by Alexia Adams
“We have a lot to talk about. Let me get changed and take off some of this heavy makeup. I’ve got the weekend free. How about you?”
He nodded, not trusting his voice. She hadn’t said she loved him yet. Wanted him, yes. Needed him, apparently. But did she love him? Had he thrown his career away on a dream?
“Hannah still with your parents?”
“Yes. She asks about you every day.”
“I miss her, too.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before stepping back. “I’ll be just a few more minutes.”
An hour later, he parked in front of Olivia’s flat. She fiddled with the keys in her hand but made no move to get out of the car. What was she nervous about?
“My mother showed up at my place this morning, demanding money.” Her voice was flat, emotionless.
“How did she find you?”
“She said she’s been watching me for a while. But until now I didn’t have anything to offer her, so she never tried to contact me. If I didn’t give her money, she was going to ask you.”
“Are you okay? It must have been a shock to see her again after all these years.”
“I didn’t even recognize her. She’s been living rough. Are you sure you still want to get involved with me?”
He put a hand on her cheek. “Olivia, I’ve been involved with you from the minute you stood by my pool and peeked at me through your fingers. I was just too stupid to see it.”
She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I was wrong about you that day.”
His chest tightened. “What about?”
“I put you in my top ten list. You should have held the number one spot from the start.”
The pressure in his chest released. It wasn’t a declaration of love, but it would do. For now. “After we deal with your mother, I’m going to cement my standing in the top place.”
This time the smile did reach her eyes. He followed her into the house.
“Are you sure this is your mother?” The woman sprawled on the floor of Olivia’s sitting room was, in a word, disgusting. And knowing the way she’d treated her daughter, it was hard to think of her as a human being.
“Yes.” Olivia’s answer came on a huge sigh.
He put his arm around her shoulders as they both stared at Ellen. “What should we do?”
“I have no idea.”
He contemplated the prone figure on the floor. She still clutched a bottle of wine to her chest, although half the contents had spilled over her and the floor. An empty bottle of champagne lay under the coffee table. He could just dump her back in the park. After the way she’d abandoned Olivia, she didn’t deserve much more. “Has she ever been to rehab?”
“Not that I know. I don’t think anyone has ever cared enough to try to clean her up.”
“I’ll make a few calls.”
“While you’re doing that, I’ll pack a bag. I don’t want to stay here tonight. Okay if we go back to your place?”
“Our place.” He kissed her quickly and then pulled out his phone.
An hour later, a private ambulance arrived to take Ellen on the first stage of her journey. Olivia had a ton of paperwork to sign. Like declarations that her mother was no longer in a position to manage her health, and as her next-of-kin, Olivia consented to Ellen receiving treatment in a remote rehabilitation center in Scotland. Jonathan signed the papers authorizing payment. As she stood and watched her mother being loaded into the ambulance, a solitary tear slid down her face.
“Such a waste of a life. She was never happy,” she said.
“She’s getting a second chance now. What she makes of it is up to her.” He put his arms around Olivia and waited until the ambulance disappeared from the end of the street.
Chapter 20
Olivia was silent in the car all the way to Lewisham. When he finally unlocked the house and ushered her inside, she turned to him. “Why did you do that for her?” He searched her face. She hadn’t objected when he told her his plan for Ellen.
“Because as much as I despise your mother for the way she treated you, she did produce the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Without her giving birth to you, I would be a shattered shell of a man, working all hours of the day, only seeing my beautiful daughter on weekends, if then. So I feel some obligation to her.”
She put a hand on his cheek, but he didn’t pull her closer. “I love you, Jonathan. Not only for what you’ve just done for my mother. Not only for the way you handled your sudden fatherhood. Not only for your sexy smile and smoking hot body. All those things are a bonus. I love you because you know all my past and still want to be with me. But most important, because I know whatever comes our way in the future, you’ll stand beside me and help me get through it.”
