I sat Olive down on a chair and caged her in with my arms. “Now, are you going to be a very good girl and stay put?”
She gave a little shrug. The slight furrow in her brow smoothed out, and her mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile. “Guess we’ll have to see.”
Excitement shot through me at her teasing, the reappearance of her sass. I craved it,neededit. I leaned in close, brushing my lips against the shell of her ear. “Just remember, I’ll have all evening to deal with my naughty girl.”
22
FINN
Olive.Olive. Olive.
She was here.
Mere feet away.
The service room in the lighthouse was cramped, but it wasn’t like I would be able to ignore her presence, no matter the size of the room.
Easton was chatting away, telling Olive all about our plans for the restoration. While his back was turned, Lars crowded the chair she was sitting on and pulled off the sweater she was wearing—one of Easton’s. Then he pulled one of his sweaters out of a tote bag he’d brought this morning. Olive’s cheeks were bright red when her head emerged from Lars’s sweater. It was swimming on her and she looked so fucking cozy. A rumble started in my chest, my alpha wanting her inmyclothes, but luckily the sound was covered by Easton’s outraged shout when he saw Olive wasn’t wearing his sweater anymore.
The rest of the afternoon passed too fast and too slow. Easton and Lars peppered Olive with questions, throwing me exasperated looks when I stayed quiet. I kept my hands busy, but I hung on every single word.
She was smart and sassy, and underneath it all, there was a tender vulnerability that I couldn’t help but recognize.
Occasionally, I felt her eyes on me, whereas my eyes were strained from staring unseeingly at blueprints I’d already memorized.
I’d thought being back at the lighthouse would feel like descending into a dark valley of ghosts—horrible and oppressive. That was how it felt the last time I was in the cottage, packing up boxes of my grandparents’ things. But now, there was a lightness in this space, like all the ghosts had turned friendly as they welcomed me back home.
And I knew the reason was Olive.
She wasn’t a ghost, but she was haunting my every thought.
I wanted to know everything about her. What her favorite ice cream flavor was. If she was a morning person or night owl. How she’d learned to ride a bike. Did her father run alongside her and cheer her on, comforting her when she skinned a knee?
Did she have any idea what her scent did to me? How it was everything calm and cozy, the reminder of the transition of the seasons, heading into the quiet of winter? How it centered me, making me feel like I was coming back to myself after a long journey away?
Easton was right when he called Olivesunshine. There was a brightness in her, bright precisely because it had been hard won. And I wondered for the millionth time if I was being the biggest fool, trying to stay away. Maybe the reason I hadn’t been able to be honest with my brothers was because I wasn’t being honest with myself.
I wanted Olive.
I swallowed hard.
But I couldn’t have her.
I jolted at the sound of a door shutting and looked up from the papers, realizing that Easton and Lars had left. I’d been zoned out and had no idea where they went, but now there was no avoiding the cute omega.
“Finn?” Her voice was so gentle. She was back in Easton’s sweater—he’d managed to switch them while Lars did some electricalwork. “Do you want me to leave? I don’t… don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“No,” I blurted out before I could think. I told myself it was because my brothers would be upset if she left, upset atmefor asking her to go, but the excuse was so fucking feeble it didn’t come close to being convincing. I took a deep breath, taking off my reading glasses. “Olive, about the other night…”
I was cut off when the door opened and Lars re-entered, holding up his smaller toolkit he’d left downstairs. He stopped abruptly and looked between Olive and me, clearly reading the tension in the room. “Should I leave? Easton’s grabbing coffee for us, but I can distract him if you want some time together?”
Olive looked at me, but I was at a loss for words. I needed to apologize, but my apology would lead to an explanation of why I did what I did, which would then lead to me having to tell her I wouldn’t be courting her. The idea of hurting her feelings killed me.
When I stayed silent, she turned back to Lars. “No, come in.” She held her arms out to him and he quickly squeezed her to his chest. “I want to see yourspecialtoolbox,” she said with a wink when he pulled away.
Lars snorted a laugh at the terrible innuendo, but I saw the heat in his eyes as he pressed his fingers into her curvy hips.
I wished they were my hands.
