by Renee Ryan
“It’ll be fun.” Avery sauntered out, leaving Connor alone with Olivia.
“Grown women still have slumber parties?”
“Sure they do. Avery’s planning a girls’ night at her house, or rather your parents’ house now that she’s staying there over the summer.” She rose from her chair and stepped toward him. “There’ll be chick flicks, junk food, hair braiding, fingernail painting. The works.”
He couldn’t help himself. He shuddered.
Smiling now, Olivia drew closer. “The twins are invited to come along.”
“No kidding?”
“They’re girls, aren’t they?”
“Last I heard.”
“Then they’re invited to join us. We might even talk about—” she lowered her voice to a whisper “—boys. It’ll be fun for them. I’ll make sure we keep the conversation age-appropriate. You can approve the movies we pick, and—”
“Olivia, you don’t have to sell me on the idea. I’m on board.” He touched her shoulder. “I trust you with my daughters.”
He moved his hand down her arm, stopped when his fingers linked with hers. Everything in him softened, settled. Standing like this, holding hands with Olivia, smiling at her, it felt as natural as breathing.
And just as fundamental.
Highly unexpected, and equally profound.
“Olivia.” He spoke her name on an exhale, the word barely audible. “In all the chaos of the last week, I never thanked you for taking care of the girls when they were sick.”
Her eyes fluttered. “I was just doing my job.”
They both knew her devotion and attentiveness to their needs had been more than that. She’d cared for the twins as if they’d been her own daughters. “Still, thank you. I don’t how I would have managed without you.”
She flinched, the long, quiet stare she gave him accomplishing more than words. She’d misunderstood his meaning. “I don’t take anything you do in my home for granted.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t take you for granted. I promise I never will.”
“Oh, Connor.”
She managed to convey a world of emotion in those two words, a depth of feeling that matched the changes growing inside him, changes that had begun that first day in Hawkins Park.
Something ignited in his heart, something he’d thought long dead, a feeling dangerously close to hope. Hope for the future.
With a woman other than Sheila.
Not nearly as shocked by the revelation as he should be, he smiled down at Olivia.
She said nothing. Apparently, he’d left her speechless. He wasn’t feeling wordy himself. He was, however, feeling young, free. Alive.
Samson whizzed into the kitchen, heading for...who knew where? The dumb animal overshot his mark and began backpedaling. Too late. He’d already lost control. He skidded into the leg of the kitchen table. And bounced.
Equilibrium regained, he spun around and hurried over to Olivia. All politeness now, he plopped his bottom on the floor and gazed up at her.
The look of adoration on the mutt’s face probably mirrored Connor’s own expression. There were only two males in the Mitchell household, and they were both big, dopey saps.
Olivia had that way about her.
And Connor had a lot of thinking to do.
Several obstacles stood between him and Olivia, mostly on her end. Some on his. He had to think about his daughters most of all, and what a relationship with Olivia would mean to them. Especially if it failed.
“I bet you think it’s dinnertime,” Olivia said to the poor besotted animal blinking up at her with adoring eyes.
A single bark was Samson’s heartfelt response.
Olivia showed him her palm. “Stay.”
Shockingly, Samson stayed while she filled his bowl from the bag of kibble in the pantry.
“Someone’s been training our dog,” Connor said, marveling as she set the bowl on the floor and Samson calmly dug into his dinner.
“Miss Olivia’s been training him,” Molly announced as she and Megan entered the kitchen with Avery tagging along. The smug expression on his sister’s face told Connor she had a good idea what had happened in her absence.
Connor tried not to sigh.
“Samson only listens sometimes,” Megan informed him. “But he’s a good boy. You’re a good boy, aren’t you, Samson?”
The dog lifted his head briefly, then proceeded to devour the rest of his dinner. No chewing, but a lot of swallowing.
Giggling, Megan reached down and scratched behind the dog’s ears in a gesture that reminded Connor of Olivia.
The woman was making an impression on them all. Connor needed to take a step back, literally and figuratively. He needed to think, measure, evaluate.
What would happen when Carlotta returned and Olivia was no longer in his home? What would happen when she put her full focus on opening her own business? Her free time would be virtually nonexistent. It would be hard enough for Connor. No telling how the twins would take the loss of seeing her every day. They’d become pretty attached. Okay, really attached. A problem he hadn’t thought through when he’d hired Olivia.
But a consideration he must contemplate now.
One thing at a time, he reminded himself, and decided to come up with a workable exit strategy later. For now, he settled on enjoying the rest of the evening with his girls. All three of them.
Plus one smirking younger sister with a knowing gleam in her eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
Olivia turned her key in the ignition, heard a click, click, click, then...nothing.
Watching from outside the driver’s-side window, Avery leaned her head in the car. “Connor says try it again.”
Pressing her lips in a grim line, Olivia rotated the key yet again. Click, click, click. Then, like every other time...nothing.
A sigh leaked past her tight lips.
