“You bet I am.”
He seemed to consider this. “I’m all for it, as long as you acknowledge us guys have our uses occasionally. For example, I could help you prepare for the interviews,” Connor continued, the corners of his eyes crinkling with humor. “Along with Ellie, of course.”
“Yesss!” Ellie jumped up and down. “How do we do that?”
“We think of some questions to test Livvy on, questions they might ask.”
“Okay.” Ellie scrunched her brow in concentration. “Will they ask about horses?”
Olivia bit down on her smile, glancing over at Connor. He returned her look, and a hum of something intimate zipped between them. She imagined it was what parents around the world experienced when their child said something cute—pride,love.
She jolted, just like she had this morning, and Connor gave her a speculative look before focusing back on Ellie. “I don’t think there are any horses involved in Livvy’s job.”
“I look after people’s money,” Olivia explained, pushing her fear back into its box to stew over another day. “They trust me to find a place to put their money where it can earn even more money.”
“Like a bank,” Ellie said.
“Yes. Sometimes we put it in banks for them, sometimes we buy stakes in companies we believe will do well. Sometimes we buy precious metals, like gold.”
Ellie nodded. “Gold is good. I get a gold star at school when I’ve done good work.”
Again Olivia caught Connor’s eye; again she felt that hum of connection.
“A lot of interviewers ask general stuff,” Connor said, looking fondly down at his daughter and giving her plaits a gentle pull. “Like why she wants the job. How about we start with those? And be tough, because the people who’ll interview her will be tough.”
For the rest of the walk they fired questions at her, doing it in funny voices that had Olivia fighting not to laugh. Some questions, like why she wanted the job, what she would bring to it, she’d already prepared answers for. Some, like Connor asking her how she would deal with Stuart, were actually helpful. Some of the ones Ellie asked, like would she give people who came in late a detention, just made her want to pick the little girl up and hug her.
It was only later that she realized Connor had engineered the conversation to make her feel like she was part of them. Part of their family.
He did the same on Sunday, arranging for her and Ellie to go riding together. A simple pleasure, something she’d not done for twenty-odd years. And, boy, it felt good to be on the back of a horse again. Even better to enjoy it with the clearly delighted Ellie while Connor leaned on the rails of the paddock, watching them with a look of quiet satisfaction.
She knew his game, and he was playing it to perfection. Every day she spent with them took her another step closer to seeing how easily she could fit into their lives.
Another step closer to taking that leap he’d talked about.
Monday afternoon, and Connor was at work—and on edge. The guys in the kitchen knew it.
Worse, Aaron knew it.
It was two hours after Olivia’s last interview had been scheduled to end, and he’d still not heard from her.
“Am I keeping you from something important?” Aaron remarked dryly when he caught Connor sneaking a look at his phone.
“Nothing is more important than our discussion,” Connor assured him, guiltily shoving the phone back into this pocket. He was finally talking through his menu ideas with Aaron and Pat.That’swhere his focus should be.
“She’ll message when she can,” Pat said gently. “But today she has far more important things on her mind than you.”
“Who does?” Aaron stared at him. “Are you talking about Ashley’s sister?”
“Yes. She’s being interviewed for a promotion today.” And whatever the outcome, Connor was unlikely to be the first thing on her mind when she walked away from it.
And that was fine. He could deal with it. Would deal with it, if she’d give him half a chance. Meanwhile, he needed to sort out his own career. “So, the ideas I sent through, what did you think of them?”
Aaron sat back in his chair and gave him a long, level stare. “You want to have a special lunchtime menu devoted to New England–style food. And to offer some of the options as takeaways from a separate counter.”
“Yes.” He tried to hold Aaron’s gaze. To remember what Olivia had said last week about Aaron recommending him to Felix only because he respected him.“I’ve seen it work really well in Nantucket. Tacos, lobster rolls, something a bit different than the usual sandwich options.” Aaron nodded but didn’t say anything, which set Connor’s already frayed nerves on edge. “F-fudge,” he corrected himself at the last minute. “If you hate the idea, just say. Put me out of my misery.”
Aaron laughed, the fucker. A big, hearty belly laugh. Then he stood, walked around the desk, and slapped him on the back. “Love it. Wondered when you were going to start telling me what I should do. Took longer than I thought, but at least you got there in the end.” He stuck out his hand for Connor to shake. “I’ll leave you in charge of getting it done. Just run stuff by Pat to keep her in the loop.”
