by Natalie Ann
Kaitlin’s husband owned a law firm in Albany and his staff handled all the legal transactions for Harper’s. Suddenly a thought crossed Olivia’s mind. “Harper’s was going to buy this house, weren’t they?”
“If you don’t want it, we’re going to, yes. We’ll make a nice profit on it, but I talked to Alec and Phil last night and they agreed that you could have first dibs at it.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Phil understands your need to stand on your own feet.” Brynn held her hand up. “No, this has nothing to do with Finn. Sophia and Phil know you don’t really need help and wouldn’t ask for it even if you did, but they thought this would be a nice house for you, but only if you were interested.”
“I am. And if you’re truly okay with it, I’d like to know what you think is a good offer for the place?”
“Good. Back to the cash offer. I know you’re probably strapped with the store and construction, in terms of cash, so if you need to get a loan, then I wouldn’t go as low as if it was a cash offer since the process will take a little longer.”
“Cash isn’t an issue.”
Sophia had been right. She hadn’t needed Sophia’s money for the construction; she needed her name. Simon Hartman was constantly sending Olivia money and when Olivia asked him to stop, her father just started to pay bills without Olivia knowing. The first time he did it, paid the one-year lease on her condo upfront, Olivia invested the money she’d set aside and had continued to do that for years.
She’d also received two draws on her trust fund, one at twenty-one and one at twenty-five, and she hadn’t spent a dime of it. All invested.
A quick call to Kaitlin, along with some account numbers, could get her the cash fast.
“Then let’s write up the offer and cross your fingers. As for starting the construction, well, I’d say two weeks or less, depending on how fast you can pick out finishes and designs for your kitchen and baths. Phil already said he’d get to work on the plans.”
“He knew I’d buy it, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, I think he and Sophia did. When Sophia saw the picture of the house last night, she said it was classic, just like you, and she knew right away you would want it. Something about a house you two lived in when you were younger.”
Olivia’s eyes watered; she’d totally forgotten.
After her mother and father split, her mom moved into a brick colonial with a massive yard. They’d only lived there for a year and Olivia was so young, but now she remembered it. Remembered that she used to sneak into Sophia’s room and climb in bed with her at night. How Sophia would read her Cinderella until she fell asleep.
Now she knew why she fell in love walking around this house, even if she hadn’t realized it at the time. That fairytale of her dreams and memories was still trying to come true.
“I had some good memories there.” And she hoped to have some great ones here.
***
Finn drove by Olivia’s store before running to Trey’s preschool. He got up earlier than normal, showered, did all the chores he could without having Trey underfoot, and was hoping to stop and see Olivia for a minute.
The text from Becca this morning wanting to know why he blocked her last number had put him in a mood. His normal response back to her was a few choice colorful words, but this time he just blocked that number too.
He was trying to not let his past with Becca cloud his judgment of women going forward, especially Olivia. That’s why he needed to see her this morning. To help wipe away thoughts of Becca.
But when he pulled in the back, her car wasn’t in the owner’s spot.
He turned his truck around and pulled back out, trying to hide his disappointment.
He shouldn’t have expected she would be there. He knew that she had tons of things to do; she didn’t just come in and work on pieces all the time.
It was probably better she wasn’t there. He had to stop thinking about her so much. She was consuming his thoughts. The last time a woman had consumed his thoughts so much, she had turned his life upside down.
And there went his effort to not let his past control his future.
I’m Fine
“Let’s go, Daddy, let’s go.” Finn looked over at Trey bouncing on his toes, his glove clutched in his hand, the hat on his head askew.
He reached over and adjusted Trey’s hat. “I’m coming. You’re awfully excited to go to the park today. Why is that?”
“Maybe Cameron will be there again. He was fun to play catch with.”
Finn was momentarily shocked to hear that. Trey barely talked about the other kids at his school, and yet he was talking about Cameron, who he’d just met a few weeks ago. He’d have to talk to Trey more about his friends. Maybe he should encourage Trey to have someone over. Just the thought of a play date was enough to give him the chills, though.
“I’m sure there are other kids there that wouldn’t mind playing catch.”
“But I don’t know them. I know Cameron.”
It was progress, so Finn let it go. He’d work with Trey another time.
“Let’s go, then. It’s a beautiful day.”
They made their way to the park and Finn hurriedly followed Trey as he ran across the grass to an area to play catch while looking around, probably looking for Cameron, but Finn didn’t see the child anywhere.
He’d found out last week that the twins were actually more than a year younger than Trey, which surprised Finn since they were almost as tall as Trey and spoke so well.
Trey quickly picked up where he and Finn left off last time and was soon throwing and catching the ball with more accuracy than Finn expected, reminding him he had to look into little league for Trey, too. Just another thing to work around with his schedule, but he’d find a way.
“Trey!” Finn heard someone yell and turned to see Harper running toward Trey with Cameron right by her, and soon passing her, reaching Trey first. “We brought our gloves. And our cousins are here too.”
Finn watched as Kaitlin Mathews made her way toward him with a brunette and two blonde-haired boys that could possibly be another set of twins.
