About an hour later, we wrap things up. “You know, I’m really impressed by how easily you’re absorbing everything we’ve talked about today. I’m super proud of your progress.”
Olivia flashes a dimple at me that I hadn’t noticed before. “Thanks. It’s not hard when you’re actually paying attention.” She gives me a sheepish grin.
I pause for a few beats, wanting to ask her about what’s going on with the whole boy thing, but not inclined to pry too much either. “Everything okay with that issue?” I slide a glance at her and note that her body stiffens ever so slightly.
“They’re still teasing me about whether or not they’ll tell him they saw me put the note in his locker. I’ve decided I don’t care.” She shrugs. “He either finds out and ignores me, finds out and tells me to get over myself, or”—she shrugs—“maybe he’s interested.”
I can hear the longing in her voice and it takes me right back to high school when a certain boy caught my eye and I hadn’t known how to deal with it, how to tell him. I side-eye her. “I understand all that more than you know.” I pat her hand. “There’s nothing to do about it unless you want to talk to him directly.”
She sucks in air through her teeth as she grins nervously. “I think I’m too scared to know what he thinks.”
We both turn at the sound of a throat clearing. “Ms. Lockmore, it’s getting late. Can I offer you dinner? We’re making tacos tonight.” Liam glances from me to Olivia, his eyes tender when they land on her. I can’t be sure if he’d overheard my conversation with her or not, but either way, he’s just so damn sweet with her. “Assuming you’re up to it, Olivia. Your appetite’s been funky.”
“Actually, I’m starving. I could totally eat.” She turns her head to see what my response will be. “What about you, Ms. Lockmore? Is your stomach up for tacos?”
“I could manage tacos. In fact, I think you have magical Wheat Things,”—we share a smile—“because I’m feeling just fine now.”
I glance over at Liam. “Thank you for the offer. What can I do to help?”
Olivia eyes me, as if sizing up my kitchen skills. “Well, Dad usually makes me grate the cheese because he hates doing it, but if you do it, I can slice up the peppers instead.” She gives a hopeful grin.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve left me to deal with the raw chicken and the crybabies.”
My eyes dart between the two of them as they make faces at each other. So damn cute. “Please explain yourselves. What are crybabies?”
Liam makes a disgruntled noise, pulling the ingredient out of the bin on the counter. “Onions. She laughs at me every time I cry over them, but never offers to help me out.”
Olivia presses her lips together, trying not to laugh. She lifts her hands, palms up with a little shrug. “I thought he enjoyed acting like the big man and protecting me from them.”
He works his jaw back and forth. “Oh really?”
She giggles. “Really.” And then a few seconds later, “Chop, chop, Daddy-o.”
Oh my heart. “I’ll cut them up, if you want.” I hold out my hands for them.
“You sure?” Liam hesitates.
“Yep. What do you want? Slices?”
“Yes, please. You really don’t have to, though. I’m never going to live this down if I invite you to have dinner with us and you end up crying.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. I’ll be fine. I have some tricks up my sleeve.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He eyes me playfully, smirking. He gestures to the cutting board and knife, then busies himself with preparing the chicken.
I circle the counter and smirk right back. “Challenge accepted.”
“O-M-G, I can’t believe this is happening right in our kitchen.” Olivia laughs with delight as she gets out the cheese and the grater as well as a knife, cutting board, and two peppers.
Getting to work, I wash my hands, then move the cutting board to a spot on the counter right next to the vent hood. I flip it on, then go to work peeling and slicing the onions.
Liam finishes up with the chicken, then crosses his arms and leans a hip against the counter next to me. “So, the vent hood, huh?”
“Do you see me crying?”
“Cool trick, Ms. Lockmore. Kind of like the vents in the chemistry classrooms take care of fumes from experiments.”
I wink over my shoulder at Olivia. “The crybabies did not get me. But speaking of, I’ll have to ask Ms. Caringello what was up with the stink in her room today. Maybe her vent isn’t working properly.”
Chapter 22
Liam
Dinner goes off without a hitch and without any tears at all. Not long afterward, Olivia declares that she’s going to go take a quick shower. Before she heads upstairs, she gives Quinn a shy smile. “Thank you for being willing to help me this afternoon.” She nibbles her lip. “And for the talk.”
“Of course. Any time at all.”
Oh boy. Is my baby girl having boy trouble? I make a mental note to see if she’ll talk to me about it at some point.
She nods at Quinn like she’s taking what she’d said to heart and bolts up the stairs, her sixteen-year-old legs taking them two at a time.
I turn to the sink to begin washing the dishes, knowing Quinn is watching me like a hawk. I need to keep my hands busy for a second so I don’t out-and-out demand to know whatever it is Olivia is going through.
She blows out a quick breath. “Let me help.”
“Nah, you’re our guest.” I shake my head, shooting her the best grin I can manage at the given moment, as my brain is too preoccupied thinking about what could be going on with Olivia.
“Doesn’t matter if I’m a guest or not. I want to help you get this done so we have a few minutes alone together before I have to go.”
I quirk a brow at her. “Want to get me alone?”
