by Natalie Ann
“I do. But I’d like you to make it for me. If you have time. If you think you can have it done by the time this room is ready.”
He wasn’t sure why he made the offer. Well, that wasn’t true. He knew why he made it. He wanted to give her something. It seemed in his eyes he hadn’t given her much at all.
One dinner, and two fast booty calls, for lack of better words. She deserved better than that. Better than he’d been able to do.
She seemed to be making quite an effort with him, understanding his time constraints and never complaining. Making a bed was something that would be a part of him. Something with meaning that he could give back.
“I’ll have it done in time.” Even if it meant doing it when Trey was in bed at night.
“Then, yes, I’d like that very much. Surprise me. I want to see how well you think you know me.”
He was afraid he knew her better than she thought. More than he thought himself capable of knowing another woman, and that was terrifying him at the moment.
“Hey there, sexy,” he heard whispered in his ear and jumped. He’d thought he was in the shop alone and had completely zoned out with the memories of her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Thought you would have heard me walking toward you.”
He looked down at Olivia’s heels, and was shocked he had been so lost in his memory of their time together last week that he never heard her enter. That was so unlike him.
“Hey. You’re here early.”
Once he knew no one was around, he leaned over and gave her a kiss. He didn’t know why it mattered. Everyone on the crew knew they were dating.
“I have a lot to do. I won’t be here today. I just came in to get a few things and I’ll be running errands and interviewing for staff later.”
“No lunch together today, I take it.”
“Sorry. Not tomorrow either.” She leaned in and gave him another kiss, started to walk away, then tossed her hair over her shoulder, looking at him playfully. “Maybe I’ll see you at the party on Sunday, though.”
Likes You
Finn still didn’t think it was a good idea to go to the party today, but when push came to shove, he didn’t want to disappoint Trey.
The party had started about two hours ago, but he was exhausted. He’d gotten some sleep at work the night before, but not much.
He’d gotten home a little after eight this morning, crawled into bed and crashed, then woken up at one, showered, and went to get Trey at his mother’s. Before they could go to the party, they had to run back home and change Trey’s clothes because he’d spilled something on his shirt at breakfast and didn’t like the shirt his grandmother put on him.
And, of course, Trey wanted to bring his glove that he’d forgotten to pack the day before, too.
He parked his truck on the edge of the driveway behind several cars and was thankful he recognized a few vehicles, one being Olivia’s. She knew he was coming. He texted her last night and said he decided to show up for a few hours.
Walking around to the back of the house where the party was going in full force, he tried to hold Trey back. It was the one thing he was thankful for. Trey seemed to be coming out of his shell and all he could talk about on the ride here was seeing Michael, Evan and Cameron again.
“Hey there, Captain Abraham.” Finn turned to see Olivia approaching him and waited to see what she would do. “It’s good to see you again.”
She was smirking at him, he saw, but was thankful that she was letting him take the lead with Trey around. He still wasn’t sure how he was going to approach today.
“Good to see you too. Trey, you remember Olivia from the park a few weeks ago, right?”
Trey dropped his head, his normal reaction to coming in contact with a woman that wasn’t a family member.
Finn was still shocked that Trey went with Kaitlin and Brooke to the movies, but figured being with his friends overruled that. “Yes.” He raised his eyes, fighting to find his courage while Olivia smiled at him. “You’re Cameron’s aunt.”
“Sort of,” she said continuing with a perky smile at his son.
“Trey!” Finn turned to see Harper running up from the lake toward them and covered his laugh with a cough. Thankfully, Michael was following and reached Trey first, but Harper continued to talk. “Hi, Aunt Olivia. Trey, come down to the lake with us.” Then she grabbed Trey’s hand only to have him try to snatch it back.
Trey looked back at him. “Can I?”
“Sure. I’ll walk with you so I can see who else is there. If you want your suit I’ll go get it out of the truck.”
“We’re just playing in the sand,” Michael said, then took off in a run after them.
“I think someone has a crush on Trey,” Olivia said, her eyes dancing lightly, her lips twitching.
“And Trey isn’t sure what to do about it.”
“Come on. Let’s head to the lake and make sure Trey is okay.”
They walked together side by side, not touching. He leaned closer to her and whispered, “I feel like everyone is watching us.”
“Maybe because they are,” she said, laughing, the throaty sound hitting him square in the chest.
“Do I even want to know why?”
“You can’t be that slow. Come on, Finn. We’re the new couple. Everyone is watching to see how we are together.”
“Trey doesn’t know.” Now he had to worry that someone would slip around Trey.
“I’m sure everyone is aware of that too. Don’t worry about it. No pressure from me, and I’m sure from no one else.” She grabbed his hand quick and gave it a little tug, then let go. “Relax. Let the day play out how it will.”
Brooke stopped them right before the waterfront. “Finn, it’s good to see you. This is my husband, Lucas, and his father, Thomas.”