“Hi, Finn. It’s nice to see you again. The twins were hoping Trey would be here today.” She stopped and turned. “This is my sister-in-law, Brooke Mathews.”
Brooke held her hand out. “Nice to meet you. Cameron couldn’t stop talking about Trey when he found out we were coming to the park today. This is my son, Michael, and my nephew, Evan Malone.”
Guess they weren’t twins, but they could pass for them. “Hi, Michael and Evan,” Trey said quietly when he saw the other two boys.
“You know them?” Finn asked his son, knowing Trey wouldn’t speak to the two boys if he were just meeting them for the first time.
“They go to school with me.”
He’d never seen the boys before. Then again, he wasn’t normally looking at the other kids; he was more focused on Trey. The other kids never came forward and greeted Trey like Cameron and Harper just did.
“I’ve seen Trey at school before,” Brooke said. “But I didn’t realize it was the same Trey that Cameron was talking about.”
“Evan’s daddy is Dr. Mac,” Trey said quietly.
“What?” Finn looked more closely at Brooke and saw the resemblance. He’d never seen Trey’s pediatrician at the school before, either.
“Yes, Mac Malone is my brother. Trey’s a patient, I’m assuming?”
“Yeah, he is. I have a high regard for your brother.”
Finn didn’t go into detail, but Dr. Malone had been there through all the late-night sicknesses and frantic calls when Finn had no clue what he was doing and was terrified he was going to mess something up.
Dr. Malone was also the one Finn had called when he had a more personal matter to take care of in terms of Trey. One that no one else even suspected. And he sure the hell never mentioned, not even to his parents.
“He has that effect on people.”
“You kno
w, I just had an idea,” Kaitlin said. Finn wasn’t sure he liked the mischievous look that came into her eyes. “We’re taking the kids to the movies in about thirty minutes, this was just a quick stopping point. How would Trey like to go to the movies with us? What do you think, Trey?”
“Can we, Dad?”
“Oh, I’m sure your father has things he can do today rather than sit at the movies with two moms,” Kaitlin said.
Finn felt his heart race. Trey had never gone anywhere without him before, not without at least a family member present. He knew he could trust Kaitlin; he worked for her brothers, and well, how could he not trust Dr. Malone’s sister? Still, Trey wouldn’t want to go, not without his father.
“I don’t know,” Trey said, starting to hedge.
“Please, Trey,” Harper said.
Finn tried not to laugh. It seemed Harper was more excited over the possibility than the other kids.
Trey looked at Evan and Michael. Both had been quiet so far and he got the feeling they were shy too. Evan finally said, “We’re going to see Angry Birds.”
Finn watched as Trey’s eyes lit up. That was one of Trey’s favorite games when he was allowed to use the tablet. “Can I, Daddy?”
Before Finn could answer, Kaitlin said, “We’ll take good care of him. We can exchange numbers. He’ll be fine. Won’t you, Trey?”
Poor Trey, his eyes were wide as saucers and Finn could see he was torn between spending time with his new friend, Cameron, and going somewhere without his father. It was time to man-up and let his son have a little bit of freedom.
“You’ll call me if Trey decides he wants me to come get him?”
“I’ll be fine, Daddy. I promise.”
“Great,” Brooke said and they watched as the kids took off running.
“Well now, look at that, Finn. You’ve got about two hours to yourself. You know, Brooke,” Kaitlin said, turning to her sister-in-law, “did I tell you that Sophia couldn’t believe Olivia was spending the day working at the store all by herself today? Isn’t that a shame on such a beautiful day?”
“No, you didn’t,” Brooke said, her eyes laughing.
Finn got the feeling he was the subject of a joke right now and frankly he didn’t care. He wasn’t even embarrassed by it. “You’ll call me if Trey wants me to get him?”
“We will,” Kaitlin said.
“Okay. I’ll just go say bye to Trey.”
Finn walked over and tried to ignore the giggle from Kaitlin. He was sure he’d be embarrassed after the fact, but right now, he didn’t care.
“You sure you’re okay, Trey? I can go too if you want.”
“No, Daddy. I want to go alone.”
“Okay, scout. Don’t be afraid to tell Cameron’s mom if you want me. She’ll call me to get you.”
“Daddy,” Trey said pleading, looking sideways at the other kids. “I’m fine.”
Finn nodded, proud that his son was growing up, and sad…because his son was growing up.
Walking to his truck, he pulled his phone out and started to type. Don’t panic when you hear footsteps. I’ll be there in five minutes.
***
Olivia heard her phone buzzing, but ignored it until she was done adhering the stone in place. Then she set her tools down, looked at her phone, read the message and then read it a second time. How did Finn know she was at the store? And why was he on the way?
She started to type back, but before she could hit send she heard his footsteps. He opened the door to the back room, yanked her forward and covered her mouth with his.
Hot and urgent and exactly what she needed. If she was burning up, he was even more so. His hands were running down her sides and under her shirt as he backed her into the room. Next thing she knew, her shirt was over her head.
“If you want to say no, do it fast.”
No? Did he just ask if she wanted to say no? No chance of that happening.