She rakes her teeth over her plump lower lip, and my eyes drift over her as she approaches. “Not like that.” She grabs the dish towel sitting on the counter and swats me with it.
“Careful, I might like that.” I go back to soaping the dishes, rinsing, then begin to hand them off to her.
As she dries, I sneak a look at her out of the corner of my eye.
“You know, watching your big, strong hands dipping down into that soapy water, cleaning up the dishes we dirtied making dinner together? Now that’s sexy. Flowers are nice. Cooking and dishes done are better.”
I grin at her. “Good. I’m glad you like what you see.”
She taps her finger to her lip. “And there’s something about how obvious it is that you love and care for your daughter—that does something to me, too. The way you watch over her and ask how she’s feeling, how you checked on us while we caught up on the work from her school absence, your gentle teasing while cooking … well, it’s enough to make a girl’s heart flutter.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lip. “And it’s obvious she loves you, too.”
I clear my throat, needing to ask. “So, she talked to you again?”
“She did.”
“Good. Boy stuff?”
“Yeah, a little of that, a little of some other things. She’ll be okay. She has a good head on her shoulders.”
I rinse out the sponge and set it aside before I take the towel from her and dry my hands. “Thank you for looking out for her. I’m cool with that, so long as you tell me if I need to kick some kid’s ass.”
A myriad of emotions flow through me before I lean in and feather a kiss across her lips. She whimpers quietly. My hands coast up her arms, squeezing her biceps before I drag her closer. One hand slides up to her neck, my thumb brushing over the pulse point and lingering there as her eyes look deeply into mine. She melts in my arms, and when I lower my mouth to hers again, something deep within me ignites. Lust fuels my every move, flowing through my veins like white-hot iron. I grasp her waist and pull her firmly against me as I ravage her mouth. My brain is a little muddled and for that reason, I don’t hear a single
thing until Olivia’s gasp of surprise from the bottom of the stairs cuts through the moment, startling me.
Quinn and I jerk apart.
The three of us stare at each other for what could have been a split second or an eternity, I’m not sure.
Finally, Olivia’s voice squeaks out, “So, it’s true. What people at school are texting me about is true. They saw you on a date this weekend?”
“Olivia.” My voice is firm, but cautious. “Come over here and let’s talk.”
Her eyes practically shoot fire. “It’s not bad enough that people are teasing me about sending a note to the boy I like? Now I have to deal with gossip about my dad screwing my teacher? Just great.”
Olivia’s gaze focuses on Quinn, her eyes glassy. “How could you?” Her voice is hushed as she whispers, “I trusted you.”
“Olivia …” Quinn’s voice rasps from her throat. “I—”
Olivia slaps her hand down on the bannister, turning her back to Quinn before she can finish replying, and takes off at a sprint for her room.
My stomach churns. Quinn pivots to face me and the expression on her face reflects my thoughts exactly. Oh my God, what have we done?
“I’m so sorry, Liam.”
I close my eyes for a few seconds and take a deep steadying breath. “It’s my fault. I should have told her sooner. I should have told her, period.” I shake my head, chuckling without humor. “I fucked up.”
She swallows hard and lifts a shaking hand to her cheek. When she runs her fingers over the skin, she seems surprised to discover that a tear has slipped from her eye. Heaving a breath, she meets my gaze. “I should go.”
I nod.
All I can do is nod. My heart plunges into my stomach as I watch Quinn gather her things and walk out the door.
Chapter 23
Liam
After Quinn leaves, I feel sick inside. I’d hated the look on her face when Olivia lashed out at her. We’ve done nothing wrong, except not telling Olivia sooner. I knew the minute I’d laid eyes on those kids at the coffee shop and Quinn told me they were in Olivia’s class that the potential for a problem was there. I’m actually surprised it took this long for word to reach Olivia.
Dammit. I knew I should have talked to her over the weekend, no matter what. But I’d been waiting for the perfect moment. For stars to align or something. I totally should have known better.
I’ll have to reach out to Quinn later. For now, the only thing on my mind is talking this through with Olivia. I race up the stairs after her. When I realize she’s locked the door behind her, I almost pound on it, but think better of it. I give it a soft tap. “O. Can we talk about this?”
From inside, her voice is muffled. “What? About you sucking face with my teacher? My tutor? Oh my God, how could you do this to me?” she wails.
My chest deflates. I hate that she’s so upset by this. I guess I can only hope she’s more worried about the idea of people knowing than she is about the thought of Quinn and me together. “Olivia, please let me in so we can discuss this.”
“There’s nothing to discuss. My life is over.”
I rest my hand on the door and lean my forehead against it, closing my eyes. “Your life is not over. Come on, baby girl. Let me talk to you.”
Five seconds go by before the door flies open, and I stumble forward into the room. Quickly righting myself, I rest my hands on my hips, observing the puffy, red eyes and blotchy face of my sixteen-year-old.
She whirls back to her bed and sits down, arms crossed in front of her. “What?” Her tone is half-disgusted, half-betrayed.
I take a deep breath and cross the room to her desk, where I pull out the chair. I sit backward on it, my arms resting on the top rail. I prop my chin on my forearm, gauging her initial reaction to know how to handle this. “Olivia, I’m really sorry this is how you found out about my relationship with Quinn.”