“You bet I will.” He swung her into his arms and carried her up the stairs while he could still walk. After setting her down on her bed he took a step back. God, he hoped he could last more than two minutes.
“Forgot what to do?” She knelt on the bed and grabbed his shirt, tugging him closer.
“It’s been a while.”
“Well, first you kiss me.”
He lowered his lips to hers but when he was a millimeter away he asked, “Where?” He diverted his lips along her cheek to her ear before trailing down her neck.
“Anywhere,” she replied with a gasp, as he licked a sensitive spot at the base of her throat.
His fingers were busy unbuttoning her blouse. He removed it, then her bra, pausing for a moment to look. Her breasts where heavy, her dark nipples already hard with desire. He pulled his own shirt over his head before joining her on the bed, gently pressing her onto her back.
“Oh, that’s good,” she breathed as he took one of her nipples in his mouth. His tongue toyed with the stiffened peak, flicking, licking, blowing cool air on her heated skin. He rolled her other nipple between his finger and thumb before switching sides.
“Just good?”
“I’m a tough grader.”
“I’d better up my game, then.” He undid the button and zipper on her jeans then pushed them off her body. Only a tiny scrap of silk stood between him and heaven. Olivia reached out to undo his trousers but he caught her hands. If she touched him, he’d be done. “Not yet. I’m the one auditioning. Let me do the work.”
A wicked gleam lit her eyes. “All right. Show me what you got, hotshot.” She lay back on the bed, her arms flung above her head, one leg bent at the knee. She was going to be the death of him.
He took two deep breaths and dived in. He licked and caressed, rubbed and teased until she was writhing. Her silk underpants disappeared across the room. He glanced up from between her legs. Her head was thrashing from side to side on the pillow, her muscles rock hard as she tried to hold back her orgasm. “How’m I doing?”
She put her hands in his hair and drew him up to her lips. Her kiss was frenzied, desperate. “Get inside me. Now.”
His body was flooded with desire. If he were any hotter, the sheets would catch on fire. Every moan, every twitch, every breath she took, stoked his own passion until his body throbbed with need. But he was determined to make this good for her. Determined to be everything she’d ever dreamed. Determined that she would never turn to another man for anything as long as he breathed.
He clamped down on his own raging arousal. “Not yet.” He held her hands and made another leisurely pass over her body, lingering on the spots that had elicited the most reaction the first time around. It started as a tremor, then a full-on earthquake as she went over the edge to pleasure. He propped his head on his hand and enjoyed her loss of control.
“You’ve got the job,” she declared between labored breaths.
“Which job would that be?” He had about thirty seconds left of playful banter before he exploded.
He got off the bed and removed the rest of his clothing. Her eyes did a hot sweep of his body, igniting him further. Make that five seconds.
“Personal boy toy?”
“I ap
plied for the position of fiancé.”
“I told you that wasn’t an entry-level position.”
He grabbed a condom from the bedside table and rolled it on. His hands were shaking so much it took twice as long as normal. There was no normal with Olivia. “I’m about to enter you now. Does that count?”
“Maybe.” She knelt again on the bed. Her hands on her hips, her breasts thrust forward. They bounced with her silent laughter.
Oh God. “Olivia, I have to—”
“It’s time for my interview questions.” She propped the pillows against the headboard and then guided him into a sitting position, his back against the pillows, his legs like a flattened frog. She started at his ankles and by the time she reached his upper thigh he was shaking all over. Both hands had death grips on the bed sheets. His teeth were clenched so tightly, it was possible he would never get them apart. He wasn’t going to come until he was inside her. If it killed him.
She took pity on him. “I think we may have to bring this interview to an early end,” she said. Olivia sat astride him and excruciatingly slowly, lowered herself onto him. She was so hot and tight, he might have blacked out for a millisecond. Before she could move her hips up, he grabbed them.
“I need a second.”
