by Alexa Davis
“I’ll just go and check that she’s okay. You stay right where you are. If she doesn’t need much, then I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”
“Yes, Ma’am, whatever you say.”
Honestly, talk about hitting the jackpot! As I ran from one room to the other I couldn’t help thinking that Zack was all kinds of perfect, in a damaged packaging. He seemed like he wasn’t on the surface, but really he was. The money wasn’t even anything to do with that, it was nothing compared to the sort of person he was.
I was falling in love with him. For real.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Zack
Thursday
“Oh my God, you have no idea how hard it is to keep my hands off you,” I growled into Olivia’s ear. “Especially when you’re touching me like that.”
“Well you’re going to have to behave,” she replied tartly. “Because we’re supposed to be working on your leg here, and if anyone sees...”
“I know, but you look so foxy in your uniform.” I brushed her leg lightly, searching for a reaction more than anything else. “And, you get to touch me. It isn’t exactly fair, is it?”
“I’m touching you because I have to. It’s my job.” She cocked her head and gave me a look. “You’re going to have to stop distracting me if you want to get any better.”
I fell into silence and followed her commands for a while. As tempting as it was to wind her up, I didn’t want to get caught. The last thing I wanted was for her to have any trouble from Ms. Simms. Speaking of which...
“Did your boss ever mention anything about Lark? I haven’t seen him since the night of the party, so I’m not totally sure what happened with them. Plus, I was distracted by you.”
She smiled to herself at the memory of the party. “They were flirting a lot. Does Lark like older women? I mean, I know she’s only in her forties or whatever, but still... It’s pretty crazy, right?”
“Yeah I guess.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Lark is Lark. He just... I don’t know, he does what he does and he likes who he likes.”
“So, you think there might actually be something there?”
“I don’t know,” I told Olivia honestly. “Maybe. He’ll be back from his trip on Friday, so I’ll talk to him then. We’ve got plans to hang out, so that’ll be good.”
“He’s been gone a long time this time. You must miss him.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I didn’t want to admit how much I missed Lark when he went away. “But at least I’ve got you to keep me company.”
As Olivia finished helping me stretch my leg and moved away from me, I scanned my eyes over her body. She really did look incredible in her work uniform, I was a lucky guy. I wasn’t ever going to take that for granted.
“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” she asked me sweetly.
“Oh, Dad and I are meeting up in a bit. We’re going to interview some people to come and work for the charity with us.” It felt good to be able to discuss the charity now, Dad was right about making me talk to Olivia about it, it was silly not to. “Things are really progressing now. Dad’s been getting a load of stuff done in the office building, too, so it’ll be ready to start working in soon.”
“That sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see it.”
“I’ll take you there sometime, I promise.”
We shared a look for a moment, one that was filled with promise. Of course, I still wished that I could lean across and kiss her, but it was nice to be able to have just that. We shared a lot with just our eyes, there was a whole bunch of understanding there, and it made me want to grin.
Olivia made my days brighter, she made everything more fun, she filled my days with color. I knew with an absolute certainty that I was falling in love with her. I couldn’t wait to tell her, but I needed to wait until the moment was right.
This was my first time fully falling in love – I hoped it’d be my last, too. If I was only going to get one shot at it, then I needed it to be perfect.
“Well, good luck today, and maybe I’ll see you tonight?”
“Definitely. I’ll see you later on when I can finally touch you!”
***
“So we’re agreed then?” I asked my dad in shock. “We’ve actually managed to agree on something?”
“It looks that way,” he laughed. “Out of all those people, we’ve actually picked three that we both like.” He looked at me with shining, happy eyes. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does. I can’t wait now. I think Javi will be really good at the marketing side of things, and Helen seems super organized.”
“She’s cute, too.” Dad gave me a curious look. He was broaching the subject that we’d been trying to avoid ever since his bow up the other day. “Or do you still have your girlfriend?”
“Dad, we don’t have to talk about that. I know you don’t agree with what I’m doing, and I really don’t want things ruined.”
“No, no, I apologized about that. I overreacted and that was wrong of me. It’s none of my business what you do with your life.” He actually looked guilty as he spoke, which was a first. “I’m just interested. Are you still with the physiotherapist?”
“I am… And, while we’re on the subject I might as well tell you that she’s a mom. She’s got an adorable little girl named Meghan.”
“Oh.” To his credit, he didn’t say anything derogative. He didn’t even look like he was thinking it. “I see, and the father isn’t around?”
“No, he’s not. I don’t know much about it, but it’s someone from her hometown who hasn’t been in the picture from the beginning. She’s a lovely girl, as well. Really sweet, he’s missing out.”
“I’d honestly love to meet her,” Dad shocked me by saying. “She must be quite some girl if she’s captured your heart.”
“Yeah, sure, sounds good.” Maybe I should’ve jumped on that opportunity, but I was a little distracted. There was something I’d panned as a surprise for my dad and now was the time to tell him. I just couldn’t wait. “Dad, see that townhouse there?”
He followed where I was pointing and nodded. “Yeah, I see it. The one with the sold sign on?”
