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It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, but the hope in her friend’s eyes had her forcing a smile. “If James is okay with it, I’d love to have you.”
Another eye roll from the beautiful blonde sitting across from her. “James isn’t my Daddy.”
“No, but you agreed to follow my rules.” Drenched with sweat, James crossed the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He chugged half of it before joining the girls at the island and pinning Shannon with a look Olivia knew all too well. “Just because you’re injured, doesn’t mean you’re free from the consequences of your actions, Shannon. I can be very creative when it comes to punishing naughty little girls. Isn’t that right, Livvy?”
Oh, God. Wishing the floor would just open up and swallow her whole, Olivia nodded.
“But James—”
“But nothing, Shannon. You agreed to follow my rules, and what’s more, you consented to me enforcing saide rules. So unless you’d like to sit at the kitchen table writing lines the rest of the morning, you’ll stop arguing with me.”
Shannon opened her mouth, then snapped it shut again, glaring at James, who simply smiled and took another pull from his bottle of water before speaking again. “Good choice. Now, if you’d like to ask me about whatever it was you and Liv were talking about before I came in, I’d be happy to discuss it with you.”
“She wants to go to the open house and help us set up,” Olivia offered, just barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes when James gave her ponytail a warning tug. “What? It’s what she was going to ask!”
“And she’s capable of speaking for herself, little one.”
“It’s fine.” Shannon, on the other hand, didn’t bother to stop her eye roll when James pinned her with a disapproving look. “Well, it is. Iwasgoing to ask about going to the open house.”
“I’m about to put you both in the corner and make you stay there until we leave.”
Grinning, Shannon bounced on her stool. “So, I can go?”
“Yes. If you promise to take it easy and rest when you start to feel tired.”
“Cross my heart!” Shannon swiped a finger in an ‘X’ shape across her chest.
“I’m serious, Shannon. If I see you overdoing it, you’ll be writing lines until your hand falls off. Understood?”
Lifting her hand to her forehead, Shannon gave him a snappy salute. “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Brat,” James mumbled, but he was laughing when he left the kitchen.
“Olivia,we’re going to be late and you’re not even dressed yet.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Flashing her husband an apologetic smile, Olivia rubbed the towel over her skin. “I just need twenty minutes.”
“We don’t have twenty minutes, Olivia. Not if we’re going to get everything set up in time.”
“Then why don’t you take Shannon and I’ll be right behind you?” Ignoring the glare he shot her in the mirror, she slathered moisturizer over her skin. “Seriously, twenty minutes. That’s all I need.”
“Twenty minutes. And that’s twenty with the brush when we get home, little girl. Another two for every minute over that. Understood?”
Swallowing hard against the knot in her chest, Olivia nodded. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll see you at the house.” James yanked her in for a quick, scorching kiss. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.” As soon as he left, she focused on getting her makeup done as quickly as possible without looking like a clown. It took her nearly all of the twenty minutes she’d allotted herself, thanks to whatever law of the universe stated only one eye could have perfect eyeliner at any given moment.
She was slipping into her heels at the twenty-five-minute mark when her phone rang. “Olivia Monroe,” she answered, praying she didn’t sound as breathless as she felt.
“Olivia? It’s MaryAnn.”
“Uh, hi, MaryAnn. What’s up?” Shoes on, she raced for the kitchen, then swore under her breath when she didn’t see her purse on the island where sheknewshe’d left it the night before. Which, if she had, her Daddy had probably put it in the coat closet where he was always telling her it belonged. Letting out a silent scream of frustration, she headed for the front hall.
“I just had a couple call about the Petersons’ house. They’re really interested in taking a look.”
Reaching for her purse, which was indeed in the coat closet, Olivia froze. “The Petersons? Seriously?” It was one of her most expensive properties and she’d been trying to move it for two months. “Wait.” Pulling the phone away from her ear, she frowned at the number on the screen. “Are you at the office?”
