“If I give you this, I’m trusting you with the most important thing in my life, Olive.” From the minute they put her in my arms, everything stopped. It changed in ways I wasn’t ready for and never imagined but wouldn’t change for anything. “That’s not an easy ask.”
“If you want to keep her, I have to ask it.”
“And if I say no?” I know the answer before I even ask it, so I’m not sure why I bother.
“Then I can’t help you.”
Yeah . . . that’s what I thought.
I have no reason to trust this woman.
No reason to think she’s going to help me.
But if she wants to make partner, she’s got to be married. And if she screws me, I will eviscerate her on a national level and make sure she never gets another client or another job. “If I go down, you go down, right, Olive?”
“Neither of us are going down, Logan. I. Don’t. Lose.” So fucking sure of herself.
“Then I guess I better trust you to win this. For both of us.”
The way this woman’s smile lights up her pale-green eyes makes it hard to look away, and I have to remind myself that I might have to trust her. But that’s as far as this shit can go.
“Oh, don’t you worry, Adler. I’ll make sure it’s good for both of us.”
Fuck. Me.
OLIVIA
The most masculine thing a man can be is gentle.
The most attractive thing a man can be is a good father.
In the first five minutes of being at the Triple Crown Ranch, I’ve witnessed Logan Adler be both.
I am so utterly screwed.
—Olivia’s Secret Thoughts
It’s nearly nine in the evening by the time we walk inside the Triple Crown Ranch, which certainly doesn’t look like any ranch I’ve ever imagined. I know luxury, and this house is luxurious. With vaulted ceilings, dark, wide-planked, hand-scraped hardwood flooring, and massive windows overlooking acres of green, lush, rolling hills flanked by massive sunflowers in the distance, this home is as incredibly stunning as the landscape it sits on. As if no expense was spared when it was built, which I’m guessing was more than a hundred years ago.
The space is beautiful, masculine, and minimalist, at least until you step into the kitchen. I can’t help but wonder if this room is the heart of the house the way it is at my parents’ home. Full of feminine touches, this space is lighter with white cabinetry, open shelving, and a stunning navy-blue and gold Viking range that neither Serena nor I would have a clue how to use.
What can I say?
We eat a ton of takeout.
I quickly take stock of everything as I move around the space. A pink vase filled with a mix of daisies and sunflowers sits on the honed marble counter, while a blonde wooden highchair with pink plaid cushions is tucked away next to it. And there’s a tiny stuffed version of the Highland cow from the picture warming the seat for Magnolia. That cow had to be made specifically for Magnolia to look like the picture, and something about that warms what Serena likes to joke is my cold heart.
“Hey. I didn’t hear you guys get in.”
Logan, Rafe, and I turn toward the woman walking into the room with a sleepy baby in her arms.
“Dadda... Dadda.” The little girl’s tired blue eyes light up the very moment she locks them on her daddy, and in the next instant, she throws herself at Logan, squealing. Any trace of sleep in her eyes long gone as he catches her and cradles her to his broad chest.
“Hey, ladybug,” he murmurs as he presses a kiss to the top of her head.
Okay, kids have never really done it for me. I mean, I love my nieces and nephew, and I spoil them rotten, but I’ve never been that woman who was desperate to have babies of her own. I’m not against it, just not sure yet if it’s for me. I’ve also never been the woman who’s melted at the sight of a good-looking man holding a baby... Apparently, I am now, though, because holyhotness, batman. Logan Adler cradling his daughter in his arms, whispering words I can barely hear as she cries because she’s so happy to see him...
That flipped some kind of switch I was unaware existed.
