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And that was the second time this precious girl professed her love and Olivia still wasn’t sure how to respond.
“My first plane ride was with Olivia,” Jade chimed in. “She’s an awesome pilot.”
“Will you take me?” Piper squealed. “I know Daddy won’t care.”
/> Melanie wrapped another long strand of blond hair around the barrel of the curling iron and met Olivia’s gaze. She hadn’t piloted since leaving Haven, but there were some things that were just engrained in you and you never forgot. She didn’t know why, but she’d always renewed her pilot’s license and now she was glad she had.
Olivia had to admit that being back made her want to get behind the controls again. She wanted to know that freedom, because the only place she’d ever felt that was when she was in the sky.
“I’ll have to talk to him,” Olivia stated, not committing to anything just yet.
“Tell me about the birthday party.” Melanie sat the iron down and parted off another section of Piper’s hair. “I love that purple on your fingers and toes.”
Piper held up her hands and smiled. “Purple is my favorite color. Daddy paints my nails sometimes, but it doesn’t look this good. He’s a boy so don’t say anything.”
Olivia realized she could learn quite a bit about Jackson simply by spending more time with Piper. But on the flip side of that, she didn’t want to get any more involved than she already was.
“What is your friend’s name who had the birthday?” Jade asked.
“Molly Ann. She’s my best friend. We have cubbies next to each other and we put our cots together at nap time. We don’t nap, though. That’s for babies.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jade shook her head and smiled. “I never turn down a nap when I get the chance.”
“I hate naps,” Piper insisted. “Me and Molly Ann whisper. I think the teacher saw us once, but she didn’t say anything. Only the bad kids get in trouble.”
“Do you like school?” Olivia asked, wrapping her arms around her legs.
“It’s fun, but I miss being at the airport all the time. I don’t get to go on as many trips with Daddy like I did before school.”
Olivia vowed then and there to make sure this baby got on a fun flight soon. Not transporting another client, but something just for Piper. Another item she mentally added to the list of things she needed to discuss with Jackson. At this rate, she’d have to schedule a two-day conference with the man.
“Are you going to make the airport bigger?”
Piper’s question caught Olivia off guard. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, that was something else I heard Daddy say when he thought I was in bed.”
Her devilish grin was so rotten and adorable at the same time. Olivia wondered if Jackson knew he had a very intelligent kid on his hands.
“I’m not sure what we’re doing quite yet,” Olivia answered honestly. “Your dad and I are going to talk. What do you think we should do?”
“Well, he said something about movie stars.” Piper’s focus went back to the mirror as Melanie continued curling ringlets. “That would be the coolest thing ever if my daddy got to fly them. Maybe he’d let me ride too.”
So that was the angle he’d been discussing. From a business standpoint, the idea was brilliant and other than the obvious risk, there was no good reason not to pursue the plans.
But, from a personal, emotional standpoint, there was every reason not to push forward.
“Maybe if rich people use the airport, Daddy could buy that plane.” Piper’s questioning gaze turned to Olivia once again. “They’d have to pay a lot of money, right? Then we could afford it.”
Olivia wished she had that large chunk of money because she’d just buy the plane for Jackson and Piper. It was obvious they were a team and Piper thought the sun rose and set on her father . . . as most little girls do. Olivia had been no different at that age.
“Do you want your curly hair up or down?” Melanie asked as she fluffed up the curls.
Piper shook her head from side to side, watching in the mirror as each curl swung wildly. “Down. I always have two ponytails because that’s all Daddy knows how to do. Maybe you guys could teach him something new.”
“Olivia would love to show your father,” Jade piped up.
Narrowing her eyes, Olivia shot a death glare to her friend. Jade winked and offered a half grin.