“Here, hold onto these.” She repositioned his hands to her breasts and then rode him to oblivion. He wasn’t sure which of them screamed the loudest.
• • •
She was covered in sweat, her hair plastered to her back, fulfilling Jonathan’s fantasy that he’d mentioned at Stephanie’s wedding. He’d fulfilled a few of her fantasies as well. Her inner muscles still rhythmically clenched with each twitch of his cock. That had been so good. Scratch that. Incredible. A double orgasm was a first for her. Hopefully not the last.
“I can do better.” Jonathan’s restless hands roamed from her buttocks, up and down her back, along her arms and then made the return journey.
“I don’t believe it.”
He put a finger under her chin until she looked in his eyes. “You doubt me?”
“No. I just don’t think it can get better than that.”
“Give me five minutes and I’ll show you.”
And he did. Her first triple orgasm.
“So, where am I at on the Chapman corporate ladder now?” he asked an hour later.
“Somewhere between coffee boy and wardrobe assistant.”
His laugh shook the bed. “I guess that’s not bad for my first day. Except I’d make a lousy wardrobe assistant as I’m only interested in removing your clothes.”
“I’ll bear that in mind.”
He snuggled her against his side. And promptly fell asleep.
She lay for half an hour, listening to his gentle breathing, reveling in his warmth and the rhythmic beating of his heart.
Careful not to disturb him, she climbed out of bed. She picked up his shirt from the floor and made her way to the kitchen. The fridge was full of takeaway meals, barely eaten. Thankfully, there was enough fresh ingredients to whip up an omelet.
She was just plating the food when strong arms came around her and lips pushed aside his shirt collar and kissed her neck.
“You scared me. For a minute I thought you’d left. Then I smelled bacon. You already have my heart. You don’t have to cook your way there.”
She turned and looped her arms around his neck. “I wasn’t trying to woo you with food. I’m starving. All I’ve had today is a coffee, two teas, and half a sandwich.”
His eyes searched hers. “That’s not enough. Promise me you’ll eat properly. I know a lot of models starve themselves or take drugs to keep their weight down. I want to support you, but I can’t stand by and watch you destroy your health.”
“Today was a fluke. First my mother, then work, then you. I promise to look after myself. I’m not going down that destructive road. I’ve seen it, too. Besides, I have too much to live for, outside of my job. Speaking of jobs. Did you really quit yours?”
“Yup. What you’re doing, or rather the reasons you’re working so hard, to help at-risk youth, is much more important than my job helping the rich get richer. I enjoyed the challenge but not as much as I enjoy being with you. I handed in my resignation when I returned from Leeds on Monday morning and then spent the past three days in meetings where my bosses tried to convince me to stay.”
“They obviously didn’t use the right interviewing techniques.”
He laughed. She loved that sound. It was going to be her goal to make him laugh every day. Or moan with pleasure. That would work, too. As if reading her thoughts, he undid two more buttons on his shirt and fondled her breasts. Her nipples immediately hardened, she arched into him, and a surge of heat swept up through her core. As she’d predicted, once or even twice would never be enough. Jonathan was going to be her eternal addiction. Thank God he was good for her.
“Shall we take those plates back upstairs?”
She wiggled out of his arms. “We need to talk first.”
With a wistful sigh, he picked up the plates while she collected the cutlery and moved over to the table. “I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted to work for you,” he said after a couple mouthfuls of food. “I agreed to do some consulting work for the bank as long as I can do the majority of it from home. Then I can stay and look after Hannah, with a little help from my mother from time to time. I’m hoping that you’ll allow me to coordinate the logistics for your youth outreach program—finding locations, getting the word out, etc. I want to support you in this. Finally, but most importantly, I’m going to care for you and love you with every fiber of my being.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Then you’re going to love my plans for the weekend.” He waggled his eyebrows and she burst out laughing.
She could make it on her own but was glad she didn’t have to. Life was going to be so much more fun with Jonathan at her side.
