“We can stay.”She hadn’t meant to repeat the words aloud, but Nash apparently heard her whisper.
He took her hand and squeezed it.“I’d like that.”
Her heart warmed, and she sat back to learn how to make gnocchi while she enjoyed the man at her side.She knew her daughter was safe and wanted in a room above their head.
Could she have this forever?
Chapter8
Secrets And Dragons
Nash let the information he’d learned swirl around in his head while he and Olivia watched Gray cook.The man was a genius.He didn’t even use tomatoes from a can to make sauce.Hell, Nash mainly bought prepared sauce in jars.Not sure he’d be telling Claus that.Charlie would probably spill his secrets soon enough.
Like Olivia had spilled some of hers.
What an amazing woman.She’d adopted her friend’s daughter and left the city where she lived to keep the girl safe.
She hadn’t given details, although she’d let the bastard’s first name slip.Adam.
He’d listen for more details.Where had they lived?The way she’d saidthe citymade her sound like a native New Yorker.Was that where she was from?Her accent was faint, but it did sound like that to Nash.
Was Vermont far enough from this Adam?How determined would he be to get Ella?He didn’t sound like the kind of man who wanted to be a father.But a man with an obsession was more about owning and having.Not about caring and nurturing.
There was no way this asshole was getting anywhere near that precious little girl.
He wondered what other layers of protection Olivia had put in place for the two of them.Her car had to be a decade old.Had she bought it new so that Adam couldn’t trace her?Maybe she’d traded in her old car.Or, if his New York guess was accurate, she might not have owned a vehicle at all.Hopefully, she’d changed the license plates if she’d always owned the Focus.
Things to ask at some point when they were alone.
He wanted more time alone with her, not just to find out the information he needed to keep the two of them safe but to learn more about her.
And to sneak in a kiss or two.
Is that okay, Charlotte?
He figured she’d approve of Olivia with her protective nature and love for a child who wasn’t her own.Would she approve of Nash being ready to think of her romantically?He’d never know.
Olivia’s phone buzzed with a text, and she snatched it before the notification sound finished.Her face relaxed as she read.“It’s Charlie.Ella Mae is waking up.”
They were out of their chairs before she finished the words.He caught Gray grinning at them as they left the room.
They could hear Charlie’s voice as they climbed the stairs.Ella babbled back, and Charlie laughed.
When they entered the room, the sight grabbed Nash by the throat and squeezed.Charlie sat with the little girl on his lap, snuggling into his chest.She smiled, trusting him to keep her safe.
Olivia’s eyes misted at the sight, and she smiled.“Did you have a good nap, Ella Mae?Did you expect to wake up in Charlie’s room?”
Ella grinned at Olivia, but continued to rest against Charlie, not fully awake.From the look on his son’s face, he was enjoying the contact.There wasn’t much better in the world than snuggling with a contented little one.
Nash had never thought much about having another child.The terror and pain of losing Charlotte in childbirth had destroyed that part of him.
Or so he’d thought.
But seeing these two together had him imagining it full-time.Imagining another little one added to the mix.
He took a moment to rein in his imagination.Olivia sat on the bed beside Charlie and rubbed her hand over Ella’s hair and back.“You’re sure content, so that must have been a good nap.Thanks for taking such good care of her, Charlie.”
“It was fun.She’s cute when she sleeps.I thought she might be scared to wake up in a new place, but she wasn’t.I talked to her, and she just crawled up for a hug.”
