He felt her resolve wavering when he leaned her up against her car and kissed her goodbye, but he forced himself to step back and open her door. He’d already thrown off her schedule enough today. He wasn’t going to compound it by talking her out of trying to catch up.
“Call me later.”
“I will,” she promised.
Once her car was out of sight, he sighed and walked back up the stairs. It felt weird to be alone after a tense day of scrambling, so he turned the television on and flipped through the channels until he found a game to watch. He’d give it a few more minutes and then send a text to Amber, asking for an update on Julia.
And then he’d wait for Olivia to call.
Chapter Sixteen
“Do you see her, Dad?”
Derek dutifully turned in a circle, looking for Olivia on Isaac’s behalf, since his son was too short to see over the crowd in the arena’s vestibule. “Not yet, but she’s probably at the Village Hearts booth near the main door.”
The charity hockey game—which Rick, Scott and Grant were playing in, along with other first responders from around the city—was raising money for a children’s hospital, but they’d gotten permission to put a display for Village Hearts in the entrance, along with a few other booths. And while another couple had volunteered to man their booth, Derek had asked Olivia to join them to watch the game.
While they’d all gone to Aidan and Lydia’s barbecue together, this would be their first outing as afamily, so to speak, and Derek’s stomach was in knots. And it didn’t help that this would be the first time he’d seen her face since he’d asked her to pick up Julia at school a week ago.
They’d talked on the phone, of course. And sent text messages back and forth. But no matter how much she assured him everything was okay, he needed to see her. And while he’d have to limit himself to a quick hug, he wanted her in his arms again.
“I don’t know why I couldn’t go with Mom,” Julia muttered, and not for the first time.
Usually Derek let her get away with a little moodiness, but she enjoyed watching hockey and she’d never opted out of a charity game before. “What’s the problem? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine.”
He’d thought he’d have a few more years before his little girl mastered theI’m finethat meant things were anything but fine. “Spill it, kid. Your brother and I want to have a fun night.”
“And Olivia,” she reminded him, and the attitude ratcheted up a notch. “Don’t forget Olivia.”
“Yes, Olivia’s going to watch the game with us, too.”
“And that’s why Mom and Jason didn’t come.”
Derek sighed, and a little bit of frustrated growl seeped into the sound. He wanted to ask her why she’d waited until they were here to spit it out, but to be fair, she’d been hinting at being unhappy for several hours and he just hadn’t wanted to deal with it. “Olivia’s not the reason your mom isn’t here.”
“Mom always came, even after you got divorced. Now Olivia’s here and Mom didn’t want to come.”
You take the kids to watch the game because Jason’s going to take me out for a nice dinner and then we’re going to take advantage of the alone time before this baby makes me feel like an unsexy beach ball.
He bent down so he could keep his voice low. “Jason wanted to take your mom on a date tonight since they know you like watching hockey with me. I know you have a lot of friends with divorced parents and you probably hear a lot of things, but you know your mom and I are friends. And your mom and Olivia will probably be friends, too, when they get to know each other better. They’ve already met and all six of us could be here together if we wanted to.”
She gave the same head tilt and little eye roll her mother did to signify she’d lost, but didn’t want to admit it. “Fine. We need to keep walking or we’ll have bad seats.”
But he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her from walking away from him. “Are we done with this? I don’t want you to be snippy with Olivia.”
“I won’t.” The premature pre-teen attitude melted away. “She’s really nice.”
“Comeon,” Isaac said, tugging at his hand. “I think she’s over there.”
Derek looked in the direction his son pointed and then he saw her and his heart stuttered in his chest.
Olivia’s gaze locked with his and for a few seconds, he held his breath. Her face lit up and the smile that she sent in his direction let him exhale as the knots in his stomach loosened for the first time in a week. He smiled back as Isaac dragged him in Olivia’s direction and, after saying something to the woman manning the Village Hearts booth, met them halfway.
Derek slid one arm around her waist and kissed her. He’d intended to go for a kiss on the cheek, but he couldn’t help himself and pressed his mouth to hers for a moment.
But they were not only in the middle of a crowd, but it was a crowd of families—including his own—so he kept it short and sweet.