Why wasn’t her car starting? She’d watched Connor clip the jumper cables to her battery and the other end to the one in his SUV.
The sound of tinkering and muttering came from the other side of her popped hood, and then Connor joined Avery outside Olivia’s window. “It’s not the battery.”
Of course it was the battery. “Are you sure your jumper cables are working?”
“It’s not the battery,” he repeated.
She frowned. “But the red indicator light is flashing.” She jabbed her finger toward the dashboard. “See for yourself.”
He peered into the car and studied the light with a serious expression. “Then it’s the starter.”
“Oh.” That sounded simple enough. “Can you fix it?”
The question earned her a low chuckle. “I’m not a mechanic, Olivia. You’re going to have to call a garage to pick up your car.”
“But...” She shoved a clump of hair away from her eyes. “It’s Sunday evening. No garage is open at this hour.”
“You’ll have to leave your car here overnight and we’ll call the garage to come tow it away in the morning.”
What a hassle.
“Sounds like a workable plan to me. Now stop scowling, both of you.” Sounding utterly unconcerned by Olivia’s predicament, Avery pulled her from the car and steered her over to the SUV. “In the meantime, Connor can give you a ride home.”
“Why can’t you do it?” she asked her friend.
Trying unsuccessfully to hold back a smile, Avery slanted Olivia an oh, please look. “Because I want to spend quality time with my nieces, that’s why. And besides, Connor’s car is right here.” Avery nudged Olivia a few more steps. “And mine is halfway down the gravel road.”
Eyebrows raised, Connor remained silent during Avery’s unnecessarily long explanation. But he didn’t balk over her sugges
tion. Instead, he said, “Hang tight, Olivia.” He took the jumper cables off each battery, stowed them in the back of his SUV and then shut both hoods. “Let me tell the girls where I’m going and we’ll head out.”
The moment he disappeared in the house, Avery let out a slow whoosh of air. “I am so good.” She slid her arm through Olivia’s and grinned. “Notice how my brother jumped on my suggestion to give you a lift home.”
Actually, Olivia hadn’t noticed. And now that Avery had pointed it out, she told herself not to read too much into it. Connor was a gentleman to the core. Hesitating to give her a ride home would have gone against his character.
By the time he returned, Olivia had already retrieved her keys and purse from her car.
After telling Olivia goodbye, Avery hustled back toward the house with a promise to see Connor when he got back.
His unreadable expression didn’t change once she disappeared in the house. Ever the gentleman, he opened the passenger door for Olivia and waited until she clicked on her seat belt before coming around to his side of the car to do the same.
Despite Connor’s silence as he navigated out the drive and onto Aspen Way, Olivia relaxed back in her seat and closed her eyes.
“Tired?” The question washed over her in a smooth, easy baritone, relaxing her further.
“A little.” She opened her eyes and swiveled her head to look at him. “You know, Connor, hosting Sunday dinner at your house every week, it’s a really great thing to do. Everyone had a good time.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.” She let out a quick laugh. “I really, really did. I can see why you want to keep the tradition going now that your parents have left town.”
His smile came and went so fast she nearly missed it. “Thanks for helping Avery out with all the cooking. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
“Still...” He braked for a red light, then turned to look at her. “That’s not why you were invited. You were supposed to be a guest today. I don’t want you to think every time I host a function at my house, you have to work in the kitchen.”
His sincerity, as much as the words themselves, sent her blood hammering through her veins. She felt hot, then cold, then warm all over as his earlier comment came back to her. “I don’t take you for granted. I promise I never will.” Did he know how much those words meant to her?
How they made her fall a little in love with him, even though she’d attempted to guard her heart?
“Oh, Connor. I really didn’t mind cooking today. I actually had fun. It gave me a chance to try out a few more recipes, including my newest one for potato salad.”
The light changed and he pressed on the gas. “Recipes? You mean for your restaurant?”
“For my tearoom,” she corrected. “And, yes, I’m building a menu as part of my business plan. Best way to know what to include is to test out various dishes on as many people as I can.”
“That makes sense.”
He seemed captured by the road up ahead, freeing her to study him without interruption. He had a great profile, strong jawline, nicely proportioned nose, well-arched eyebrows that were pulled together in concentration. “Sounds like you’ve really thought this venture through and your plans are progressing.”
“I’m determined to make a go of this. If not now, when?”
He nodded. But she noticed his hands tightened on the steering wheel, wondered at it. “Have you been trying out recipes on the girls and me?”
“Absolutely. That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“It’s more than okay.” He stopped at another light, appeared to debate something with himself, then turned to face her. “If you’d told me sooner I could have offered my own expertise.”
“In the kitchen?”
He laughed. “No way. But I know people at several banks in town and a few in Denver. You probably don’t need any help with a business plan, but I can certainly introduce you to loan officers, including Hardy Bennett. He gave me my first loan.”
She blinked at him. “You’d do that for me?”
“It’d be my pleasure, especially since I’m no help in the kitchen.”
