Thank you again. I’m sorry.
We’re fine.
Amber got there first, almost an hour later. She knocked this time, but was through the door before Olivia could cross the room to open it.
“Hi, Olivia. Thank you so much for picking her up. I swear, this almost never happens.”
“I’m glad I was able to help,” she said, but Amber had already turned her attention to her daughter.
“Oh, honey.” She knelt next to the couch and put her hand on Julia’s forehead.
“I went to the nurse and threw up there, so I didn’t throw up in the trash can in class like Simon did last year.”
“That’s good, sweetie. How many times have you been sick?”
When Julia shrugged, Olivia stepped in and gave Amber a recap, wrapping it up with the single cracker and few sips of water that had stayed down for about twenty minutes now. “She’s been drifting in and out, watching TV, but she looks a little less pale than she did when I picked her up.”
“I can’t thank you enough. Derek said you run your own business and you’re super busy so I’m sorry he had to call you, but...Jason was nervous about this appointment and Julia seemed fine this morning. And it’s hard with Derek, with the job and all. He’s one of the most dependable people I’ve ever met, but you can’t depend on him being available, if that makes any sense.”
As if they’d summoned him, Derek walked through the door. He was still in his uniform pants and T-shirt, and his hair looked stiff and was sticking up. Probably from his helmet, Olivia thought. There were smudges on his face and he didn’t smell great, but she was still glad to see him.
“How’s she doing?” he asked, walking toward the couch without waiting for an answer. “Hey, pumpkin.”
“I’m sick, Daddy.”
“I heard. I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up, but I had to wait for somebody to come in to work for me.”
“S’okay. Olivia got me and she took good care of me.”
He ruffled her hair and then turned to give Olivia a smile that could warm a February day. “She did, huh?”
“Yeah. You should buy her a treat. Like a strawberry frosted doughnut with sprinkles.”
“I’ll do that.”
Olivia gave Derek a firm look. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Doughnuts are one of my big weaknesses,” Amber said, “and I have no willpower around them, so the kids only get them as very special treats.”
“Then I’m honored she thinks I deserve one.”
They both laughed, and it felt as if a part of Olivia was watching from the outside. This was Derek’s ex-wife and she was the new woman in Derek’s life, and yet they were laughing together, talking about doughnuts. Amber was nothing like Deborah, and Olivia was no Marge, and she felt the weight of that concern fall from her shoulders. Hopefully forever.
After tucking Julia’s blanket higher around her shoulders, Derek walked over to them so he could keep his voice low as he spoke to Amber. “Do you think she should stay here?”
“I don’t know. We’ve all been exposed to whatever bug she’s got, so if Isaac’s going to get it, he’s going to get it. And at least there’s two of us there. It’s a lot for one person.”
After a long moment and a glance at Olivia she couldn’t decipher, he shrugged. “Whatever you think is best. I just want to make sure it’s not too much for you, with the baby and all.”
Amber smiled. “If I get sick, I get sick. It won’t hurt the baby, and it won’t be the first time I’ve been sick while pregnant.”
“As long as you’re sure. I don’t mind if she stays, but you know if she wakes up sick in the dark, she wants Mommy.”
It didn’t take long for Amber to gather Julia’s things, and Derek pulled her SUV up to the curb before carrying his daughter out and buckling her in the back seat. Once they were gone, he closed the door and leaned against it with a sigh.
“I’m sorry, Olivia.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing.”
He looked past her and she knew he was looking at the kitchen table, where her laptop was still half in the case. She hadn’t even opened it. “It’s not easy to work with a sick kid.”
She shrugged, faking a casual tone she didn’t feel. “I’ll make up the work later. And Kelsey took care of some things for me. Fortunately, I didn’t have any high-priority meetings today.”
“I’m glad it didn’t mess up your day too much.” He ran a hand over his hair and then winced. “I should take a shower. How about after I get cleaned up, I take you out. We can get something to eat and...whatever.”
Olivia glanced over her shoulder at the pile representing the work she hadn’t done today. What she should do was go home, lock herself in the office and not leave it until she was caught up. But she could tell Derek felt guilty and he’d feel worse if she didn’t let him at least feed her a meal to make up for it.
“Sure. And maybe a glass of wine.” She’d earned one.
* * *
When Derek got out of the shower, he could hear Olivia’s voice and wondered for a moment who she was talking to. Then he heard a woman’s voice he didn’t recognize and realized it was probably the Kelsey he’d heard so much about because she was talking about work.
“I just hope you don’t get sick,” he heard Kelsey say.
“That would be a nightmare right now. Make sure you leave before I get back. By Monday I’ll know how that went.”
He winced, really hoping his daughter hadn’t managed to infect Olivia with whatever bug she’d picked up. A lot of things tended to go around in the fall, when the kids were all closed up together in school again, so he was used to it. Olivia probably wasn’t.
Fortunately, I didn’t have any high-priority meetings today.
What if she had? He wondered how he’d feel right now if he’d called her and she’d said no.