She laughs incredulously. “I bet you’ve been laughing the whole time I’ve been calling her Ms. Lockmore, huh? Way more familiar with her than that, aren’t you?” She practically snarls at me, but when I look into her eyes, I see genuine hurt. “Have you been seeing her behind my back all year? How long has this been going on?” She scrubs her hands over her face, and I would do just about anything in this moment to fix this for her.
Pressing my lips together, I try to think of how to make things right. “I’m going to be honest with you because I think you are old enough to handle it.”
She rolls her eyes at me. I’d thought she was old enough to handle it; now I have reservations. I sit up straight on the chair and blow out a quick breath before I begin. “I met Quinn at the cider mill in January. I’d been seeing her off and on since then.”
“So, it’s all true … that people saw you. Both at the grocery store and at the coffee shop. Great.”
“She is pretty great. And, yes, we shopped together when we ran into each other one afternoon, and I did take her out on a date last weekend. We had coffee.” I shake my head. “I think if it hadn’t come out like this, you wouldn’t be having as much issue with it as you are right now. You like her. I don’t think you should blame her for this. And you definitely haven’t misplaced your trust in her.”
“Why should I trust her at all anymore? She told you everything about what’s been happening at school.” She throws up her arms, her face blanching at the idea of it.
“Actually, she hasn’t. I didn’t realize it had anything to do with teasing and a note to a boy until you said so yourself when you were shouting at us.”
Her cheeks flush. “Oh.” She wipes her palms on the leggings covering her thighs.
“Quinn kept your business confidential even though she probably should have told me.” I wet my lips. “But here’s the thing, baby girl. I trust Quinn. So when she told me she knew what was going on, but you’d asked her not to say anything, I allowed it.”
Olivia sniffles. Then quietly, she murmurs, “But don’t you understand? I can’t show my face at school. Everyone will be talking about me.”
“It’ll blow over. We’re adults. This isn’t some huge scandal.” When her mouth immediately drops open to protest, I hold up a hand. “I know it seems big to you right now, but there’s nothing wrong with two adults dating. It’s normal.”
“But she’s my teacher …”
“I know. But I didn’t know that when this started. We had no idea until that day at the parent-teacher conference.”
She blinks. Once. Twice. “You mean if I hadn’t been so distracted by people talking about the note I may or may not have slipped into a boy’s locker and had kept my grades up, I never would have known about the two of you?”
“Well, I’m sure we’d have figured things out eventually, and I would have told you.”
“Dad? Be honest. Am I just getting better grades now because of what’s going on with you and Ms. Lockmore?” She gives a wet chuckle.
I close my eyes, shaking my head. Dammit. “Why would you think that?”
“Well, it’s logical right? You like each other. She’s tutoring me. She wants to keep things going well, so she boosts my grade.”
“What? You’re being ridiculous. Quinn wouldn’t do that.”
“But, Dad, this is what people are saying.”
“Again, she wouldn’t do that, and you know it.”
“Well, I also didn’t think she’d be banging my dad, but that’s happening.”
I blink a few times at the words that just came out of my child’s mouth. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
She presses her lips together, and I take a second to try to get a read on her and figure out how to respond to the last outburst when tears start sliding down her face in a torrent. “Dad, I just can’t handle this right now.” She covers her face and flops over onto her pillow.
I’m off the chair immediately, and scoop her into my arms. She sobs against my chest like her life is damaged beyond repair. “Baby girl.” I sigh. “I’m sorry you’re so upset.”
/> I hold her until she falls asleep, just like I did when she was a toddler. Looking at the dried tears on her cheeks, my heart cracks wide open.
I hate that she’s hurting like this.
Chapter 24
Quinn
When I get home, I head straight for my bedroom, shucking off my work clothes and pulling on a T-shirt and sleep shorts. In the bathroom, I stop for a second to look at myself in the mirror. My eyes look hollow, all carved out and void of feeling. I’m sick about what happened at Liam’s and can only hope he was able to work things out with Olivia.
Phone in hand, I crawl into my bed and pull open the group text. I need to know just how far this has gone—if my friends have caught wind of it.
Me: Have you all heard anything at school about me and Liam?
Sophia: Jumped right into that, didn’t you? Um, no.
Sophia: Should I ask Heath?
Me: Sure.
Madison: I’ve heard nothing, but I’m always out of the loop.
Piper: Nope. What’s going on?
Hadleigh: I, uh, was just about to text you. I heard some kids talking about you and Liam dating. Something about being at the coffee shop together, then another girl piped up that she’d seen the two of you together at the grocery store.
Zoey: Uh-oh. All true, no?
Hadleigh: From there, it was a bunch of speculation, and I shut it down.
Hadleigh: I’m sorry I didn’t get to them before they’d spouted off about it. :(
Me: Yes. All true.
Me: The speculation part is what’s going to be harmful.
Hadleigh: I’m so sorry.
Me: Not your fault.
Zoey: So, wait—why did this come up?
Fall for You (Flirting with Forever Book 4) Page 12
