“I know,” she said, glancing toward me. “But I think we’ll head home. I’m sure the girls are tired.”
We.We’llhead home. All of us.
Lukas nodded, rocking back on his heels. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Yeah, he would definitely have questions—sooner rather than later if his tight-lipped smile was any indication. Hell, Ididn’t even know what I was going to tell him. But it didn’t matter because that was tomorrow’s problem, and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to borrow trouble by asking about it today.
“We will,” I said, placing one hand on Olivia’s back and waving goodbye with the other. I wondered if she knew how much thatwemeant to me and Harper. How long it had been since either of us had anyone but each other.
I led her to the truck, opened the door, and helped her into the passenger seat before doing the same with Charlie and Harper in the back. They were already deep in discussion about their sleepover plans by the time I climbed inside and headed down the short distance to the guest cottage.
The girls were out of the vehicle the moment I cut the engine, bursting through the door like a goddamn tornado. Olivia and I sat in silence for a moment, watching them go before slowly following suit.
I wasn’t sure who reached for who first, but our fingers found each other’s as I led her into the house. I flipped on the lights as I went, heading straight through the living room to the kitchen I was all too familiar with. The girls clambered onto the tall seats at the island.
Olivia paused, leaning forward onto the counter and resting her chin in her hand as she watched me rifle through the refrigerator and pantry until I found what I was looking for.
“What’re you doing?” she asked. “If you’re looking for food, you probably should have taken Lukas up on his offer. I don’t have much in there.”
I peered at her from around the freezer door, pulling out a pound of frozen Italian sausage. “But you have the essentials to make regular old spaghetti. That sound good?”
I could see the rebuttal forming as her stomach let out a loud rumble that had our girls breaking into a fit of giggles. She tried to hide her face in her hands, but I saw the smile there.
“Figured as much. So, here’s what we’re going to do. You girls,” I turned to Charlie and Harper, “are going to go take showers, put on your pajamas, and pick out a movie for us to watch.” They took off before I had the last words out. “Good talk!” I called after them.
Olivia watched me carefully. “You really don’t have to do this. It’s fine. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat much anyway.”
I knew what she was doing. Downplaying how much pain she was in so as not to seem weak. Hell, I’d been living the same way since Sarah left Harper and me to fend for ourselves.
I rounded the corner in four large strides. She turned around, giving me the perfect opportunity to cage her in against the marble countertop. Being this close to her was intoxicating. She pulled me in without even trying.
“What did I say earlier?” I asked, bringing one finger up beneath her chin so that she was staring directly at me. “I told you to let me take care of you. Cooking dinner isn’t some big thing. If I weren’t doing this here with you and Charlie, I’d be doing the same damn thing for Harper and me at home. It’s easy, Olivia.”
“Then let me help,” she said, attempting to break out of the cage I trapped her in.
“Listen to me… You’re going to go into your bathroom, run yourself a nice, hot bath in that oversized monstrosity Lukas calls a bathtub, and you’re going to relax. No kids. No worries. No obligations.”
“But—”
“I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready. Then, we’re all going to pile onto the couch and put on whatever agonizing movie the girls picked out while we enjoy the gourmet meal I’ve prepared. Got it?”
Olivia’s lip twitched. “Gourmet meal, huh? Aren’t you going to use sauce from a jar?”
I pushed off the counter, gently swatting her ass in the process. “Get out of here before I’m forced to do something drastic.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, quirking a brow. “Like what?”
Smiling to myself, I took my time popping the microwave open and tossing the meat inside to thaw. Then I turned over my shoulder, letting her see all the heat and sexual frustration that’d been pent up for fucking weeks. “Like strip you down and throw you in the water myself.”
My gaze dipped to her delicate throat as she swallowed her rebuttal. Nothing could happen between us right now. Not with our daughters in the other room. But it was tempting. God, it was so fucking tempting to do it anyway.
“I’m not used to people telling me what to do,” she admitted.
“Well? What’s the verdict?” I asked.
She was silent for a minute, blowing out a long breath before saying, “I think I like it.” Her gaze met mine. “When you do it.”
The entire timeI was making dinner, I was trying—and failing miserably, might I add—not to think about Olivia’s words and the fact that she was just down the hall in the bath. Naked. Wet. So goddamn perfect.