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“Yes.” Her gaze darted about. “It’s kind of personal. Can I talk to you in private?”
“Okay, sure.” He allowed Emily to guide him away from the lounge area to the front row seats. His concern grew at her agitated expression. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
“No, I just need to talk to you. It’s about Olivia. I really need to know the truth. Do you love her?”
“I do love Olivia, but...” Emily looked back at him with sympathetic eyes. Could he level with her? Could he explain how mixed up he was about Charlie?
“What? What is it? Do you love her or not?”
He knew he couldn’t tell Emily the truth because she would certainly tell Charlie. “I love Olivia, but I know she doesn’t love me. I thought I could convince her to marry me. Of course, that was before she started flirting with Derek.”
“No worries. Charlie will take care of Derek. He’ll be too busy with her to pay any attention to Olivia.”
Josh felt anything but relief at her assurance. “I don’t like him,” he muttered.
“I think he’s pretty harmless.”
“Harmless? He kissed Charlie twice, and she didn’t even slap him for it.”
“Yes, but now Olivia will leave him alone. And I’m sure he won’t try to flirt with her anymore. Olivia’s safe from Derek.”
“Maybe... but Charlie’s not safe from him.”
“She can take care of herself. You only need to worry about Olivia. And I think you need a little advice about pursuing her.”
“I’ve been talking to her. She won’t listen to reason.”
“You need to do more than talk to her. You need to do things for her. You know... get coffee for her, carry her bag, thoughtful things. You’ve been around each other too much, so you treat her like a sister. You’ve got to treat her like a girlfriend.”
“It’s hard when I spend so much time and energy on the kids.”
“Charlie and I are both going to help you with the kids as much as possible. We’re going to help you find extra time for Olivia, but you’ve got to do your part. You know—turn on the old Josh charm. I think it’s gotten kind of rusty, but it’s still there.” Emily squeezed his arm.
Something caught Emily’s eyes, and she smiled toward the back of the plane. Josh followed her line of sight, and spied Charlie emerging from the back of the plane with Chloe in one arm and the other around Jace’s shoulder. Chloe’s arms were wrapped so tightly around Charlie’s neck she was almost being strangled. And Jace was talking in an unending stream.
“You see,” said Emily. “Charlie’s totally got the kids under control. You can go charm Olivia right now.”
Josh continued to gaze at Charlie and the kids. Chloe had obviously been eating something chocolate, because she kissed Charlie’s cheek, leaving a brown smudge. Charlie laughed as she used a wet-wipe to clean Chloe’s hands and face before she wiped her own. It was so sweet. He wanted to pull all three of them into his arms. And then later, when the kids were asleep and he had Charlie all to himself, he’d show her just how sexy a mom could be. If only...
“Charlie might need some help,” he suggested.
“No, she’s got it. This is your big chance. You looked pretty mad when you were on your way to talk to Olivia a minute ago. She’s not going to respond well to being fussed at. You can do this, Josh.” Emily patted his arm.
“Okay, I’ll do it.” He put more enthusiasm in his voice than he felt in his heart.
“Listen Josh. Grace just told me she thinks Olivia loves you and doesn’t know it.”
“She said that?”
“Yes. So you need to give her a reason to believe you.”
“Okay.” He drew up his courage. He’d never considered Olivia might actually love him. Maybe he could learn to love her as well. Maybe instead of a short-term marriage, they could have the real thing. A real marriage. He walked with measured steps to join Olivia, who was standing with Grace and Brad. He refused to allow himself to watch Charlie with the kids. There was no use thinking about what could never be. He had to concentrate on the real possibilities.
When he reached her, he placed a casual arm around her shoulder, giving her an honest appraisal. She was really a beautiful girl. She deserved better than a loveless marriage. Maybe Emily was right. Maybe they could love each other. He could start by being nice to her, making her feel appreciated. “You smell really nice.” He gave her an earnest smile.
She assessed him through knitted brows. “What’s the game, here?”
“No game. You just smell good. And you look good, too. Is that a new sweater?”
