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“You too, Mrs. Monroe!”
Shaking her head, she pushed through the front doors. And got her second shock of the evening when she stepped outside and found James waiting for her. Holding a giant bouquet of flowers, he was leaning against the hood of a sleek, sexy convertible.
“Run away with me, Olivia,” he called, gesturing to the car.
“What is all this?” she asked as she slowly descended the stairs in front of their office.
His grin flashed, quick and boyish, a grin she hadn’t seen in far too long. “I thought we could get away for the weekend. We’ve had a rough week.”
Stopping in front of him, she tilted her face up for a kiss. Her heart sighed when he obliged, laying his lips on hers in a kiss so gentle and sweet it reminded her of when they’d first started dating.
“How about it, beautiful?” he asked when he lifted his head. “Run away with me for a couple of days.”
“I don’t know.” Pretending to think about it, she tapped a finger on her chin. “My boss is kind of a tyrant and I have tons of work to do.”
“I think I can smooth things over with the tyrant. Here.”
He handed her the flowers and she buried her face in the colorful bouquet. “They’re gorgeous. You know you didn’t have to do this.”
“I know, baby. I wanted to.” Another quick kiss, then he gave her a playful swat. “Get in the car so we can get on the road!”
With a squeal of delight, she ran around the side of the car and tossed her bag in the backseat. She hopped over the door, something she hadn’t done since high school, and immediately buckled her seatbelt.
“Where are we going, Daddy?”
“It’s a surprise. Here.” Leaning over her, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God.” She stroked the rose gold frames with reverence. “The Tom Fords I’ve been drooling over. Oh, my God. But you said they were too expensive.”
“I saidyoucouldn’t buy them. I never said you couldn’thavethem.”
“That’s a distinction without a difference,” she said, slipping them on and immediately flipping the visor down to admire her reflection. In the waning sunlight, they were even more gorgeous than they had been in the store.
“Maybe. Do you like them?”
“I love them.” As much as she loved the surprises, she couldn’t help but feel there was something she was missing. “James, what’s going on? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine.” He slipped his hand into hers and lifted his fingers to his lips. “Can’t a daddy spoil his little girl every now and again?”
“Spoiling me is letting me have ice cream for dinner. This is... extravagant.”
“Livvy, just relax. I thought we could use a quick vacation and I wanted to buy you something pretty. End of story.”
“Okay.” It most definitely wasnotthe end of the story. But she also knew that tone of voice; her daddy was done talking about it and if she kept pressing, she’d just end up getting in trouble. Not wanting to ruin their weekend before it even started, she let it go.
Since he was intent on spoiling her, she took the liberty of hooking her phone up to the car’s Bluetooth so she could blare her ‘Road Trip’ playlist. James shook his head, but she caught him singing along with nearly every song.
They passed their usual exit and she turned to him, raising her voice to be heard over the music and the wind. “Aren’t we going home?”
“Nope. Already packed your bags.”
“But what if you forgot something?”
“I didn’t. Just relax and enjoy the drive, Livvy.”
Oh, well. If he forgot something, it would just give her an excuse to go shopping once they got where they were going. She settled back against the soft-as-butter leather seats and sang along with the playlist at the top of her lungs while they drove.
Their destination became clear about twenty minutes into the drive, and Olivia bounced excitedly in her seat. “The beach? Are we going to the beach?”
