by Natalie Ann
She laid her lips over his, kissed him a bit more and a bit longer, until he opened her mouth and swooped in, tasting her, feeding off of her and making her crave more. She didn’t want to stop, not at all, but he pulled back, looked into her eyes, held her stare and then lowered his mouth to hers again.
“You taste so good.” He pulled her closer, but held her lightly. “And fit so perfectly against me.”
She couldn’t speak and she wanted him to stop talking. No more talking, just more kissing, but the sound of a car door shutting pulled her out of the haze Finn had sent her spiraling into. She let out a deep breath and took a step back.
“Now that is how you end a date.”
“I told you I knew what I was doing,” he said over his shoulder as she watched him walk away.
That was fine, that was good, she needed a few minutes to get herself under control.
Place for You
“Was that Mom you were talking to?” Sophia asked when Olivia turned the corner into the kitchen.
“Yeah, how’d you guess?”
“Easy enough. I heard you trying to get a few words in but not succeeding.” Sophia stopped talking and looked over at Addison as she sat in the swing, her eyes starting to close. “I wasn’t eavesdropping, just so you know. But the kids are being quiet at the moment, and the sounds can carry when you’re right below me.”
“No worries. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Which was pretty pathetic for someone who’d always kept such an active social life.
“How is she doing? Enjoying Italy right now? Or are they back in California?”
Victoria Richmond Mansfield Hartman Milan was on her third and hopefully last husband. It’d been over ten years easily for this marriage, so maybe this one was sticking.
It seemed it, anyway. She’d never seen her mother happier if she was honest. Anthony was older and completely doted on her mother. And though Anthony was the closest thing to a father figure Olivia had—and she loved him for it—he’d been there more for her as an adult than as a child when she actually needed it the most.
“Italy for another month or so, then California. She made noises about coming out to see the store this summer. She misses her grandchildren, too.”
“It was nice having her here for Addison’s birth, but I was just as happy when she and my father left.”
“How did you turn out so normal?” Olivia blurted out.
Sophia laughed, deep and throaty, another thing the two of them shared and inherited from their mother. The soft sexy appeal in the way they looked and sounded that drew men in.
“I’m normal, huh? I’m trying to figure out if you just insulted me.”
“Hardly,” Olivia said, but maybe it was time to have this talk. She’d always wanted it before, but never figured out how to broach it.
All afternoon she was remorseful over how she’d described her mother to Finn. Maybe she was harsher than she should have been. “Get off your feet, unless you’re in a hurry for dinner. Can we talk?”
Sophia pulled out a chair and sat at the breakfast table, looked over at Ian quietly playing and Addison sound asleep.
“Phil is going to be late tonight, we’ve got time. What do you want to talk about?”
“Mom.”
“I’m not sure we have that much time,” Sophia joked.
“Let’s just touch on it then. You lived with the revolving door of men more than I did. How did you handle it?”
“I just adapted. I wasn’t around as much as you think. Remember, I was shuffled a lot more than you. There were plenty of times my father wanted me and Mom was just as happy to let me go.”
Sophia was lucky in that her father actually wanted to be a part of her life, even if it wasn’t always with the best intentions.
“Did that bother you? Being a pawn in their games?”
“No. Not really. Looking back, I’m sure it did, but it made me who I am. I just wanted to get along with everyone. It was easy. I always knew it was temporary, so I played the part I needed to until I was moved again.”
“You have no ill feelings toward Mom or your father now, do you? I mean it doesn’t look it from someone on the outside.”
“I don’t. I’ve come to terms with both of them. You will with Mom someday, too.”
“But never my father.”
“Probably not. When was the last time you talked to him?”
“I haven’t actually talked to him in longer than I can remember. The last time I heard anything was when the car was delivered a few weeks ago with the key in a gift box and a note congratulating me on the store.”
Sophia nodded in understanding, or sympathy maybe. “Do you wonder how he knew about the store?”
“I’m guessing Mom told him.”
“Mom hasn’t talked to Simon in almost as long as you.”
“Then I have no clue. He probably has people keeping tabs on me, just like he did when I was in boarding school and then the last several years traveling.” Which always bothered her.
“You’re probably right. Is that why you went away? Personally, I hated the year I was in boarding school, but you couldn’t wait to go away.”
“You remember that, do you?”
Olivia was young, maybe middle school when she went away to boarding school. She’d hated that first year, but it was a relief to not be around and see her mother go through another relationship.
Besides, Sophia had been sent to live with her father, Spencer, and there was no one around for Olivia but the hired help.
“How could I forget? You cried for a week when you found out you were going. Called me every night asking if you could come live with me and my father.”
“I did follow you around all the time. When we lived together, that is, which wasn’t often.”
“No, it wasn’t. You were like a little puppy dog.”
“And being older, you wanted nothing to do with me.” That wasn’t true, but Olivia was trying to lighten the mood.
“If I’d had my way, I would have brought you with me, but you know it was never my choice. I was a senior, graduating that year too. I was just as happy to finish the whole year in one school. At least you had that stability. Once you went away, you stayed there the whole four years.”
