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“I know, it’s just—I’m sorry.”
“And you took your punishment and you’ve been forgiven. So now you can forgive yourself. In you go.” Opening the door, he nudged her inside. He put both of their bags in the backseat, and walked around to the driver side door. When he climbed in, she was staring out the side window, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. “Do you need another spanking?”
Her head whipped around, her eyes wide with shock. “What? No! Why?”
“If you’re having trouble letting it go, maybe you need another spanking to help you forgive yourself.”
“No. No, I’m good, Daddy.”
“That’s my girl. I’m not sure your bottom could handle another punishment so soon.”
Wrinkling her nose, she shook her head at the suggestion. “No spankings. Well. Maybe a little fun spanking when we get home? Just a little one, though.”
God, was it any wonder he adored her? Looking over at her, he sent her a wink that had her blushing prettily. “I think we can make that happen.”
* * *
Their good moods hadevaporated by the time they parked behind the funeral home.
“Ready?” Reaching across the console, James gave his wife’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
Olivia blew out a breath before offering a small, forced smile. “Yeah. Guess we should go in.”
The smell of lilies hit him full force the second they walked through the door. God, he hated that smell, the smell of death and grief. Setting aside his own discomfort, he slipped an arm around his wife and followed the sign in the foyer to a large, open room. The casket was placed at the front of the room, past rows and rows of folding chairs.
Beside him, he heard Olivia’s breath hitch. Focusing on her, her pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her hair. “You can do this, little one. Daddy’s right here.”
She nodded, her eyes never leaving the large wooden box at the end of the aisle. As one, they walked past the rows of chairs to the casket. They stopped in front of the open coffin, where the body of a woman he’d never met rested.
“I’m so sorry,” Olivia murmured. “You didn’t deserve this. I’m so sorry.”
For the hundredth time, it crossed his mind how easily it might have been her. How often did she go to a showing alone? If Angela had been targeted because of that article, it could have just as easily been his little Livvy.
Breathing through the fear and panic, he fought the urge to usher her outside and into the car. He wanted nothing more than to take her home and keep her there, where she would be safe forever. But they had lives to live, and he couldn’t keep her locked away, as much as he wanted to.
Olivia shifted, and he turned with her to where the family stood by the casket. The woman beside the box was an older version of Angela. Swallowing an unexpected lump in his throat, James held out a hand to her. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
The woman nodded absently, but her shattered eyes gained some clarity when she focused on Olivia. “I know you.”
Stepping forward, Olivia nodded. “I met Angela during the magazine shoot. I’m so sorry.”
“She admired you.”
“What?”
Her voice pitched higher, confusion and panic clear in her voice. James squeezed her hand, reminding her he was right next to her.
Angela’s mother continued, oblivious to Olivia’s distress. “She called me that night, talking about this other woman she’d met and how you were so successful but still sweet. It was so nice for her, she said, to meet someone who hadn’t let the business harden them or make them mean. She called me the day the magazine came out and told me the girl on the cover was the woman she’d met at the shoot, and weren’t you just the most beautiful woman?”
“I—” Olivia drew in a shaky breath. “That’s lovely. I remember her being very sweet to me that day. I’m glad she thought the same of me.”
“She was sweet. I worried about her, all the time, whenever she said she was meeting someone at a house.” Without warning, the woman lunged forward and gripped Olivia’s free hand. “You be careful. Please be careful.” She looked up at James, and the desperation in her eyes nearly broke him. “You keep her safe.”
“I will, ma’am,” he managed past the fear clawing at his throat.
“Good.” The desperation faded. Any trace of emotion disappeared from her face and she was that empty shell once more. “That’s good. Thank you for coming.”
With a hand firmly at the small of her back, James guided Olivia away and out a side door. When she began to tremble, he led her to a couch off to the side, away from the rest of the mourners. She dropped onto the couch and looked up at him, tears shimmering in her eyes.