“The girls have been helping me there. They really enjoy working with chocolate.”
That teased out a wisp of a smile from him. “They are my daughters.”
“They’re great girls, Connor. It’s been a joy watching them this summer.” I wish they were mine. “You’ve done an excellent job raising them.”
His smile disappeared. “I can’t help thinking I could do more.”
“You do enough already.”
He shook his head. “Not nearly. The girls will be entering a new stage in their lives very soon. They’re going to need a woman in their lives who can help them navigate the dangerous waters of adolescence.”
The burst of longing to be that woman came fast and hard, shocking Olivia with its intensity. Scaring her a little.
A sigh slipped out of her. “They have Avery and your other sisters.”
“That’s true. But Avery is leaving for medical school and the other three don’t live in Village Green anymore. Even if they did, that’s not what I had in mind. Molly and Megan need a mother.”
Olivia’s heart went zing.
There he was, Connor Mitchell, handsome and very male, speaking the truth from his heart, and sounding a little too much like Warner for comfort.
Olivia swallowed back a sudden wave of disappointment and maybe a little fear. Had she just landed herself in a scenario similar to the one she’d left back in Florida?
Could she be that reckless?
As if reading her mind, Connor pulled the car to a stop outside her house, cut the engine and shifted in his seat. “But as much as the girls need a mother, I’d never marry a woman for that reason alone. That wouldn’t be fair to any of us.”
Relief would have buckled her knees had she been standing. “You’re absolutely right.”
“You understand what I’m saying?”
“I think so.”
“I like you, Olivia. I like you a lot. And I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
Her throat clogged at his heartfelt declaration. Men usually said they didn’t want to hurt a woman right before they did exactly that.
“Olivia.” He reached out and touched her face. “You’re the first woman to capture my—” he cleared his throat “—interest since Sheila died.”
Not exactly the opening she’d been waiting for, but she decided to go with it anyway. “Will you tell me about her? About Sheila?”
He settled back in his seat, closed his eyes a moment, then let out a quick puff of air. “She and I met in the third grade, one day after her family moved to town. The first time I asked her to marry me we were in the fifth grade.”
Olivia drew in a couple of deep breaths. “That’s really sweet.”
“She was my first crush, my first kiss, my first everything, and she gave me two beautiful daughters that are my entire world.”
The back of Olivia’s eyes stung at the way his voice cracked as he made the declaration. Every part of her ached for him, from deep in her soul and beyond.
“But our marriage wasn’t perfect.”
“You just said she was your entire world.”
Watching her from the other side of the car, he shook his head slowly. “That’s not exactly what I said.”
No?
“I loved Sheila. How could I not? We’d negotiated childhood together, grew into adults side by side. Our marriage was built on loyalty, trust and lifelong friendship.”
Was it possible to love that deeply, for that long, and walk away from the loss without permanent wounds? “It sounds like you were very blessed.”
“For the most part.” He held her ga
ze for a long, tense moment, as if he were trying to tell her something without actually speaking the words. “Sheila and I got married right out of college. She had the twins three years later.”
“You were still in medical school when they were born? That had to be difficult.”
“Beyond difficult. I had zero free time. Sheila had to quit the job she loved to raise the girls. She wasn’t happy about that, and eventually grew to resent me for it. Especially when we fell into our separate roles in the marriage and we—” he let out a slow exhale “—drifted apart.”
The sound of regret in his voice had Olivia reaching out to cover his hand with hers.
“We lived in the same house, shared the same life, but we’d become strangers. I was so busy I didn’t even notice until she gave me an ultimatum. She told me she’d given up everything to be my wife. It was time I got my priorities straight or give her a divorce.”
Olivia gasped. He looked and sounded so stricken Olivia’s breath snagged painfully in the back of her throat. “She couldn’t have meant that. She was probably just trying to get your attention.”
“Whatever her intent, it was the wake-up call I needed. We went into counseling. I learned to put my wife and daughters first, my medical practice second.” He smiled distantly, his mind obviously lost in the past. “No regrets, either. My life has been richer for the changes I made back then.”
Hard to believe possible, but Olivia admired Connor even more for the commitment he’d made to his wife and family. He’d done what was necessary to save his marriage and had no lingering resentment over that choice.
Not many people were capable of that kind of selflessness.
“Sheila and I were good again. Better than ever, and then she got sick.”
The bitterness in his voice had Olivia gasping.
She’d heard about Sheila’s ovarian cancer, but Olivia hadn’t known the disease had been diagnosed after they’d worked through a rough patch in their marriage. Maybe no one knew. Maybe Connor had carried that burden alone.
“That had to come as a blow.”
“We caught the cancer too late,” he said, the words clipped but clear, and lacking all emotion. “There I was, a trained physician and I hadn’t seen the signs, hadn’t even known to look for them. She’d been tired, sluggish and had begun to lose her appetite. I chalked it up to raising twin toddlers.”