“Yep, that’s the one.” I sucked in a breath and smirked. “Well, I’m the one that brought it.”
“You are?” He sounded genuinely shocked. “But I thought you loved your apartment. I mean, you could do with somewhere a lot better…”
“No, Dad, I didn’t mean for me. I brought it for you. I figure now that we’re going to work at the office, it’ll be a pain for you to travel from upstate all the time.”
“Are you serious?” He looked delighted – this was exactly how I hoped he’d react.
“Well, it makes sense, doesn’t it? You need to be closer, I’m going to want you here…”
“It’ll be good for me, as well. I don’t want to lose the family home, but at the same time, it’s no good for me to be rattling around in a massive house by myself. There are too many reminders of your mother there. It’ll be great for me to have a fresh start.”
“You should have told me,” I replied guiltily. “I would’ve done something sooner. You know I’ve been sitting on this money for ages. I would’ve happily brought something for you.”
“To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought about moving until you just said it, but now we have this charity to run, I’ll have plenty of things to do. No time to feel lonely.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy, it’s going to be amazing.”
Dad was so excited to hear about his new home that he talked excitedly about it all the way to my apartment. It felt good to spend the money on such a good cause – now I knew that I needed to open my eyes to other things that needed to be done. There was so much good I could do with what I had left of the billions I’d won, now I just needed to decide what I wanted to do first.
“Come up,” I said once we got outside the building. “We should go out for dinner tonight, celebrate.”
“Ye
ah? Alright, that sounds nice.”
I pushed the button on the elevator, and we whizzed up to my floor. As the doors opened, I was stunned to see Olivia standing outside her door, struggling with bags in her hands and trying to slide her keys into her apartment door.
I had to tell Dad if I didn’t want this to be awkward.
“Dad, that’s Olivia,” I hissed quietly. “That’s the girl I’ve been telling you about.”
As he spotted Meghan next to her, his eyes widened with realization. “Oh, this is the one.”
“Erm, yeah, sure.” The one. She seemed to be the one, but I didn’t want to tell Dad that without telling Olivia. She had to be the first to know. “Just…be cool.” I stepped out of the elevator and called out to her. “Olivia, you okay? Do you need a hand there?”
“Oh yes, thank you.” She bundled some things over to my arms. “Thanks, Zack.”
“Erm, Olivia, my dad’s here.” I felt a bit guilty as I dumped that on her. “I suppose this is as good a time as any to introduce you.”
“Oh right, sure.” She turned around and smoothed down her hair. “Hi, Mr. Taylor, it’s good to meet you.”
She extended out her hand and Dad took it. They smiled at one another, but I still felt nervous. These was two very important people in my life, and I desperately wanted them to get along.
“And, I’m Meghan!” Ooh, I’d almost forgotten that she was there. I was so panicked about how he’d take Olivia, that I didn’t consider how he’d feel about her daughter. “I’m three.”
“Oh, you still sound a bit sick, sweetie,” I cooed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m still a superhero,” she insisted. “I’ll be better soon.”
“Are you not well?” All of a sudden, my dad turned into a loving teddy bear. He even crouched down to get to Meghan’s level. “Have you been sick?”
She nodded. “I was very sick, but I’ll get better.”
“Oh, and I was just going to ask if you wanted to come out to dinner.” That shocked me – he really was trying. He’d certainly done a big turnaround from the man who was dead against anything happening with me and Olivia. “But if you’re sick, we might have to do it another day.”
“That would be lovely,” Olivia said gratefully. “Sorry we can’t do it tonight. Any other time, though.”
“Well, Dad has just decided that he’s moving to the city, so we’ll have plenty of time to do it!”
“Oh wow, that’s great news. We’ll definitely be able to see you more often then…if you’re not too busy with the charity.”
“You heard about that, huh?” Dad gave me a knowing look. He seemed proud that I’d finally been honest with her. “It should be a lot of fun. Hard work, but fun, too.”
“Well, enjoy your meal, and we’ll see each other soon.”
Just before Olivia walked into her home, she kissed me on the cheek for my dad and Meghan to see. It wasn’t a huge gesture, but it felt huge to me right in that moment. It solidified what we had, made it a little public and a lot more real.
“She seems nice,” Dad commented idly when she’d gone. “I can see why you like her. She’s lovely, and the girl. Her daughter is such a sweetheart. Shame she’s sick. I’d like to get to know her better.”
His approval meant more to me than I cared to admit, it just highlighted that Olivia was the one for me. I had her, now I just needed to keep her.
Chapter Thirty
Olivia
Friday
“No, Zack, you cannot come to see me,” I insisted firmly down the phone. “We cannot have this crap spreading round any more. If you come here, you’ll get it again, and it’ll just go round and round in circles.
“I’m so sorry you got the flu, as well,” he replied guilty. “I should come and look after you, you cared for me.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m in this mess. Drea’s here with Meghan, anyway, so there’s no need. I appreciate it, but all I want to do is sleep it off.”
“Yeah, alright then.” I could tell that he was pouting, but I had no time or effort to deal with that. My eyes were already flickering off to sleep. “Give me a call when you’re feeling better, okay?”