“Nice to meet you.” Finn extended his hand out to the men. He knew who Judge Mathews was, knew him from the TV commercials before the Judge even ran for office. Just like he knew who Kaitlin’s husband was and didn’t need to be introduced when Ryan walked over quickly and shook hands. “Thank you for the invite. Trey has been talking about this party for days.”
“Glad to hear it,” Thomas said. “The kids always have a blast during these parties. And I can tell you want to check on him by the water, so I won’t keep you.”
Finn was grateful they let him and Olivia walk the few last steps closer so he could see who was watching the kids. He relaxed when he saw Phil and Alec building sandcastles.
“It’s good to see you, Finn.” Dr. Malone said, standing up and clapping his hands together to get rid of the sand. “I hear our boys are becoming fast friends.”
“Dr. Malone, nice to see you, too.”
“Call me Mac. No one is formal here. We’re all family somehow.” He pointed to a beautiful blonde woman sitting in a chair by the water. “That’s my wife, Beth, our daughter Emma passed out in her arms, and our daughter Zoe is somewhere. You can’t miss her, she’s the spitting imagine of her mother and she is probably clinging to Sophia right now, trying to mother Addison like she’s a doll.”
“That’s because my niece is a little doll,” Olivia said.
Finn was fighting the embarrassment over seeing Mac in a public setting like this and not as a patient who was covered by confidentiality. Not that he thought Mac would ever utter a word. And he knew he had no reason to be embarrassed over the things that Mac knew, but he couldn’t help it.
He didn’t care if he was judged, but he never wanted Trey to be judged. Everything he’d done in the last four years was to ultimately protect Trey.
Finn looked over and saw Trey covered in dirt and tried not to cringe. That was going to be a bear to get clean, but then he heard his son’s laughter and all his nervousness about today vanished.
Maybe coming today wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
***
Olivia looked over at Finn and Trey sitting together eating burgers. She was by Sophia and Kaitlin in the shade.
>
“How come you’re over here?” Sophia asked.
“Because I’m giving them space.”
“Don’t do that,” Kaitlin said. “If you leave it up to him, you’ll be here for a long time.”
“What, like you offering to take Trey to the movies a few weeks ago?”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Kaitlin said and giggled.
“Go over there and talk to them. Don’t let him off the hook, Olivia. Give Trey a chance to warm up to you at the very least.”
“I don’t want to unbalance his world,” Olivia argued.
“By sitting next to his father at a picnic? Get real, Olivia.” Sophia nudged her along. “Go. I’m sick of watching you two bungle your way through this.”
Olivia took a deep breath and walked away. She was getting sick of listening to everyone, anyway. They all wanted to know why she and Finn were keeping their distance, yet they all noticed the two of them couldn’t stop looking at each other.
Maybe Kaitlin was right; maybe it was time to push a little.
She sat across from Finn at the table and saw him lift his head and smile at her. The same soft smile he’d been sending her all day. That was something at least.
“Having fun, Trey?”
Trey looked up from his burger, a touch of ketchup on his cheek, his mouth full, and nodded his head.
“It’s always fun to hang out with your friends, huh?”
When Trey looked toward Finn before he answered, Olivia felt her heart drop. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. But Finn leaned down and whispered something in Trey’s ear. Trey frowned and then smiled shyly.
“Daddy says you’re his friend.”
“I am.” Her pulse started to race.
“He said you have a really big yard.”
“I do.”
“As big as the park?”
“Not quite that big.” She looked at Finn, caught his wink and pushed on. “But there is a lot of room to run and play.”
“To throw a ball?”
“Yes, plenty of room to throw a ball. There’s a pool too. Do you like to swim?”
“Daddy’s taking me for lessons at the Y.”
“Well, anytime you want to play ball in my yard you can. And your Daddy can take you swimming too, once I open the pool and move in.”
“You don’t live there?” Trey’s face was priceless with the confusion filling it.
“Not yet. I just bought the house and am having work done on it.”
“Daddy does work on houses.”
“I know. I think he is going to be doing some work on my house, too.”
It wasn’t so hard to talk to Trey, she realized. She knew he was shy, Finn had told her so, but he seemed open enough talking to her right now.
“You’re pretty.”
Olivia’s eyes went wide. She glanced at Finn, and saw him trying to cover his laugh and end up coughing into his hand like he did earlier when Harper came running toward Trey.
“Thank you. You’re pretty handsome yourself.”
“Trey, let’s play catch again,” Cameron said, running over.
“May I be excused?” Trey asked his father and Olivia was warmed at how well-mannered Trey was.
“Did you get enough to eat?”
Olivia looked down at Trey’s plate and saw it was empty.
“Yes.”
“Okay, go have fun. Stay where the adults can see you.”
“He seems to be enjoying himself,” Olivia said.
“Yeah. He’s come out of his shell quite a bit in the last few months.”
They sat there looking at each other, until Olivia started to get nervous. “What? Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Thanks for talking to Trey just now.”
“It was my pleasure. He’s a good kid.”
“He is. He’s my world.”
“I know he is. You’re doing a great job with him.”
