Lukas paid him no mind. “You deserve everything you’ve convinced yourself you don’t deserve.”
Some part of me wanted to agree with him. I’d done so much work in therapy to get to where I was today. I was a proud father. I was a good man with good intentions. I was a business owner who, albeit in a weird way, brought something meaningful to the community.
And I loved a woman with every desperate part of my soul.
But is it enough? Am I enough?
“She deserves more than the life I can give her,” I said.
My eyes slid to where she sat in the water, head thrown back in laughter as Charlie and Harper snuck up behind Cleo to push her overboard. They screamed and howled with laughter right before Cleo tugged Olivia in after her. Her arms flailed as she tried to catch herself, but she was slipping beneath the surface, drink and all, in a matter of seconds. When she came back up, all four of the girls began pushing water toward one another. They all sounded so happy.
“More than what? No, I’m serious. What more do you think she needs?” Grady asked. “Youknowher, Duke. You know that she pretends to be all diamonds and class when in reality she hates the front she is forced to put on.
Liv’s my best friend. When we got divorced, I was worried about her. That woman works too damn much and looks for any excuse not to sit still in one place for long, and hardly takes care of herself. But now?” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen that woman as happy as I have with you—despite the shit circumstances that led her here.”
“I can’t give her the life she’s used to. I own a small town bar, not a multi-billion-dollar company. What can I offer her that she can’t get on her own?”
“Jesus, man. You think that’s what she wants?” Lukas questioned. “She doesn’t give a shit about any of that. She plays the part because there are sharks in the water watching and waiting for her to make any mistake so they can swoop in and destroy her.”
Grady pointed his bottle toward Lukas. “Exactly. And you said it yourself. Olivia Hart can get anything she wants, but what she wants isyou. If she was looking for a man to hang off her arm, don’t you think she would’ve found that already?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Y’all are both such idiots,” Lukas muttered. “You said it best yourself. There’s nothing you can specifically offer, financially, that she couldn’t handle on her own. If she wants a trip to Paris, then guess what? She’ll fire up the jet and be on her way. But you showed her something she can’t give herself.”
“What’s that?” I huffed.
Grady’s face softened. “A partner she can rely on. Someone who sees her for who she is, not the face behind the company. You may not see it, but we do. She doesn’t shy away from you.”
A commotion drew our attention to the girls. Charlie and Harper were racing toward the shore as Cleo and Olivia took their time bringing back their tubes. It was getting dark, and I was sure we were about to be asked by two very inquisitive children if the bonfire was ready.
Harper came up first, colliding into me so hard that my chair nearly toppled over. Charlie followed suit with Grady.
“Daddy, is it time for s’mores yet?” Charlie asked, looking up at Grady through thick lashes.
I may have been wrapped around Harper’s finger, but Charlie had her father completely under her spell. I was sure that if she asked him to do a dance on live television in a hot pink ballgown, he would’ve called his fancy agent to make it happen.
“Your dads were too busy yapping to light the fire, but your uncle Luke will take care of everything,” Lukas said, pushing to his feet. They cheered and danced as we grabbed their towels and quickly wrapped them up.
“I take it you agreed to s’mores?” Cleo said, walking up and planting a kiss on Grady’s cheek.
“Sure did. Thankfully, Uncle Luke is going to get everything started,” he said, returning the gesture as Charlie fake vomited.
“Y’all are gross.”
Olivia stopped beside me, collapsing into Lukas’s vacated seat. She had this adorably dazed smile on her face. The kind you get from being tipsy on the water all day. Her olive skin was glowing, sun-kissed and radiant.
“Did you have fun?” I asked, pulling Harper into my lap.
Olivia bit her lip and nodded. “I think I needed this more than I realized.”
“Good. I’m glad we could give it to you.”
Without thinking, I reached out and squeezed her thigh. It wasn’t like everyone around us hadn’t seen the longing glances we’d given one another, but this was the first time we did so in a way that felt free. It couldn’t be excused as my offering comfort in a moment of grief, nor was it the casual touch of a part-time lover.
It took me only a moment to realize Lukas was lingering out of direct sight, watching the four of us with our kids. He was too far away for me to get a read on him, but I swore I saw something like longing there, which was strange.
Lukas had always been adamant about never getting married. He wanted to live his life freely and was content being the fun uncle, but I wondered if that was really true. I wondered if losing John and seeing Olivia’s struggle to balance her career and her heart weren’t weighing on him in more ways than one.