“In another country,” Olivia said.
“That was your choice too. Why is that?”
Spite. But Olivia didn’t feel right saying that.
She was young and ticked off that it seemed no one wanted her, so she wanted to go as far away as possible and make her father pay for it on top of it.
The joke was on her though since no one seemed to care or miss her or even quibble about the cost.
That should have been enough for her to realize she couldn’t win at those types of games, but she was stubborn and immature and just continued on.
“Does it matter now?”
“Probably not. I guess the bigger question is, how are you doing now?”
“I’m adjusting.”
This was a whole different world she was living in, but she found it was better than she could have imagined. Another crazy decision she made, but she didn’t seem to be regretting this one. Not like when she went to boarding school in Switzerland.
“It looks it. You look happy.”
“I do?”
She felt happy, happier than she’d felt jet setting around the world like her mother. There were women who wanted the life Olivia had, told her she had it all, and yet she really wanted no part of it.
Unfortunately, it was all she’d ever known. Visiting Sophia and seeing this life, well, that opened up a window to what she’d felt she was missing her whole life.
“You do.” Sophia reached her hand across and gave Olivia’s fingers a little squeeze. “And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here. You can come up crying or call me crying as much as you want now. See, I took you in, and I’ll always have a place for you.”
***
“So you’ll watch Trey fo
r me?” Finn asked his sister Monday after work.
After his lunch date with Olivia, he decided it was time. He was ready to at least take the next step, but he needed to make a plan. It wasn’t as easy as it used to be to go on a date.
“You’re working Friday night though, aren’t you? Mom normally takes Trey overnight, you just said you needed a few hours.” Sherri asked, eying him suspiciously. She knew his work schedule, so did his mother. He relied on them to watch Trey when he was at the firehouse.
“I’m not working Friday. I’m pulling a double Tuesday and Wednesday, switching shifts with someone.”
As much as pulling doubles was hard, and it was two full nights away from Trey, he was actually happy to have gotten the call an hour ago. It gave him Friday night off and the whole weekend with Trey now. He’d make it special, just the two of them.
“Oh. Trying to catch up at the store you’re working on then?”
He could let Sherri believe that. If Olivia couldn’t go on the date, he’d take advantage of the time and work a few hours at the store. He didn’t want to get too far behind. He’d already called Andy Palmer, the foreman on Olivia’s store, and explained. They were fine with it; they always were and told him they’d work around it.
“Possibly.”
“Hmm,” Sherri said, crossing her arms. “You’re evading me. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Will you do it, or not?”
“You’re going on a date, aren’t you?”
Damn her. He wouldn’t lie though. “Maybe. I haven’t asked yet. I’m just trying to work out some details.”
Sherri’s eyes lit up, and he groaned internally. “Finally. You’re finally coming out of hiding. If this woman can’t, I know someone who would be perfect for you.”
“No,” he cut her off before she could start listing names of her friends. “I’m not being set up by anyone. I’ve told you before.”
“Finn, it’s been over a year since you went on a date.”
“Are you keeping tabs on me?”
“It’s ridiculously easy to. All you do is work.”
That was true, and pretty depressing. “I have a life.”
“Sure, and you don’t need to tell me about that kind of life. I don’t want to know. Tell me her name?”
He snorted over her comment about not wanting to know his life. It wasn’t that exciting, but he wasn’t going to admit it. “Why? It’s just a date.”
“A first date?” she asked.
“Sort of.”
“Which means no. Give me something, or I can’t watch Trey.”
“You’re something else. Just like when we were kids and you wanted something, always bartering to get your way.”
Sherri laughed and punched his arm playfully. “Just tell me, or it might slip when I talk to Mom tonight.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. The last thing he wanted were his parents knowing he was going on a date. They were almost as bad as Sherri, constantly telling him he needed to find a nice girl to settle down with and help raise Trey.
“Olivia. Olivia Hartman. Happy now?”
“Of Hartman Designs? The store you’re working on.”
Shit, he forgot she knew that. “Yes. So is that a yes or no? Are you going to watch Trey for me?”
“Yes. I’ll do it. Only because I love my baby brother.”
“Sure. You keep telling yourself that.” But he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. Step one down.
Ten minutes later, Finn pulled into the preschool parking lot. The kids were running around outside and it didn’t take Trey long to see him and come skipping over.
“Hey, scout, you ready?”
“Yes,” he said, his smile upbeat and cheerful, and Finn was thankful for that. Thankful for his sister and mother for helping him normalize Trey’s life so much.
He grabbed Trey’s bag and started for Finn’s truck. “I thought we could go out to dinner tonight.”
“Really?” Trey asked, excited. Going out to dinner was one of Trey’s favorite things, as it was a form of “man time” in Trey’s young eyes.
“Yeah. My schedule got changed today and I have to pull a double, tomorrow and Wednesday. I thought I’d take you out today instead.”
“Okay. Can I get dessert today, too?”