Epilogue
Olivia paid the taxi driver and hurried into the house. It was late spring in Italy and the warm night air was full of the scent of blossoms. Jonathan and Hannah were already here. She hadn’t been quite sure which train she’d get from Rome after her latest promotional appearance, so she had suggested they just meet at the house. They’d been apart for a week, a rarity for them, and she couldn’t wait to see her family. Even after seven months it still sent a flood of warmth through her when she thought of them. Her family.
To add to her joy, Sophia and Luca were at their villa for a couple weeks’ holiday from the hotel project. Olivia was looking forward to spending some time with her best friend and getting lots of cuddle time with her new godson. It would be good to get some experience with a tiny baby as, once her perfume contract was complete, Olivia was contemplating taking a year off to have a baby—Jonathan’s baby. Just thinking about carrying his child flooded her body with warmth and happiness.
She glanced at her watch. It was almost ten so Hannah would already be asleep. And Jonathan would be waiting for Olivia on the terrace, with a glass of wine and a kiss that would intoxicate her more than any alcohol. He’d lived up to his promise to care for her and support her and had done the majority of the legwork in setting up her charity and organizing the program. It has been such a success that there was talk of expanding it out of London into other parts of Britain.
She left her bag by the bottom of the stairs, released her hair from the tight bun it had been in all day, and headed out to the terrace. Jonathan had still been asking her every day for a promotion to fiancé and it was time she granted his request.
Stepping through to the kitchen, she was surprised to see the door to the terrace closed. Through the window, hundreds of flickering lights lit the night. Candles were everywhere, including hundreds floating in the pool. What was Jonathan up to?
The door opened as if by magic and the lilting voice of Ella Fitzgerald filled the air. “At Last.” Their song. The whole terrace was covered in flower petals and at the end of a red
runner, Jonathan was on one knee. Hannah stood at his side wearing the fairy wings she refused to take off except for bathing and sleeping.
Slowly, Olivia approached the pair. Her heart beat so loud she was sure they could hear. She couldn’t get any words past the lump in her throat. How could I ever have imagined living without these two people in my life?
“Daddy, what am I ’posed to say?”
Jonathan whispered in Hannah’s ear. “Bibya, will you be my mummy?” Hannah jumped up and down as she asked the question, the wings on her back flapping madly.
“I would be honored to be your mummy, Hannah.” Olivia dashed away the happy tear that streaked down her cheek so the little girl didn’t think she was sad.
“Wha’d she say?” Hannah turned to her daddy again.
“She said yes,” Jonathan reassured her. “My turn now.” He held out his hand and Olivia put hers into it. “Olivia Chapman, will you please marry me?”
“Yes.” Her throat was so tight she could barely speak.
Jonathan stood and swept her into his arms. Hannah hugged her legs until she bent down and picked the little girl up so they could all embrace together.
“You know, if you had asked me like this seven months ago, I probably would have said yes then,” she finally managed to say.
“I know. But I wanted you to be sure we are what you want. Because this is a life-long commitment I’m asking for. Besides, I’ve enjoyed our interviews and climbing the Chapman corporate ladder, but now I’m looking for tenure.”
“You’ve got it.”
He kissed her then until Hannah’s loud yawn broke them apart. A minute later, the terrace was filled with people. Sophia and Luca and their three-month-old son, Dante, came first. Then Jonathan’s parents, his brother and sisters and their spouses and children next. Even Maxine, her agent, was there. Dazed, Olivia hugged each person and listened to the chorus of congratulations and the popping of champagne corks. Patricia took Hannah out of her arms and Jonathan led her over to the love seat. He handed her a letter from her mother who had successfully completed her stint in rehab. She was going to stay in Scotland and start a new life there. She wished Olivia happiness. No declaration of love or request for forgiveness. Her mother hadn’t changed that much. It didn’t matter. She had Jonathan, and his family. Her family soon.