‘‘I know. I felt—feel—pretty bad about it, I must admit. But the only alternative was to marry her, and I finally figured out that I don’t want to do that.’’
He was standing in front of her now, not touching her but close, a smile lurking around the corners of his mouth. Still leaning against his desk, Olivia looked up into his eyes. She thought they were almost—tender, as they met hers.
Still, she would not allow herself to believe.
‘‘And this is supposed to interest me—why?’’ Her tone was frosty.
This time he really did smile. ‘‘I don’t know,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought we might kind of pick up where we left off.’’
‘‘Where we left off?’’ Her heart was thudding in her breast. She couldn’t move her gaze away from his.
‘‘Unless you just went to bed with me to be kind.’’ He picked up her hand and carried it to his mouth, where he pressed his parted lips to her palm. Olivia felt the moist heat of his lips on her skin with every fiber of her being. ‘‘Were you just being kind to your grief-stricken cousin, Livvy?’’
‘‘You’re not my cousin,’’ Olivia said fiercely, and threw herself into his arms. Her hands locked behind his neck, and his arms wrapped around her waist.
‘‘No, I’m not, thank God,’’ he said, and kissed her.
The phone on his desk shrilled, interrupting.
‘‘Shit,’’ Seth muttered, pressing Olivia back against the desk as he groped for the ringing instrument without releasing her. Only as he punched a button and growled ‘‘What?’’ did she realize that he was speaking over the intercom.
‘‘Mr. Archer, your two thirty appointment is here.’’ Ilsa’s voice sounded disconcertingly clear, almost as if she were in the room with them.
‘‘Give me one minute.’’ Seth punched the button to turn the intercom off. Olivia was leaning against him, her arms around his neck, her mouth pressed to the warm, prickly skin just below his jaw. The hard edge of his desk cut into her bottom as his weight held her against it, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was Seth.
Her Seth, now.
He found her mouth, kissed her again, then slid his lips along her cheek.
‘‘How about dinner tonight?’’ he asked, with his mouth at her ear.
‘‘Are you asking me for a date?’’ The idea charmed her. Dating Seth—she would never, in all the years she had known him, have foreseen herself doing such a thing. She reared her head back so that she could look at him. Her expression turned mock severe. ‘‘I thought you said that Archer Boatworks has a policy about employees dating each other.’’
‘‘I must have forgotten to mention that our policy specifically excludes the general manager.’’ He smiled down into her eyes. ‘‘So how about dinner?’’
‘‘Sara. Chloe . . .’’ She could hardly think when he looked at her like that. Being in his arms felt so good, so right. Joy fizzed inside her like bubbles in champagne.
‘‘Martha can baby-sit. We won’t be late. I want to take you out.’’
‘‘Seth.’’ Olivia strove to keep a cool head. She was so happy, so deliriously happy, that all she wanted to do was be with him every moment for the rest of her life. But there were difficulties that had to be faced. ‘‘Chloe might not like the idea that we’re—involved. She likes me now, but . . .’’
‘‘Involved? Good word. I like it. Much better than dating.’’ Seth kissed her again, quickly and deeply. Responding, Olivia almost lost her train of thought. When he lifted his head, she remembered, and doggedly persevered.
‘‘I think we should be discreet in front of the girls. I . . .’’
The telephone shrilled again. This time, when Seth answered it, Phillip’s voice came over the intercom, all pleasant and jolly for the benefit of the audience in the other room, but with an unmistakable subtext.
‘‘Seth, buddy, Niko Terezakis is here.’’
Niko Terezakis, Olivia knew, was one of the Boatworks’ wealthiest clients. The new yacht he was thinking about ordering would be in the ten-million-dollar-or-more range.
‘‘I’ll be right with you,’’ Seth said into the intercom, and turned it off. ‘‘Don’t worry about Chloe. She likes you. She never did like Mallory. She told me Mallory was only nice to her because she was trying to hook me.’’
‘‘Chloe has her moments, but no one can say she’s not smart.’’ Olivia pulled out of his arms. ‘‘You need to get back to work. And I need to go pick up Sara and Chloe. We can talk about this later.’’