“Sure. Why not?”
Finn was thrilled that Trey just took the schedule change in stride and didn’t cry or get upset that he wasn’t going to see him for over forty-eight hours. More actually, since Finn was going to need to sleep at some point too.
They were seated in a booth at a local restaurant, Trey looking at the pictures of food on the children’s menu, Finn looking over his menu.
“What are you in the mood for, scout?”
“A burger. With a soft bun,” Trey said, looking up, his hazel eyes staring back at Finn. Of course Finn knew how Trey ate his burgers. He knew everything about his son.
“You’ve got it.” He figured there was no way to ease into what he was going to ask his son, so he just went straight for it. “So, what do you think about going to Aunt Sherri’s on Friday night? I’ll pick you up from school earlier than normal Friday afternoon, you and I can get some lunch and run errands, and then you can go play with your cousins for a few hours.”
“I’m not spending the night, am I?”
“No, you’ll spend the night home with me. It’s just for a few hours.”
Finn held his breath, hoping that Trey didn’t ask why, not that he thought Trey would, but he really didn’t want to explain to his son he was going on a date. He wasn’t ready for that conversation.
“Can I stay up late when I get home?”
“Sure. If you feel up to it. We can watch a movie together, how is that?”
Trey’s weekday bedtime was seven thirty. Weekends were eight thirty, but if Trey had his way, he’d stay up much later. Since Trey slept in later in the mornings on the weekend, Finn wasn’t completely opposed to it.
“Awesome.” Step two down.
Trey was finally settled for the night, stories read and lights out. Finn walked downstairs to the living room and sat in his chair, pulled his phone out, and stared at it. It wasn’t that late; Olivia should be up. Without hesitation, he started to type. How about a real date Friday night?
Within seconds, his phone vibrated. Sounds good.
Step three down. Now he just needed to make it to Friday night.
Cultured
Olivia finished the last bit of work on her latest piece and rushed out of the door. She wanted to get a manicure and pedicure before running home to get ready for her date.
And she wanted to get out of the house before Sophia came home, too.
As luck would have it, the nail salon was slow in the early afternoon. It wasn’t Olivia’s first choice of places to go, but none of the spas around had any openings on such short notice and she didn’t want to risk going a day or so earlier and chipping her nails while working. She wanted to look perfect for her first date in months.
Satisfied with how her nails came out, she drove home in a hurry, dashed in the door, and took a quick shower. She’d told Finn she’d give him something to look at, and that was exactly what she was going to do.
Arriving back at her store at five thirty, she found it locked up tight, exactly as she hoped. Only she still had thirty minutes before Finn arrived.
Rather than waiting in the car, she walked around and let herself in the building, locking the door behind her and making her way to the back room.
Not having a lot of time to really do anything, she picked up a sketchpad and started to draw out a design she’d been thinking of the last few days.
Before she realized it, she heard footsteps in the front of the store, set her pad down and walked out the door to see Finn striding confidently toward her.
Wow, she wasn’t prepared for the sight of him so cleaned up.
He walked a few more feet and stopped in front of her. She shifted her gaze from his cl
ean-shaven face—the smell of his aftershave hitting her like a ton of bricks. Soft, mellow, musky and all male. His crisp blue oxford shirt was tailored to fit him, the blue and silver tie expertly knotted, mixing nicely with the dark gray trousers he wore.
“You clean up well.”
He laughed at her, then leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. “So do you. Then again, I had little doubt about it.”
“That’s always nice to hear.”
“I could have picked you up at Phil’s. We didn’t have to meet here.”
“I thought you didn’t want anyone to know.”
Besides, she wasn’t sure she was ready for him to pick her up at her sister’s house. Not that she was really hiding it from Sophia, because she wasn’t. But Finn seemed to want to keep it a secret, so she was just following his lead.
“After tonight, it might be a moot point. I guess it’s not as big of a deal as I thought.”
“Then we’ll see how tonight goes,” she said and slid her arm through his. “I’m ready for my early night on the town.”
He’d already explained he had to pick Trey up at his sister’s, so she knew it was a short date. She was fine with that, knowing he’d been away from Trey for two nights already.
That he was willing to spend a few hours with her warmed her. She’d been honest when she told him Trey came first, but it was nice that he was willing to maybe put some effort in with her too.
***
Finn parked Olivia’s Porsche and walked around to open the door for her. He’d been shocked she handed the keys over to him even though she’d previously said she would.
“I don’t know where we’re going and this dress isn’t conducive for me to climb into your truck.”
Yes…the black dress she had on. The tight black dress that was leaving little to the imagination and doing one hell of a job on his libido.
A high neck, sleeveless, and showing off her toned arms. Arms that were most likely contoured from working on metals. She had strength behind her, even as soft as she looked.
The rest of the dress was simple, and probably cost more than most people brought home in a week. Just because he was a blue-collared worker from a middle class upbringing didn’t mean he didn’t know quality when he saw it. It fit her too well, and had probably been tailored to her body.
