He was. Heath nodded. Whatever it took, he would get Olivia back.
“Then, good luck.” The women walked past him. Kinsley used two fingers to point at her eyes then at him. Heath wasn’t intimidated, though Carter was working out with her to loosen up her skin after all her skin grafting. He wouldn’t be surprised if Carter had been teaching her a few of their tricks.
Heath took a deep breath and walked in. He looked over to the left to see Olivia was gone, but her daughter remained, moving her food around on her plate with her fork. Here went nothing.
“Hi, Ivy.”
Ivy froze mid motion and looked up, and then glared at him, before looking back down. Heath remembered Olivia saying Ivy didn’t handle being around men well thanks to her ex and no yelling. Not that he intended to yell.
“Mind if I sit down?”
Ivy ignored him. He took a gamble and took the seat across from her. Ivy looked around the diner in a panic. “I just want to talk to you.”
“I have nothing to say to you.” Ivy glowered. As scared as she was of him, he saw the defiance in her eyes.
“Then just listen.” He held his hands up. “I messed up with your mom. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am.”
Ivy didn’t look like she was listening or didn’t care. This was bad. This is why he didn’t like kids. He didn’t know how to talk to them, but he had to try. “There’s no excuse for my behavior other than it scared me to find out your mom had a kid. Though, you’re more of a young adult than a kid.” Kids liked compliments, didn’t they? Everyone liked them.
“I’m eleven.” Ivy told him. “Mom still calls me a kid.”
“I think your mom will still be calling you a kid, when you’re in your 40s.” He chuckled. Ivy’s lip twitched, like she was trying not to smile.
“Why don’t you like kids?” Ivy asked, staring down at her plate again. Heath didn’t know if she was naturally shy or just intimidated by males.
A kid that would be lucky to have someone like you in their life.
Mike’s words came back to him. Ivy needed a positive male role model in her life. She’d be hard pressed to find finer male role models than his friends.
Heath had to think for a moment about his answer. “Growing up, my family and I were never close. I think my parents only had kids, because my mother wanted us to appear like a perfect family. We shared meals together, and I was always dragged to museums and adult parties, where she showed us off. My sister was an accomplished horsewoman, and my brother languages. He can speak English, French, German, and Mandarin.”
“What about you?”
“Me?” Heath looked around, before leaning forward to whisper. “Piano.”
“Piano?”
“Unfortunately, but my real interests lied more in the military. I liked weapons and strategy. My dad didn’t approve.”
“Did he discipline you?” Ivy whispered finally, looking up at him again.
“Not like you might be thinking. He never raised his hands towards us, but he loved to lecture. Is that what your mom’s old boyfriend did?”
Ivy shrunk back at the question. “We don’t talk about it.”
“Okay, we don’t have to talk about it.” He was realizing talking to Ivy was easier than he thought it would be. As long as he stayed off the topic of Olivia’s ex. The asshole must have done a number on them. He wished he knew who the ass was, so he could beat the shit out of him. “So, that’s why I didn’t like kids. I never knew how to interact with them.”
Ivy looked down again.
“But I’m finding it’s not bad at all, or at least, one girl makes me think I’ve been too harsh to judge.” He waited for Ivy to glance up to nod, letting her know he meant her.
“Me?” She asked, pointing at herself.
“You. I want to be with your mom, Ivy with your permission.”
“I don’t know. You really made her sad. She cried all night. My mom has cried enough. I don’t want her to be sad anymore.”
Heath could kick himself for causing Olivia pain, because of his insecurities. Now that the shock wore off, and he had time to think, he realized why Olivia held back telling him about Ivy. She wasn’t doing it to be mean, but only to protect Ivy and give them a chance to know each other. Heath never would have given her a chance had he known first.
