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“Not at all.” And that’s what terrified her the most, but she had to figure it out. “You okay to drive in this?”
Jade nodded. “It’s not that far. Melanie is pulling out all the candles and flashlights. She already made snacks in case we lose power.”
Olivia laughed. “Food is important. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Jade looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she merely nodded and stepped out into the storm. Olivia watched as her friend pulled her hood up over her head and took off running toward her car.
Olivia carefully closed the door and flicked the lock. When she turned, she met Jax’s questioning gaze and instantly felt like a fool. She hadn’t once asked if she could stay. Maybe now that they’d had sex he didn’t want her here—not that she got that vibe from him, but it was rude of her to just assume.
“I hope this is okay?” she asked, her hand still on the door.
“More than okay.” His smile instantly relaxed her. “When it storms we make a blanket fort in the living room. You up for it?”
“I’ve never made a blanket fort.”
Piper jerked her head from her father’s chest. “Never? That’s sad. Daddy gets all the blankets and cushions. It’s a mess.”
Jax laughed and hugged Piper tighter. “Why don’t you start taking the cushions off and I’ll grab blankets. Olivia will stay in the room with you in case the lights go off. Okay?”
Piper nodded and jumped to start her job. Jax crossed the room and stood directly in front of her.
“You look like you’re about ready to run out that door.” He pried her hand away and gripped both of hers between his own. “What are you afraid of?”
The truth slammed into her. She’d seen it dangling in the back of her mind before, but right now it was front and center. They’d just been intimate—for a second time—and now she was going to stay over and have a slumber party with the man she was falling for and his daughter. Things didn’t get much more serious than that . . . at least not for her.
“This all seems so . . .” She couldn’t say the words. Didn’t know how to verbalize her thoughts without sounding utterly terrified. “I don’t know how to do the family thing.”
Jax lifted her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Right now we’re going to build a fort and have shadow puppets on the wall because I can just about bet the electric will go. We’re going to comfort Piper and laugh and tell stupid jokes until she falls asleep. That’s all you need to focus on.”
But when he touched her like that, so caring and so gentle, and when he looked into her eyes like she was special, precious, she had to worry about so much more. Like her heart, her mind . . . her life. She was getting too cozy here, she saw it happening. Little by little each day something happened that made her fall more for her hometown, for the people in it. For Jax.
“Daddy,” Piper cried. “Hurry.”
He shot Olivia a wink and darted up the stairs to retrieve blankets. Piper had all the pillows spread all over the floor. Throw pillows, sofa pillows, the pillows from the oversize chair.
“Can you move the foot thing?” Piper asked.
Olivia glanced around the room. “Foot thing?”
Piper pointed to the ottoman. “Daddy puts that here.” She pointed to the open area in front of the fireplace. “Then we put blankets over that and he sets the big pillows up. I crawl in the fort first.”
Olivia bent down to slide the ottoman across the hardwood floor. Conscience of the fact Jax’s shirt was huge on her, she didn’t bend at the waist because she would totally flash a toddler.
Trying to keep her breasts concealed by the shirt, Olivia carefully scooted it to the spot Piper still pointed to. Apparently, there was a system she and her father had down pat and Olivia didn’t want to screw it up.
“Why are you wearing my daddy’s shirt?”
Piper glanced down to the oversize tee that he’d apparently had from his air force days. “We were outside roasting marshmallows when it started storming and we got soaked. My clothes are in the dryer.”
There, that was vague, but honest.
“Okay. I have all the usual blankets.” Jax came down the stairs carrying an armload of comforters and blankets. “We’ll have to see about making this a bit larger since we have a guest tonight.”
Piper slid her hand in Olivia’s. “I’m glad you stayed so I can still have my first sleepover.”
Olivia couldn’t pull her eyes away from the delicate hand inside of hers. There was such innocence with Piper. She was sweet and honest and everything about her was Jax’s doing. He’d raised this precious girl from just a few weeks old and he’d done so single-handedly. Well, she was sure he had help from Tanner and Cash.
Everything about Jax was becoming more and more difficult to resist.