He nodded, hesitated a moment, then said, “I think he likes you.”
“I hope so, because I kind of have a thing for his father.”
“His father kind of has a thing for you, too.”
Touched
Olivia let herself in the backdoor of her store. They’d finally installed the thick steel door and she no longer had to walk around to the front of the building. It was a good thing too. The front door and windows were all covered up, hiding the store from the public at the moment.
In just four days, she was having her grand opening. She’d chosen a Saturday in hopes of having a huge turnout and had been promoting it for weeks along with sales and giveaways—Kristen’s idea.
Kristen was perfect for the job, just like Sophia had thought, and was now her new manager. Between the two of them, they’d hired another two full-time staff and four part-timers.
As much as Olivia wanted to be working the storefront, she really wanted to be available for custom work and design, not to mention any work on orders she received for the store merchandise that needed to be fitted or adjusted before they left the store.
The construction was done—finished just a few days ago—and the store was stunning. Finn had outdone himself on the cabinetry.
She missed seeing him in the store, but she knew when he finished the week after Memorial Day, he’d be reassigned. There wasn’t much left for him personally to do in the store.
Thankfully, he’d been reassigned to her house. She was positive Brynn did that on purpose.
So though she didn’t see him at the store daily, she knew where he was. Not that she’d had time to check her house out, either. She’d gotten the keys to it two weeks ago and hadn’t been in since they started to gut her kitchen and master suite.
All she knew was the floors had all been refinished downstairs and the kitchen and master bath were coming along.
Right now, with the store quiet, she made her way into the vault. For the last five days, even over the weekend with the help of Sophia and Kaitlin, all the pieces had been tagged and logged into the computer. Now she was going to start to display them in the store.
With her arms full of pieces, she started to remember last week when her first shipment of inventory came in the armored truck. She and Kristen had been waiting anxiously for it when Phil and Alec showed up, followed quickly by Finn and another man she’d never seen before.
“What are you guys doing here?”
“Helping you unload,” Phil said, looking quickly at Alec, then Finn, and back to her.
“That’s what the drivers are for,” she’d said.
“It will get done faster with us,” Finn said.
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you guys here to protect me? You do realize the drivers are armed and you aren’t.”
“Landon is,” Finn said of the other man.
She turned quickly and saw he did have a gun holstered on his hip. “Can you just wear a gun in public like that?”
“He’s a police officer. The one I told you about who does the self-defense training. I think you and your staff need to have him come in one day and show you a few things.”
Olivia looked over at Landon, saw that Kristen was staring at him too, and then looked back to Finn. “I told you I can handle myself.”
“Do it as a favor to us,” Phil said. “I’ll sleep better at night if I know you can protect yourself.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. Fine.” She turned to Landon. “Just leave your number or something and I’ll figure it out.”
Finn walked over and quickly kissed her on the lips. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
As annoyed as she was, she was touched, too.
For years, no one ever really cared enough to help her carry anything. Not without wanting something in return. And though Finn wanted something in return, it still was something that was for her protection.
Some might say Finn was being a bit controlling or pushy with his efforts to get her to take the course; after all, he’d brought it
up a few times on the sly in the previous week. But in the end, it was the smart thing to do. She knew that, so she wouldn’t argue anymore.
After an hour of going through her pieces, she heard knocking on the glass door and just assumed it was Kristin coming to the front rather than the back. She rushed forward and pushed the paper covering the door aside, and swore. Unlocking the door, she tried to recover from her shock.
“Mom, what are you doing here?”
Victoria reached forward and hugged her tight, the familiar smell of Chanel hitting her hard.
“Surprise, darling. Anthony and I wanted to be here for your grand opening. We came early to visit the kids, too.”
Olivia shouldn’t have been surprised that her mother and Anthony showed up, but on some level she was. Deep down though, she was thrilled.
“This is a surprise. Come in and let me show you around.” She shut and locked the door behind her mother and turned to watch her mom’s reaction to the store.
“Oh, sweetie, look at this place. I’m so proud of you.” Victoria was blotting her eyes and walking around, running her hands over the display cases. “These are just stunning. Look at your initials branded into them. It’s the same logo on the window out front, too. How clever. Where did you have these made?”
“Harper’s made them.”
She wasn’t going to specifically say Finn, not at this moment. And she’d loved Finn’s logo of her initials so much she had it added to the sign out front.
“They did a wonderful job. This store is an exact representation of you.”
“Do you think?” She’d tried so hard for that look and was glad her mother recognized it.
“It is. It’s simple and elegant at the same time. Flashy, but not over the top, and one hundred percent class. Show me your pieces, I don’t care about all these common ones.”
Leave it to her mother to know how to describe something.
“Mom, those pieces are pretty too. But here, over to the side.” She led her mother to the display case on the right. “These are mine. I didn’t want them being the first thing someone saw when they came in, thinking the whole store was custom, but I won’t be hiding them in the back of the store either. They are the only pieces displayed right now. I’m setting the rest up.”