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Jax dropped the blankets in front of her, pulling her from the moment. When she looked over and met his eyes, she saw that same look she’d seen earlier. It went beyond desire, beyond lust . . . and it ventured into a territory she wasn’t sure she could accept. Because if she let these emotions in, if she let them overtake her, someone was going to get hurt.
“I’m glad I could stay for your first sleepover too,” she told Piper as she turned her attention back down to the smiling toddler.
The lights flickered once again as a rumble of thunder boomed. Piper’s hand tightened around Olivia’s.
“It’s all right,” Olivia assured her. “You’ve got two adults here now and we won’t let anything happen to you. I’m excited to see shadow puppets. I don’t know that I’ve done that since I was a little girl.”
Jax worked on shifting pillows and spreading out the blankets. Olivia picked up Piper and held on to her as the lights flickered once more.
“Let’s get that flashlight and you can show me your best shadow puppet.”
Piper nodded. “But hold me until Daddy gets the fort ready.”
Her little arms wrapped around Olivia’s neck and something in her heart turned over—almost as if something clicked into place.
Never once had she thought about a family of her own. Never once did she dream of having children or a husband. No, Olivia had been too busy building her corporate world exactly the way she’d envisioned. She’d had a plan and she was well on track to the biggest success she’d ever known.
Getting sidetracked by her hometown and diving into renovations at her father’s airport was one thing, but falling headfirst in love with Jax—
Damn it. She’d let that word slip into her mind. She’d tried so hard to avoid it. She knew once that dreaded “L” word entered the scene, she would be screwed.
“The flashlight is over there,” Piper said, pointing to the end table.
Olivia turned her head and Piper ran her little fingertip over the side of Olivia’s neck.
“You have a birthmark?”
Confused, Olivia glanced back to Piper, whose eyes were still focused on her neck. “Birthmark?”
“This red mark. I have a birthmark, too. It’s on my shoulder, but Daddy says it’s shaped like a strawberry.”
Red? On her neck?
Olivia jerked her attention to Jax, who had the nerve to start whistling. As if that weren’t frustrating enough, he shot her a quick glance and winked. If Piper weren’t in her arms, Olivia would be all too happy to explain to him she’d never had a hickey and at the age of thirty-four she sure as hell didn’t intend to start getting them now.
“I must’ve burned myself with the curling iron and not realized it.” The excuse was lame, but it was all she could think of on the spur of the moment.
The electric flashed once, twice, and finally went. Tiny arms tightened around Olivia’s neck.
“It’s all good,” Olivia assured Piper. “I’ve got the flashlight.”
She clicked it on and shone it against the far wall. Piper lifted her head. Instantly she started with her puppets and before long she was giggling.
“Let me see yours,” Piper exclaimed, clearly having more faith in Olivia’s talents than she should.
“I can’t hold the flashlight and you and do a puppet.”
Piper took the flashlight. “Now.”
Jax’s soft chuckle from the other side of the room mocked her. Oh, so he thought she couldn’t do them?
Olivia held up her hand in some obscure angle and watched on the far wall. Yeah, she was terrible at this. But there hadn’t been a need to learn such social skills. Drawing up spreadsheets and attending forced cocktail parties for clients was pretty much as social as she got.
“What animal is that?” Piper asked.
Olivia put one of her fingers down until it looked somewhat like . . . a dog?
“Dog,” she quickly said. “Roof, roof, roof.”
