Her shoulders slumped. “Fine, I’ll go down your ridiculous slide, but only if you go first. If your big bum can make it, then I know I won’t get stuck.”
“You weren’t complaining about my bum last night. In fact, you couldn’t get enough of it,” he added, lowering his voice. “Squeezing it with your hands, digging your heels into it—”
She pushed her fingers into her ears. “I’m not listening to you.”
Grinning, he flung his arm around her and led her over to Ellie. “What’s the slide like?”
His daughter gave him a wide smile and a thumbs-up. “Awesome.”
“We’re going to have a go. Come and show us how to do it.”
“Seriously? You’re going down it?” Giggling, she scampered off to the ladder. “This is where you have to climb up.” She pointed. “It’s got a big platform at the top, so it’s easy.” Her gaze fell on Olivia. “Don’t be scared. You can watch and do what I do.”
Pride bloomed in his chest, the feeling intensified when Olivia leaned into him as Ellie raced up the ladder. “She’s so sweet,” she said quietly. “You did good, Connor Harris. Really, really good.”
In the end, Olivia forgot about making him go first. She climbed right up after Ellie, laughed all the way down. And then raced back around to go down again.
Chapter 27
The past few weeks at work had been brutal. She knew she was putting pressure on herself, but the interviews were only two weeks away. Stuart would put on a good show. He was charming and the bosses loved him, so the only edge she had was her track record. And so far, she’d had a great quarter. She was two percent ahead of him year to date. It would go a long way to proving she was the most capable one for the job.
At the knock on her office door, she looked up to find Meera, hands planted firmly on her hips. “Don’t tell me you forgot our lunch date.”
“Crap, sorry.” She exhaled sharply. “I’ve been staring at these figures so long, I think I’ve even forgotten my own name.”
“You work too hard, girl. I keep telling you.” She slid a package out from behind her back. “Sally said this arrived in the post for you. I told her I’d drop it by, as you were clearly too busy to make it out of your office. It’s been checked and isn’t a bomb.”
Curiously Olivia stared down at the parcel. Her heart thumped when she recognized the writing from a scrawled note Connor had left her on his pillow when she’d slept in last weekend. Apparently on a Sunday, even she didn’t wake as early as an eight-year-old. “It’s from Connor.”
“Oh, goody.” Meera grinned and clapped her hands like a kid at Christmas who’s just seen her presents. “Come on, then, open it. And before you tell me to mind my own business, you owe me. I waited for twenty minutes before I realized you were going to be a lunchtime no-show again.”
Olivia carefully cut the tape and eased off the packaging to find... cookies. He’d baked her cookies. From the look of it, a dozen of them, three different kinds. Her hand trembled as she reached for the note inside.
For when you forget to go to lunch. C xx
“Oh my God,” Meera exclaimed, eyeing the box. “I want one.”
“A cookie?” she asked, struggling to speak past her tight throat. “Or a boyfriend who makes them?”
“Both.” Meera swiped one out of the box and took a bite. “Bloody hell, that is soooooo good.” She gave Olivia a soft smile. “You’ve got a keeper there. I know you don’t want to hear it, that you’re scared it will screw up your career, but I’m telling you, you’ll regret it if you let this one go.” She snatched another cookie and headed out. “I deserve that, as I didn’t get my lunch.” When she reached the door, she looked back over her shoulder. “And if you were a decent friend, you’d put aside a few more for me to take home.”
After Meera left, Olivia stared down at the box, feeling swamped with emotion. It was a small gesture, yet, like the bracelet she’d started wearing again, the one he’d bought her in Nantucket, it was also ahugegesture. He wasn’t afraid to show her how he felt.
It was another lesson she needed to learn from him.
She was about to reach for a cookie when Stuart tapped on the door. “Have you seen the unwinding of the carry trade? Japan is tumbling.”
“Yes.” She wasn’t worried; she’d offloaded any companies with exposure to Japan before the Bank of Japan’s rate decision.
Stuart’s gaze wandered to the open box of cookies on her desk and then to the note, written in purple felt pen she suspected Connor had pinched from Ellie. “Someone’s sending you cookies. How sweet.”
“Yes, it is.” Carefully she placed the lid over the box.
Stuart slid his hands into his pockets. “So what’s the name of this man who’s trying to worm his way into your affections?”
“Connor.”
Stuart’s brows scrunched together. “Wasn’t that the name of the young guy you were with at the wine bar? The one you were givingcareer adviceto,” he added slyly.