“Sure.” It felt like it’d be never. Even though I’d seen Zack and Meghan both come out of it in about twenty four hours, it didn’t feel like anything was going to strip this horrible virus away from me. I felt like it was all of me. “And have fun with Lark tonight, find out all the gossip.”
“I will,” he laughed. “And you get better.”
“Speak to you soon, okay?”
Once I hung up the phone, I collapsed back onto the pillow and lay there is a pool of my own sweat. I hated this. I needed to get some rest, and hopefully by the time I woke up, I’d feel so much better – especially as I was supposed to be home in Pennsylvania this weekend for Sunday dinner in honor of my dad’s birthday. That was a tradition I really didn’t want to break on my first year in New York…
***
“Are you better now, Mommy?” Meghan asked me with bright smile the following morning. I did, a little. I still felt like hell, but at least the worst of it had passed. We needed to get home anyway, and nothing was going to stop me. “Does that mean we’re still going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house?”
“Sure does, kiddo,” I told her with a smile. My voice was croaky but filled with determination. “Get yourself ready, and we’ll get on the road. We might as well get there sooner rather than later.”
As she raced from the room, I picked up my cell phone to call Zack. I had promised to contact him as soon as I was feeling better, and I also wasn’t totally convinced that I’d told him I was going away for the weekend. Either way, I needed to talk to him.
Weirdly, Zack didn’t answer. It went straight through to voicemail, which was unusual for him. As the robotic voice asked me to leave a message, I felt bad for doing this conversation in such an impersonal way. Then again, it wasn’t like I had any choice in the matter.
“Hi Zack,” I rasped. “Sorry I missed you, maybe you had a big night with Lark last night and you’re hungover, or maybe you’re busy with your charity… Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I feel a little better now, and also that I’m going to Pennsylvania this weekend for my dad’s birthday. Erm… If I don’t speak to you before I guess I’ll see you when I get back on Sunday night.”
I felt a bit bad as I hung up the phone, but honestly, I didn’t have time to worry. I needed to get through the three-to-four hour journey, depending on traffic, which was about to take every bit of my focus.
Right, get packed and get going. See Dad, give him a nice birthday, then come back home.
It all sounded a lot simpler than it felt. I wasn’t totally sure how the hell I was going to get through it. Sure, Mom seemed a bit more relaxed about things now. She liked Drea at any rate, but things would always be awkward with Dad now. I didn’t have the energy to face it…but I would have to find some inner strength somewhere. I needed it.
***
“Happy birthday, Dad!” I said quietly as we sat across from one another in the crowded steakhouse that was his absolute favorite. “I hope you’ve had a good day.”
As he picked up the sweater I’d brought him and raved about how awesome it was again, I couldn’t stop my eyes from roaming everywhere. This was a small place, and the fact that I could see Ben at any moment killed me. If he turned up with his new family I might have given up completely and curled into a ball to weep. It wasn’t even that I wanted him, it wouldn’t be for me that I was hurt – what I had with Zack was a million times better. No it would be for Meghan that my heart broke.
My daughter deserved so much better than that asshole would ever be.
“Thank you so much for coming home,” Dad continued, his voice thick with emotion. “It means so much to me. I don’t expect you to, now that you have your own life in New York.”
I gave him a confused look, this was the nicest thing that he’d said to me in a
very long time. “Oh well, of course, Dad. Megs and I need an excuse to come home, don’t we, sweetheart?”
“We love you, Grandpa!”
Dad stared right at me, and I felt like he was seeing me for the first time since I told him I was pregnant. “You know we’re proud of you, don’t you?” he said softly. “I know things haven’t always been…straightforward, but you’ve made all your plans work out anyway, in the best way possible.”
I welled up, I couldn’t help myself. I felt like everything was finally coming together. I had my career, things were going well with Zack, Meghan was happy with Drea…and now my dad had seemingly forgiven me for falling for the wrong, idiot boy. It was perfect. “Thank you, Dad, that means a lot.”
As Meghan jumped in to tell Dad about her most recent trip to the Natural History Museum, the magic of the moment was broken, but inside, it shone brightly.
Mom leaned across to me and whispered into my ear, “He really means it, you know? I know things have been difficult since your little unexpected surprise…”
“You mean the best thing to ever happen to me.” “Right, of course; I know things have been strained, but he loves you a lot. He talks about how well you’re doing all the time.”
“That’s good to hear, Mom. Thank you.” She gave me a confused look, and I got the impression that she was trying to decide whether or not she wanted to speak what was so clearly on her mind. “What is it, Mom? Whatever you want to say, you can say it.”
“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she mused. My chest tightened, my heart quickened. I had a feeling that I knew what this was going to be about, and I really didn’t want to hear it. At least, I didn’t think I did. “But I suppose it’s best you know.”
“What, Mom? Just tell me already!”
“It’s Ben.”
Of course it was. I almost rolled my eyes, if I wasn’t so damn terrified about what I was about to learn.
“He’s left his new girl, too, just as the baby was born. I guess I just want you to know that it isn’t anything that you’ve ever done. He’s just a loser who won’t stick around for anyone.”