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Tenderness weaved through Savannah’s expression, and she cast me a slow glance before she stepped out, assuredly giving us privacy and not wanting to get in the way like she’d been worried she would do.
But she wasn’t.
The only thing that caused that alarm to start going off again was the thought of her presence going missing. I was distinctly aware of the vacancy not feeling quite so stark when she was here.
But I didn’t bring her here to fill in a gap for my kids.
I tucked the boys in, then followed Olivia to her room where I did the same. “Sleep tight, Livvie-Loo.”
She smiled up at me as I pulled her covers up to her chin. “I had a really good day, Daddy.”
She only called me Daddy when no one else was around to think her a little girl. It never failed to grip me by the chest. “I had a really good day, too,” I said as I wisped a kiss over her forehead.
“We should invite Miss Savannah to eat every day.”
I ran my thumb along her cheek, fighting the response that wanted to pop out. One that wholeheartedly agreed. Instead, I prodded her with the arch of my brow. “And what did I say earlier?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we have to give Miss Savannah her privacy, but that sounds like a big mistake if she doesn’t even want it, and I think she really likes it here and had the best time ever. Just ask her.”
My chuckle was slow. “It was a very nice night, but we have to give her some space to live her own life.”
Olivia curled her button nose. “Well, I like her in my life.”
She said it so simply. Like it was easy. Like there was nothing else to take into consideration but that one single fact. And I wished it were that way.
Easy.
Wished it wasn’t complicated.
Wished I didn’t have this shame and regret living so deep inside me.
Wished Savannah didn’t plan on leaving.
Because the last thing I could do was allow my kids to grow attached to her and then have them lose her, too.
I had them to think about, even though I couldn’t stop from thinking about Savannah, either.
I gathered up Olivia’s hand and whispered against her knuckles, “Do you know how much I love you, Olivia?”
“As much as all the stars in the sky.”
“That’s right. As much as all the stars in the sky. Never, ever forget that.”
“Never, Daddy.”
“Good,” I told her. Leaning down, I swept a kiss to her temple before I walked to her door and flicked out the light. “Sleep tight.”
I pulled her door shut, though I left it open an inch so the light from the hall would filter into her room.
I assumed that Savannah would have slipped out the back door and escaped to the guest house, so I ground to a halt at the end of the hall when I found her in the kitchen, at the sink loading dishes into the dishwasher.
My heart skipped a wayward beat.
My approach was slow as I crossed the living room and eased toward the kitchen, voice rough when I muttered, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Locks of blonde weaved with every shade of brown tumbled down her back, her delicate shoulders bared by the straps of her dress. Every thought stuttered when she shifted enough to peer back at me. The woman all sharp lines and pouty lips.
Playfulness tweaked at the edge of her mouth. “What does it look like, Officer Patterson? Dishes. And here I thought you were supposed to be an exceptional investigator.”
A grunt rumbled out of me, and I inched forward a step, bringing me to within two feet of her. “I think the question is why you’re doing the dishes.”
Her teasing grin dropped, and her demeanor dove into something sincere. “Because you and your kids took care of me all night, and I thought it would only be right to return the favor.”
“It’s not a favor when it’s a gift. That’s just what friends do.”
Friends.
What bullshit.
Nothing about this was friendly.
It felt like hovering at a precipice. Like coming up on an intersection and taking a turn that might change everything you knew about your life. Like staring over a gorgeous valley and finally knowing where you belonged.
Aqua eyes swam, searching me where I towered behind her, so close that I could feel the energy crackle between us. One step closer and I was afraid it would pop. “Maybe I want to give one of those, too,” she whispered. “A gift.”
“I just don’t want you to ever feel like you have to pay me back.”
Confusion bound her as she rinsed the last plate and placed it into the dishwasher. Slowly, she turned, drying off her hands with a dishtowel before she set it aside, her gaze full of questions and intent. “Why, Ezra? Why? You don’t know me or owe me or care for me—”