After he took his time drying off and pulling on a pair of jeans—trying to give her time on the phone—he took a moment to think about that possibility. Working it out in his head lessened the possibility something he’d regret might come out of his mouth.
He didn’t totally understand Olivia’s job. He had a grasp on the basic concept of it, but for a guy who needed his ex-wife to show him how to use his calendar app multiple times, it didn’t all make sense. But what he did know was that big companies looking for organization and scheduling help wouldn’t give money to somebody who couldn’t keep to a schedule. He got that part.
And yet she hadn’t said no. She’d packed up a mobile office—which she didn’t even get to use—and driven across the city so his sick daughter wouldn’t have to sit in the nurse’s office, waiting for him or Amber to show up. That’s what he needed to focus on. And if there had been a high-priority meeting scheduled, she probably still would have done it. She just wouldn’t have smiled and assured him it was fine at the end of the day.
But when he walked out of the bathroom, she wasn’t smiling. She actually had an expression that looked a lot like regret.
“I’m actually going to take a rain check on the dinner,” she told him, and his stomach sank as he crossed to her. “Kelsey just got an email that a client I had to reschedule has some free time this evening, so I’m going to head back.”
“They can’t wait?” He trailed his fingers down her arm. “I feel like I should at least feed you. And you don’t work at night, remember?”
“Not usually, but if I meet with this client and then spend a little time working tonight, that’s less I have to carry over and I can start tomorrow fresh.”
She said the words matter-of-factly, with no hint of resentment or blame, but he still felt a pang of guilt. “Are you sure that’s it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I just...nothing, really. I’m trying to get a hold on whether or not that’s
just a good excuse to leave because you’re not happy with me.”
“Your daughter was sick, Derek. It’s nothing that can be controlled, so do you really think I’d hold that against you?”
Maybe not that she’d gotten sick, but that he’d asked her to drop everything and take care of her. “Of course not. Call me before you go to bed?”
She smiled, and he was comforted by the warmth in her eyes. “I will. I have a hard time sleeping if I don’t talk to you first.”
“Good.” He cupped her cheek. “I want you to miss me when you’re alone in bed.”
“Oh, I do.” She kissed him, a sweet kiss that felt almost like an apology. “I should go before I change my mind.”
“Is that a possibility?” She zipped up her work bag and he lifted it off the table. The damn thing was heavier than it looked.
“With you, it’s always a possibility, but it would be better for me to go back to work.”
“Then I’ll walk you down.”
He felt her resolve wavering when he leaned her up against her car and kissed her goodbye, but he forced himself to step back and open her door. He’d already thrown off her schedule enough today. He wasn’t going to compound it by talking her out of trying to catch up.
“Call me later.”
“I will,” she promised.
Once her car was out of sight, he sighed and walked back up the stairs. It felt weird to be alone after a tense day of scrambling, so he turned the television on and flipped through the channels until he found a game to watch. He’d give it a few more minutes and then send a text to Amber, asking for an update on Julia.
And then he’d wait for Olivia to call.
Chapter Sixteen
“Do you see her, Dad?”
Derek dutifully turned in a circle, looking for Olivia on Isaac’s behalf, since his son was too short to see over the crowd in the arena’s vestibule. “Not yet, but she’s probably at the Village Hearts booth near the main door.”
The charity hockey game—which Rick, Scott and Grant were playing in, along with other first responders from around the city—was raising money for a children’s hospital, but they’d gotten permission to put a display for Village Hearts in the entrance, along with a few other booths. And while another couple had volunteered to man their booth, Derek had asked Olivia to join them to watch the game.
While they’d all gone to Aidan and Lydia’s barbecue together, this would be their first outing as a family, so to speak, and Derek’s stomach was in knots. And it didn’t help that this would be the first time he’d seen her face since he’d asked her to pick up Julia at school a week ago.
They’d talked on the phone, of course. And sent text messages back and forth. But no matter how much she assured him everything was okay, he needed to see her. And while he’d have to limit himself to a quick hug, he wanted her in his arms again.
“I don’t know why I couldn’t go with Mom,” Julia muttered, and not for the first time.
Usually Derek let her get away with a little moodiness, but she enjoyed watching hockey and she’d never opted out of a charity game before. “What’s the problem? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He’d thought he’d have a few more years before his little girl mastered the I’m fine that meant things were anything but fine. “Spill it, kid. Your brother and I want to have a fun night.”
“And Olivia,” she reminded him, and the attitude ratcheted up a notch. “Don’t forget Olivia.”
“Yes, Olivia’s going to watch the game with us, too.”
“And that’s why Mom and Jason didn’t come.”
Derek sighed, and a little bit of frustrated growl seeped into the sound. He wanted to ask her why she’d waited until they were here to spit it out, but to be fair, she’d been hinting at being unhappy for several hours and he just hadn’t wanted to deal with it. “Olivia’s not the reason your mom isn’t here.”
“Mom always came, even after you got divorced. Now Olivia’s here and Mom didn’t want to come.”
You take the kids to watch the game because Jason’s going to take me out for a nice dinner and then we’re going to take advantage of the alone time before this baby makes me feel like an unsexy beach ball.