‘‘Wait a second.’’ He put his hands on either side of her face, tilted it up to his, kissed her mouth, and looked down at her consideringly. Then he grinned. ‘‘You were mad as fire at me when you marched in here, and now you’re smiling and your eyes are glowing and your lipstick’s all gone—what’s Ilsa going to make of that, I wonder? And Phillip?’’
‘‘This is going to be embarrassing.’’ Olivia groaned as the truth of what he was saying hit her. Pulling away from him, she smoothed her hair with her hands as best she could, and bit her lips so that the absence of lipstick might be less noticeable.
Seth laughed. ‘‘Look at it this way: We’ll give them something to talk about.’’
‘‘There’s a happy thought,’’ Olivia muttered, and headed for the door.
Seth was right behind her, reaching around her to open the door for her.
‘‘Try to look as grouchy as you did when you came in,’’ he whispered teasingly in her ear, his hand on the knob. ‘‘And remember to tell Carl that going dancing on Friday is out.’’
Before Olivia could reply he pulled the door open, and she suddenly felt like the leading lady on the play’s opening night: All eyes were on her.
Olivia was flustered, and she knew her cheeks pinkened as both Ilsa and Phillip looked her up and down. Ilsa’s eyes held compassion at first—obviously she thought Olivia had just endured a major chewing out— then widened with growing surprise. Phillip’s gaze was dark with disapproval from the beginning. Of course, he’d surprised her with Seth before, and must have had an inkling about what was going on behind Seth’s closed office door.
The third occupant of the room, a black-haired, swarthy-skinned man who was not quite as tall as Phillip but had an air about him of one who expected everyone around him to jump to his bidding, merely had appreciation in his gaze as it ran over Olivia.
‘‘Niko!’’ Seth said affably, moving around Olivia to shake the client’s hand. ‘‘Sorry to keep you waiting. Come on into my office, and I’ll show you the plans we’ve drawn up for the Athena. She’ll be magnificent. . . .’’
With Phillip trailing, the three men went into Seth’s office and closed the door.
Olivia was left alone with Ilsa, who was still looking at her wide-eyed, her work suspended as she stood beside the file cabinet with a folder forgotten in her hand.
But whatever Ilsa might have been thinking, she had too much tact to put it into words.
Olivia escaped with a smile and a quick good-bye, grabbing purse and blazer and hurrying out the door to pick up Sara and Chloe from school.
CHAPTER 44
SETH GOT HOME AT A LITTLE AFTER FIVE, which was extremely early for him. Olivia was sitting at the kitchen table surrounded by seven little girls in brown uniforms, all busy gluing Popsicle sticks together to make bird feeders. She was wearing ancient jeans worn thin enough at the knees to be turned into next season’s shorts, a baggy olive-green T-shirt, and sneakers without socks. Her hair was twisted up in a knot at the back of her head, and secured with a pencil. Tendrils escaped to straggle around her face. Her makeup had long since worn off, and she had glue on her fingers and her right cheek. When Seth stepped through the back door, she looked up to see who it was and her breath caught.
He’d added a camel sport coat to the navy pants, blue shirt, and yellow tie he’d been wearing earlier, and he looked good enough to eat.
He paused just inside the door, looking surpris
ed to find a gaggle of chattering girls around his kitchen table.
‘‘Brownie troop,’’ Olivia said by way of explanation as he met her gaze, and smiled at him.
‘‘Oh,’’ he said, and smiled back. His eyes were dazzlingly blue, she thought, and his mouth . . . She had to fight the urge to stand up, walk to the door, throw her arms around his neck, and kiss that curved-into-a-smile mouth.
Not in front of the girls, she reminded herself.
‘‘Daddy!’’ Looking up from her bird feeder at last, Chloe greeted him with a smile. ‘‘You’re home early!’’
‘‘Yup.’’ He strolled over to where she was sitting, placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked down at her Popsicle-stick creation. ‘‘Great job, honey-bug. Uh, what is it?’’
The girls all giggled at his ignorance.
‘‘A bird feeder!’’ Chloe said indignantly. ‘‘Olivia showed us how to make them. We’re going to sell them at the carnival.’’
