Thankfully, the Connor appreciation club decided to go and sun themselves on the front deck, ending the conversation.
Or not, she realized with a sigh as Ashley and Jessica stared at her thoughtfully. “Doyou wish he’d turn his focus to Chloe or are you secretly enjoying the attention?” Jessica asked.
It was hard for her to lie to people who’d known her all her life. “It’s nice to be found attractive, obviously. But it’s also...” She struggled to find the right word to describe how she felt.
“Scary?” Ashley supplied.
She didn’t like that word. “I don’t scare easily.”
“Yet here you are, pretending not to like a guy you’re clearly attracted to.” Ashley patted her arm. “It’s only us, Liv. You can admit the truth. I know I was bloody terrified when I went on those dates after the divorce.”
“And you regret them.”
“No.” Ashley stared out across the bustling harbor. “I don’t regret the dates. I regret not being pickier about who I slept with. I should have waited till I found a man who made my knees buckle, my heart race,” she added, looking back at Olivia knowingly.
“I like... no, Ineedto be in control,” Olivia said, grimacing as she realized it made her sound like a diva. “The last guy I slept with and the one before him—you were right, they were nice. Professional like me, my age. I knew who they were, what I was getting into. Connor is uncharted territory. I’m worried I won’t be the one calling the shots and I don’t know if I like that.”
Jessica smiled. “As a mum who seems to be controlled by her kids rather than the other way round, I get it. But controlling every aspect of your life makes for no excitement, no surprises. It sounds a bit, well, dull.”
“Dull suits me.” When they started to shake their heads at her, she put up her hand. “Hey, dull doesn’t mean unhappy. Believe me, I can’t control work as much I’d like to, so that leaves plenty of excitement. Especially when the markets are volatile. Speaking of which, I’m just going to check in with my associates before we lose the signal.”
She ignored their groans of disapproval and walked to the other side of the boat to check her email. How was she expected to relax and enjoy herself if she didn’t know what was going on in her real life back home?
Connor slid the muffins and doughnuts onto two plates and re-jigged them so they looked more presentable. Did they look mouthwatering? A perfect accompaniment to a boat tour around Nantucket?
Or did they look like a mess of dough and sugar?
Fuck, why was he stressing so much?
“They good to go?” Luca reached for the plates, but Connor batted his hand away. “Not yet.” He added a handful of blueberries and strawberries to each, then sieved a fine layer of icing sugar over the top. “I’ll take this one to the group at the back. You can serve the sun worshippers.”
Luca grinned. “Suits me.”
After taking a quick photo for his Instagram, Connor picked up some napkins and made his way toward the back where he’d left the other members of the party sitting. Damn, only two of the sisters were there. Had he made the wrong choice—was Olivia up front with her niece? But then he caught sight of her, sitting alone, head down as she scrutinized her phone. Her hair was tied back again, her shorts tailored and just above the knee.
“Ladies.” Ashley and Jessica smiled, but Olivia ignored him, so he cleared his throat. “That includes you, Livvy.” She jerked her head up and shot him a dark look, which made him laugh. “Rules of the boat: No staring at your phone.” He waved his hand toward the Brant Point Lighthouse that stood proudly at the entrance of the harbor. “We don’t want you to miss all the beauty Nantucket has to offer.”
“Bloody hell, not you as well.” She shook her head and turned back to her phone.
He cleared his throat again, smiling as she gave him another glare. “Phone down, Livvy, or I take this plate of sugary goodness away.”
“That’s not fair,” Ashley protested.
He nodded solemnly. “I agree, but blame your sister, not me. She’s the one stopping me from leaving them on the table.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Olivia shoved the phone into her pocket and stomped over to them. “These had better be worth it.”
He slid the plate onto the table. “Try one and find out.” And yes, his heart was now in his throat. Suddenly it mattered what she thought.
“They look amazing.” Jessica reached for one. “Did you make them?”
“I did.” As Olivia picked one up and took a bite, his pulse rocketed. And it wasn’t just from seeing her tongue dart out to lick sugar off her lips.
“What are we eating?”
She glanced up at him, and while Ashley and Jessica were making all the right noises, he couldn’t tell what she thought. “You’re eating Boston cream doughnuts, which are basically fried doughnuts filled with pastry cream and dipped in chocolate.”Yeah, way to big them up, Harris. “The layered croissant dough rolled in churro sugar are morning buns. And there’s also some blueberry muffins.”
She nodded and took another bite of the doughnut, which he tried to be happy about. At least she wasn’t spitting it out, right?