He bent down so he could keep his voice low. “Jason wanted to take your mom on a date tonight since they know you like watching hockey with me. I know you have a lot of friends with divorced parents and you probably hear a lot of things, but you know your mom and I are friends. And your mom and Olivia will probably be friends, too, when they get to know each other better. They’ve already met and all six of us could be here together if we wanted to.”
She gave the same head tilt and little eye roll her mother did to signify she’d lost, but didn’t want to admit it. “Fine. We need to keep walking or we’ll have bad seats.”
But he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from walking away from him. “Are we done with this? I don’t want you to be snippy with Olivia.”
“I won’t.” The premature pre-teen attitude melted away. “She’s really nice.”
“Come on,” Isaac said, tugging at his hand. “I think she’s over there.”
Derek looked in the direction his son pointed and then he saw her and his heart stuttered in his chest.
Olivia’s gaze locked with his and for a few seconds, he held his breath. Her face lit up and the smile that she sent in his direction let him exhale as the knots in his stomach loosened for the first time in a week. He smiled back as Isaac dragged him in Olivia’s direction and, after saying something to the woman manning the Village Hearts booth, met them halfway.
Derek slid one arm around her waist and kissed her. He’d intended to go for a kiss on the cheek, but he couldn’t help himself and pressed his mouth to hers for a moment.
But they were not only in the middle of a crowd, but it was a crowd of families—including his own—so he kept it short and sweet.
“We have to get good seats,” Isaac said.
Olivia smiled at him. “Yes we do, because this is my very first hockey game.”
“Ever?” Isaac looked confused. “But not on TV, right?”
“I have never seen a hockey game, even on television,” she said, and both kids groaned in unison.
She laughed. “Don’t worry, I have a plan. Instead of asking a bunch of questions, I’m going to cheer when you cheer and boo when you boo.”
Derek chuckled and took her hand as they followed the kids into the rink. “That’s a good plan.”
She chuckled. “I’m sure I’ll figure out what’s happening along the way. Julia, are you feeling better?”
The girl turned and smiled at Olivia, all traces of her earlier bad mood gone. “I’m all better. And nobody else got sick, which is weird, so Mommy said I probably ate something bad. But I’m not sick anymore and I can have all the hockey food I want.”
“There’s official hockey food?”
Derek laughed. “Concession food is a hockey tradition. I should have warned you supper might not live up to your usual standards.”
“There you go with that stupid standards crap again. I’ll have you know that concession pizza and soft pretzels rate very high on my personal food pyramid, even if it does take days to wash the sodium out of my system.” She gave him a smug look as the kids laughed at him. “So there.”
They found good seats near some of the other E-59 and L-37 families. Olivia went in first and the seating habit was so ingrained that the kids followed, so Isaac went next and then Julia, so Derek found himself two kids away from her. But listening to Isaac trying to explain the rules to her—with help from Cait’s younger brother, who was sitting with his mom, Cait and Gavin behind them—made up for being too far away to hold her hand.
Once the game started, there weren’t many opportunities for talking. W
ith the stands full of friends and family, and with friends and colleagues facing off on the ice, the cheering was deafening. But watching Olivia and the kids laughing together as she mimicked their reactions to the play, with only a few seconds of lag time, Derek was about as happy as he could remember being in a very long time.
Maybe he could have everything.
When Julia asked if it was time to eat yet, he saw his chance to get a few minutes with Olivia. Not private moments, of course, but away from the kids. After telling the kids to sit tight—under the watchful eye of Cait, who gave him a nod—he gestured for Olivia to go with him.
Holding her hand, he led her to the concession area. He waved and said a quick hello to countless people he knew, but he didn’t stop until they were in the relatively quiet area where they sold the concessions. Because it was a charity game, they had a lot of donated food from local businesses to sell, so Olivia could get her pizza and soft pretzel. Derek asked for a couple of slices for himself, along with one for Julia and a hot dog for Isaac. They’d also have to balance a couple bags of popcorn.
“I hate to question your plan,” Olivia said, “but how are we going to carry drinks?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I hadn’t gotten that far yet. Usually the kids carry their own stuff, but I wanted a minute alone with you.”
“I’m not sneaking off into the locker rooms or whatever they have here.” She gave him a stern look, but it only lasted a few seconds before it turned into a sheepish smile. “Not that I was thinking about the possibility of it, or anything. It’s too bad you don’t have a minivan.”
“Why would I get a mini...oh.” His cheeks got a little warm when she laughed at him. “I’m keeping the kids tonight, but what are the chances you can hang out for a while tonight?”
He knew it was a long shot, but he had to ask. He’d missed her and even if she couldn’t stay, he needed for her to know he wanted her to.
When she leaned in close, a naughty smile playing with the corners of her mouth, his blood heated. “I wasn’t sure how long hockey takes or if you’d have plans for after the game, so I don’t have any appointments until mid-morning and Kelsey’s going to do some admin stuff until I get there. If you’re sure it’s okay, with the kids and all.”
Under Control Page 19