‘‘Oh.’’ Seth nodded as if he knew just what she was talking about, which Olivia was willing to bet dollars to doughnuts he didn’t. ‘‘Hello, Sara.’’
‘‘Hi, Seth.’’ Sara, whose bird feeder was further along than anyone else’s because of her diligence in the face of distraction, glanced up at him, focused, and awarded him a beaming smile.
‘‘The Christmas carnival at school,’’ Olivia clarified, standing up and wiping her hands on a damp paper towel. ‘‘The Brownies have their own booth this year.’’
‘‘And we’re going to have the best stuff there, and make a ton of money to pay for our spring camping trip,’’ Ginny Zigler boasted. Tall and bone-thin, with glossy dark blond hair pulled back from her face into a curly ponytail, Ginny was, as Olivia had already figured out, Chloe’s best friend. Like Chloe, she had a strong personality, and Sara tended to be subdued in her presence.
‘‘You know all the girls, don’t you, Seth?’’ Olivia asked casually. To tell the truth, she doubted that he did. In any case, without waiting for his answer, she introduced them, gesturing at each one in turn.
‘‘Katie Evans, Tiffany Holt, Mary Frances Bernard, Shannon McNulty, Ginny Zigler. Say hi to Mr. Archer, girls.’’
‘‘Hi, Mr. Archer,’’ they chorused dutifully.
Seth smiled and nodded. And looked at Olivia again.
‘‘We’ll be finished here in a few minutes. The girls get picked up at five thirty.’’
‘‘Oh.’’ Seth’s eyes met hers, slid down to her mouth. ‘‘Where’s Martha?’’
‘‘Gone into town to visit her daughter. She’ll be back about six.’’
‘‘Mrs. Morrison, can you help me with this? My fingers keep getting stuck to the roof.’’ Shannon’s voice was plaintive. Olivia moved around to help her, smoothing the glue out with her fingertips. Wiping her hands on the paper towel again, she looked up to find Seth’s eyes on her.
‘‘I’m going to go up and change clothes. I’ll be down again in a few minutes.’’
‘‘We’ll be here,’’ Olivia said, smiling at him again. She just couldn’t seem to not smile at him.
‘‘Mrs. Morrison, are we going to paint them today?’’ Mary Frances asked.
‘‘No, not today. We have to let the glue dry really well first. We’ll paint them next week.’’ Seth left the room as Olivia answered. Her gaze followed him until she realized what she was doing. Then she forced her attention back to the girls and their project.
By the time Seth came back downstairs, the bird feeders were lined up on the kitchen counter to dry, and the girls were playing in the backyard.
He was wearing chinos that looked almost as old as her jeans, a faded denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and boat shoes. The casual clothes suited his athletic build, and the denim shirt made the blue of his eyes seem very bright.
‘‘Where is everybody?’’ Seth asked, looking around as he came through the swinging door.
‘‘Outside.’’ Olivia was washing her hands in the kitchen sink. He came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed the back of her neck, which her casual upsweep had bared. A shiver of pure pleasure raced down Olivia’s spine. She finished drying her hands, turned, and slid her arms around his neck, smiling up into his eyes.
‘‘I came down to help,’’ he said in a complaining tone, as he pulled her close.
‘‘Too late,’’ Olivia murmured, going up on her toes to kiss him. His mouth was hot and hungry as he kissed her back, and Olivia felt herself go weak in the knees.
‘‘Did I tell you that you’re nice to come home to?’’ he murmured against her mouth a moment later.
Nice to come home to. That had such a wonderful ring to it. A cozy, permanent ring.
Smiling a little, she shook her head.
‘‘You give this place a heart,’’ he said, kissing the corner of her mouth. ‘‘I don’t think I could face this house right now, if you weren’t in it.’’
She saw the pain flare in his eyes.
‘‘Oh, Seth, I know you’re hurting,’’ she said, and turned her head so that her mouth found his. She kissed him softly, gently, a lover’s kiss, filled with exquisite tenderness. ‘‘We’re all hurting, everyone who loved your mother. But I know you’re hurting most of all. I wish I knew something that would take away the pain.’’
‘‘Livvy . . .’’ He took a deep breath when she slid her mouth along his bristly cheek to nibble at his earlobe. She could feel his chest expand against her breasts, his arms tighten around her waist. ‘‘You take away the pain.’’
