All Chapters of OFF LIMITS: HIS BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Olivia’s POVThe bus ride always felt longer when my nerves were already shot.Chicago to New York. Another away game. Another city where nobody knew me, where the bright hotel lights turned into a stage for secrets I swore I wouldn’t keep living.But here I was.I shifted in my seat, arms folded tight across my chest as the rest of the medical staff chatted. Trainers swapped stories, a few players dozed off in their headphones, the coaches were buried in notes. It should’ve been routine. Just another weekend on the road.Except Xander was three rows back. And I could feel him.I didn’t dare look. Not with Ethan so close, just two seats over, talking with another rookie about some move he wanted to try during warm-ups. My son’s laugh carried down the aisle. It used to fill me with joy. Now it only twisted my stomach with guilt.Because while Ethan was dreaming about hockey glory, I was drowning in a secret that could break him.My phone buzzed in my lap.I glanced down. A text.Xander

Olivia’s POVThe smell of buttercream frosting clung to my kitchen, sweet and overwhelming, the kind of scent that reminded me I was in way over my head.Streamers hung crooked across the living room, balloons bumping gently against the ceiling from the fan’s breeze. I’d spent the whole morning running around, making sure every detail looked perfect, and yet my chest still thudded like I was walking into enemy territory instead of my own apartment.It wasn’t just Ethan’s birthday. It was Ethan’s birthday with Xander coming over.That thought alone was enough to make me nearly drop the plastic cup tower I was stacking on the counter.“You’re twitchy,” Maya teased, snapping another balloon with a string and tying it to the back of a chair. “Like, really twitchy. Is this a party or a funeral?”I shot her a look. “I’m not twitchy. I’m...”She cut me off with a smirk. “You’re nervous because golden boy is coming. Don’t bother denying it.”I sighed, pressing a hand to my forehead. “It’s not

Olivia's Pov The ballroom was too bright, too golden, too loud. I wasn’t a guest tonight—I was staff. At least, that’s what Cassandra’s people made sure of. A therapist dragged into an engagement party like some kind of ornament. My name wasn’t on the seating chart. Instead, I was tucked in the corner, standing with the servers in black and white, pretending I belonged.Cassandra’s family didn’t do subtle. They had rented the grandest hotel in Chicago—crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling, champagne fountains spilling into crystal bowls, violins humming in the background. Gold-trimmed invitations. Diamond centerpieces. A show meant for the press, for the cameras, for the magazines that would plaster Cassandra’s face across every gossip column by morning.And then there was him.Xander Hayes. Captain. Superstar. My son’s best friend. My biggest mistake and my biggest weakness all at once.He looked like a man out of a fantasy in his black tailored suit, cufflinks glinting unde

Olivia's PovThe party had ended, but my body still burned.Back in my apartment, I couldn’t stop touching my lips, remembering the way Xander had kissed me in that hallway—hungry, desperate, like he couldn’t breathe without me. My pulse still raced like I was standing there pressed against the wall, his hands caging me in.I should’ve felt guilty. I should’ve been terrified. Cassandra had smiled at me like a queen giving a warning shot, her words sharp even beneath the polite applause. But none of that mattered the second Xander’s mouth crashed into mine.I kept telling myself I’d made a mistake. That I’d lost control. That this had to stop.And then I’d remember the way he whispered, “Wrong’s the only thing that feels right anymore.”And I wanted him again.So when my phone buzzed, I snatched it up, heart leaping.But it wasn’t him. Just Maya checking if I’d survived the gala. Text me tomorrow, you looked pale on TV, she wrote.I tossed the phone aside and paced the living room.He’

Olivia’s POVI didn’t remember driving home.One second, I was in the arena parking lot, shaking; the next, I was standing in my apartment with the lights off and the envelope clutched to my chest.Silence pressed around me like a punishment.I dropped the envelope on the table. The photos fanned open, faces I loved and hated staring back at me.My throat burned. I wanted to scream, to tear them apart but I couldn’t even move.The knock came once.Then again.Firm. Familiar.My heart stuttered.“Olivia......open the door.”His voice. Low. Rough.For a long moment I just stood there, hands trembling. Every reason not to open that door ran through my head—my career, my son, my pride.But none of them were stronger than the sound of his voice when he said my name again.I turned the knob.Xander stood in the hallway, hoodie damp from rain, eyes wild and tired.He looked wrecked.So was I.“What are you doing here?” I whispered.He didn’t answer at first. His jaw flexed, breath fogging th