He was too…eager for me.”

  “Eager?” Nicole was frowning, and Livvi glanced around at the other two women who were also looking at her with exasperation on their faces.

  “Livvi likes her men disinterested and selfish,” Chloe said, and laughed.

  “No I don’t. I just…” she pursed her lips. “Forget it. I can’t explain it. But as great as Eric is, he just wasn’t it.”

  “Poor Eric,” Kaye said, sticking her lip out. “Maybe Nadia in admin will give him more of a chance. She’s sweet.”

  Livvi rolled her eyes at the implication. “Give me a break, anyway. Did you think you were going to crack The One on the very first try?” she said, and smirked at them. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  “Well, maybe we will with tonight’s selection,” Nicole said. Livvi leant back in her chair and surveyed them.

  “Lay it on me then. What am I in for?”

  “Patrick Miller. 38. Investment banker. Not so much ‘hottie’ status as Eric, but nice and…manly.” Nicole jutted out her shoulders in illustration.

  “Ticking the boxes so far. He sounds like who I would normally go for. How is this different?”

  “Never married.”

  Livvi grimaced. “I always have to wonder at the reason for that,” she said.

  “I think you might be okay. He’s one of my brother’s colleagues, and Jason says he’s just been very career driven with no time for dating, that’s all. No other red flags.”

  “Ok, well I’ll give him a go, I guess.”

  “Not that you have any choice, anyway.”

  ***

  “So, Nicole tells me you haven’t dated all that much,” Livvi said, leaning forward across the table to rest her chin lightly on her hand.

  “Nicole?”

  “Jason’s sister.”

  “Oh, of course. Well, she tells you right.”r />
  Livvi shifted her hand down and trailed a finger over her collar bone, watching his reaction. His eyes darkened with desire as he watched the movement. “I’m just wondering why that is. Why someone like you would still be single.”

  “Someone like me?” He raised an eyebrow, and a smile played on his mouth. Livvi quirked her red lips in a flirty grin.

  “Successful. Handsome. Charming. You seem like the perfect catch.” She watched his shoulders drop back as he sat a little straighter in his chair.

  “I’ve been busy, I suppose. It didn’t seem fair to date anyone when I knew I couldn’t give them my best.”

  Livvi nodded. She ran her fingers along her wine glass, and then took a sip. Patrick watched her mouth. “And now?”

  “Now,” he said, bringing his eyes back to hers. “Now I’m secure in my career, and I’m at a point where I’d like to start building the other parts of my life with someone.”

  Livvi smiled. The date was turning out far better than she had expected, and though they had finished their meals several minutes ago, neither of them had made any moves to leave. The conversation had flowed freely, and embolden Livvi to ask the questions that played on her mind, looking for the catch that came with this seemingly ideal man. “And what sort of life is that?” she asked. A little anxious flutter caught in her throat. Somehow she knew what he was about to say, and she felt her optimism sink.

  “Well, I’ve worked hard for my success, and to provide for my future family,” he said. And he said it with confidence, as if it was something he knew women wanted to hear. And maybe it was — for women who weren’t Livvi. “I’m looking forward to enjoying what I’ve created.”

  “And this future family,” Livvi said, her smile faltering, “you want to have kids?”

  “Of course,” he said. A flicker of a frown passed over his face, and he took a sip of his wine. “You don’t.”

  She must have been more transparent than she realised. Livvi shook her head.

  “Are you sure? I know women like to be independent these days, but I just think if you meet the right man who can provide for you, then why wouldn’t you want to be at home and raise your children?”