Rather than answer him, she slid her hands under his shirt and sent it flying. There, that should be answer enough.
It had to be the right answer because his mouth was at her neck and his hands were working at the clasp of her bra, then sent that flying somewhere in the room. He was touching her everywhere and it still wasn’t enough.
“You’re so soft and silky,” he mumbled just before his lips closed over her nipple.
The heat hit her hard, right to her core, and she felt her legs go weak. “Finn, please don’t tell me you’re going to stop.”
“Hell no,” he said, then moved to the other breast, his hand cupping and kneading her, his mouth working some kind of magic that had her breath catching and wishing she could sit down, or maybe lie down. Anything other than standing on her shaky legs. But there was nowhere for them.
Just as fast, his hands were at the button of her shorts. It was a wise decision for her to wear shorts and sandals today. Once they were undone, they just slipped to the floor and she kicked them off followed by her shoes.
“This needs to go too. Right now,” he growled, placed his hands on the waist of her panties and gave them a little shove down her legs. She kicked them off too, and before she could reach for the button of his jeans, he was shoving tools out of the way and lifting her up and setting her bare butt on the counter.
His large, rough, calloused hands slid down her waist, spread her legs, and touched her. For as strong and tough as he was, his touch was soft and gentle. Softer than she wanted at the moment, but she was too weak to protest.
She sat there and watched him touch her and play with her, moving his fingers in and out of her fast and then slow, then sending her soaring way too soon.
She threw her head back, panted out a few breaths, and tried to bite back a nasty word. “Hurry up and get undressed,” she all but shouted at him.
She didn’t need to worry though, because he was quickly reaching into his wallet for a condom, then dropping his pants to the floor. Just as fast, the condom was on, and he entered her with one swift movement.
Her eyes rolled into her head, her hips bucked forward, and she wanted more. So much more than what he was doing.
He was just standing there…savoring the feeling maybe? It wasn’t enough, though. She wrapped her legs around his waist tight and started to move her hips.
He got the hint pretty fast. Grabbing her by the waist, he held her still and started to move in and out in fast clipped motions.
It was intense, so much so she was spiraling out of control. It was almost too much, but yet not enough. The burn was building and surrounding her.
“Finn!” she shouted and dropped her head back. His lips found their way to her neck and started to kiss, then suck, then his teeth grazed her and just that hint of biting was enough to send her nails digging into his shoulders.
Next thing she knew, he turned and his back was against the counter and he was holding her up by her hips, moving in and out of her, her own hips going in the opposite direction. “Tell me if I’m hurting you.”
Pain, what? There was no pain, only pleasure. “If you stop what you’re doing I’m going to hurt you!”
Thankfully, he didn’t stop, just continued on until they both were shooting up high, higher than she’d climbed before, then dropping down just as fast. It was hot, scorching, blazing, and everything she’d hoped it would be.
Appreciate
Finn slowly came back to reality and realized what they’d just done. “Sorry about that. Are you okay?”
“Hmm, I’ll let you know in a minute. Did you blind me? I think I’m blind right now. Either that or there is an intense light calling me to heaven.”
He laughed. He had no choice since he felt the same way.
He watched as she gripped the counter, grabbed a box of tissues and shoved them at him. “Here you go. Garbage is behind you.”
Well, she wasn’t shy, that’s for sure.
“I’ll take that out when I go.” He turned back around and saw she was shaking. “Shit. Seriously, are you okay?
I didn’t mean to attack you like that.”
“Oh, you can attack me like that anytime you want. My legs are a bit numb right now, though.”
He picked her up and set her on the counter again, fighting back his grin of satisfaction.
“I don’t have a lot of time and didn’t want to waste it with small talk.”
He refastened his jeans, then picked her clothes up one by one and handed them to her.
“No problem. Time alone isn’t our friend right now.”
“It’s not.”
But he still felt bad about this. If he hadn’t been driven by so much lust, he would have tried to make it better.
Or at least a little bit more romantic than a quickie in the back of her shop. And that thought made him feel like he was twenty again…not in a good way, either.
“I bought a house.”
“What?”
“Well, I think I did. I looked at a house yesterday and put an offer in. They accepted it and now I’m just waiting for the paperwork to be drawn up. I hope to close in a few days.”
“That’s fast.”
“Money talks. Besides, as much as I enjoyed this just now and wouldn’t say no to doing it again”—she stopped and wiggled her eyebrows at him—“I’d like a bed next time. Not that it will be anytime soon that I’m in the house.”
He was too caught up trying to wrap his mind around the fact she bought a house to concentrate on what she was saying now. Oh yeah, she wouldn’t say no to a quickie in the back room again. He’d have to keep that in mind.
“Where’s the house? I didn’t even know you were looking.”
“I figured one of us should have a place where we could be alone. Why not me?”
Was she regretting he had a child? Is that what this was about? “I have a responsibility to Trey.”
“What? Of course you do. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that if you happen to have some free time again, my tailbone might appreciate a softer surface.” She trailed the tip of her finger down his chest. “Maybe one where I can take control.”