He kissed her again, his mouth hard and hot. When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, and his body was pressing hers back against the counter. The evidence of his arousal was unmistakable between them.
‘‘Okay, I think we’d better call a halt,’’ he said after a second, lifting himself away from her with obvious reluctance. He turned so that he was leaning back against the counter beside her. His hands curled around the beveled edge on either side of his body as he looked at her. ‘‘I have a great idea: How about we all, you, me, Sara, and Chloe, go out for pizza?’’
Olivia took a deep, steadying breath. Her pulse was racing and her body tingled and ached. But overriding her desire to drag him off to bed immediately was delight that he had thought of taking Chloe and Sara on an outing. As a father, he was making giant strides. The smile she gave him sparkled. ‘‘That sounds wonderful! The girls will love it. But I have to clean up a little bit first. I can’t go anywhere like this.’’
His eyes moved over her. He didn’t have to say it for her to know he found her beautiful. It was there in his eyes.
‘‘Go wash your hands and face, and put on some lipstick, or whatever it is you women do, and come back. Don’t change clothes. I like the way you fill out those jeans.’’
He grinned wickedly at her, and Olivia couldn’t help it: She leaned toward him, dropped a quick, heated kiss on his mouth, and fled before he could grab her.
CHAPTER 45
SETH WAS SMILING AS HE WENT OUT THE kitchen door to watch the girls at play. They shouted and ran, paying no heed to him at all. Birds twittered, frogs and insects traded insults back and forth, peacocks trolled the hedge line for grubs. The late afternoon sunlight was beautiful, he thought, and realized with a sense of shock that he rarely saw it. He’d been working such long hours for so long that the softly diffused golden light that spilled over the backyard was a novelty to him. He sat in the rocking chair that his mother had favored, took an instant to acknowledge both the pain and the comfort that sitting in her chair brought him, and then deliberately moved his thoughts on to something else.
Livvy. Just thinking of her made him smile, and burn at the same time. Who ever would have thought that the plump little girl who used to follow him everywhere would grow up to claim such a big chunk of his heart?
Not he. Never in a million years.
Like this impossibly big, run-down old house, and the Boatworks, and his famil
y, and, in fact, the entire town of LaAngelle, Livvy was part of the fabric of his life. She fit into it seamlessly, and she always had. Maybe that was why it had taken him so long to realize the truth: He didn’t just want to take her to bed and keep her there for a month of Sundays. He was in love with her.
Whoa, he cautioned himself as the full force of that hit him. He loved Livvy, of course. He had always loved her, from the time he had first set eyes on her as a chubby-cheeked baby through her maddening metamorphosis into a teenage sexpot, and beyond. He’d loved her when he’d quarreled with her the night she’d run away with that bastard Morrison, he’d loved her the whole time she was gone, and he’d loved her when she came back to LaAngelle. But that was a different kind of love, a careless, familial love, a protective, big-brother sort of love that had only now and then been marred by transient feelings of lust.
What he felt for her now was all that, and more. A whole lot more.
He loved her, and he was in love with her. Truly, madly, deeply, as the saying went.
Just the thought of his life without Livvy in it made him go cold with fear. It would be like someone suddenly extinguishing the sun. He wanted her to love him back, to lavish love on him like she did on Sara, like she seemed ready to do on Chloe. He wanted her for himself, and he wanted her for Chloe. Livvy and Sara, he and Chloe: a family. The start of a family. There’d be more. Livvy was made to raise children. She was as loving and giving a person as he had ever known.
He wanted her forever.
The knowledge scared him a little. Go slow, he cautioned himself. He’d been married once, and divorced. Chalk up one colossal mistake. Until shortly after noon today, he’d been engaged to be married a second time. Chalk up another mistake, not quite so big because he’d aborted in time but with the potential for major disaster. Now he was in love with Livvy. Really in love, which, with the wisdom of hindsight, he could see he had never been before. Livvy was not a mistake. What he felt for her was fundamentally different than what he had felt for Jennifer, or Mallory. He knew it as surely as he knew the sun would rise in the morning. But still, it couldn’t hurt anything to just go slow.
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