“It was your father who had regrets. All he had was work, and when, inevitably, they didn’t want him anymore, he found he’d distanced himself from everyone who was important to him. My only regret is that I didn’t make him see how much he was missing out on because he wasn’t home enough to see his daughters grow into three strong women, each different but each so special. Ashley.” She smiled at her eldest. “Bold, funny, ready for your next big adventure.” Her gaze moved to her middle child. “Jessica, my homemaker. Down-to-earth, grounded. The one who keeps us all connected. And Olivia.” She smiled softly at her. “My trailblazer. Fierce, courageous. Determined to leave your mark on this world.”
Olivia stared at her, stunned. It felt like a supporting pillar had been wrenched from beneath her, leaving her woefully unsteady. “I always thought you felt you’d missed out,” she said quietly.
“No, not at all. Do I admire you and what you’ve achieved in the male-dominated world of finance?” Her mum touched her cheek in a gentle caress. “Of course I do. But I also worry that you’re so focused on climbing that ladder to the top that you’ve forgotten to enjoy yourself on the way, just like your father did.” She gave her a searching look. “I also worry that you’ve forgotten why you’re climbing it.”
“To prove I can. For the buzz of knowing I’m succeeding. To challenge myself, become the best version of me,” she answered, the words familiar.
“This ‘best’ version of Olivia.” Jessica glanced down at the now sleeping Tabby. “Does she know what it means to have a warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest? To experience joy so great, it brings tears to her eyes? To behappy?”
She’d heard this too many times. “I get a high every time my portfolio outperforms the rest of my department. A sense of achievement and, yes, joy, every time I nail a presentation to investors.”
“But does any of it touch yourheart?” Ashley asked.
“I don’t need it to,” she argued, irritated that they were ganging up on her. Again. “I have you guys for that.”
“That’s sweet, but you know it’s not what we’re talking about.” Ashley gave her a sly smile. “I also believe you’re in denial over it, so it’s going to be interesting to see you work your way through it.”
Before Olivia could quiz her on what the hell she meant, a tornado arrived at their table in the form of a flushed out-of-breath Mia.
“Ellie went all the way to the top,” Mia squealed.
Olivia’s heart flip-flopped. “Is she okay? Oh God, is she stuck?” She jumped to her feet, her pulse skyrocketing.
Mia giggled. “It’s okay, Aunt Olivia. She wants you to see her go down the big twisty slide.”
“Oh.” Her heart began to settle. “Come on, then, show me where she is.”
As she pulled off her shoes, Ashley called her name. When Olivia turned around, her big sister winked. “Nowhow’s your heart?”
“Calmer than it was a few seconds ago,” she retorted, running after Mia.
When she came to a halt by the towering climbing frame, though, that same heart stuttered at the sight of Ellie waving down at her. And as Olivia watched Connor’s daughter reach her hands up in the air and launch herself down the slide with a shriek of laughter, her chest swelled and her eyes felt suspiciously damp.
By the time they got back to Connor’s house from the tube, Ellie’s hand curled around hers, Olivia could deny it no longer. The fuzzy feeling Jessica and Ashley had talked about? It was rightthere.
“I liked it when you watched me.” Ellie’s eyes, bright blue like her dad’s, gazed up at her, so sweet, sotrusting. “I see my mum on video, and Dad says she loves me, but sometimes I wish I could see her for real. Most times I don’t mind, though, ’cause Dad does everything my friends’ mums do,andhe plays football with me.” She gave Olivia a shy look. “If you and Dad lived together, I could have a video mum and a home mum.”
Oh God, her heart didn’t just stutter this time—for a beat, it stopped. When it began thumping again, Olivia didn’t know if there was enough room in her chest for it; everything felt so squashed, so tight.
It wasn’t just Connor she was falling for.
Olivia was curled up in the bed next to him, her head on his chest, her eyes closed, her breathing steady. Connor stared up at the ceiling, his body sated from tangling in the sheets with her for the past half an hour, but his mind far from settled.
He was fully, deeply, irrevocably in love. There had been no fanfare, no thunderbolt. She’d slipped into his life and into his heart with terrifying ease. As he listened to his daughter chatter away nonstop about her trip to the play center today, he noticed Livvy’s name was mentioned far more than Mia’s. It was clear that Ellie adored her too, adding to his unease.
Had he done the right thing, bringing Olivia into their lives? He’d gone into this fully aware he’d end up getting hurt, but how would Ellie feel when Olivia decided she no longer had time for them?
She adores Ellie. She’ll let her down gently.
He relaxed a little, but still his mind jangled with unprocessed thoughts. How long did they have with her? Was there anything he could do to persuade her to stay with them for the long haul? He would always put Ellie first, so Olivia was free to put her career first, and he’d simply take whatever time she had left over.
“You’re restless.” Olivia’s dark hair slid across his chest as she angled her head to look at him. “What are you thinking about?”
No, he wasn’t going to press the self-destruct button by voicing his thoughts. She’d run a mile if she knew he was in love with her. “Just thinking about Ellie’s birthday next week.”
Olivia shot up, her hand grabbing at the duvet and denying him the sight of her naked breasts. “Next week? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” She exhaled sharply. Words tumbled out of her as her eyes searched frenziedly around the room. “It gives me no time to think what to get her. I’ll need to make a list, ask Jessica and Ashley because they’ve had eight-year-old girls so they know what goes down well. Oh, I can ask Mia. She’ll have some good ideas.” Her eyes flashed at Connor. “But you should have told me weeks ago.”
He glanced at her, amused. “I’ve only just stared thinking about it.”
