man who interested her in that way, and that man wasnât Austin. But how could she?
If only things were different.
If only Matt wasnât a Britton.
If only Vivienne was a normal mother-in-law, someone who loved her and wanted her to be happy.
Much of Oliviaâs happiness faded. Vivienne wasnât normal. And Olivia wasnât free to love Matt. To even hint at how she felt. Her love would cost him his family. And possibly his career.
Donât ever forget that.
Perhaps her eyes or her expression betrayed her thoughts, because Mattâs eyes met hers and he frowned. Olivia made a determined effort to smile and pretend everything was just as good as it had been moments before, but she was afraid she hadnât succeeded, because his eyes remained curious and his own smile seemed strained.
Thank goodness for her mother. Norma stood and said, âIs everyone ready for dessert?â
âIce cream!â Thea shouted.
âNot ice cream,â Norma said. âKolache.â
âKolache!â Now Thea laughed happily. â Kolache and ice cream!â
âSheâs got you there, Mom,â Olivia said. Turning to Matt, she added, âYouâll love my motherâs kolache , Matt. She makes one kind with walnuts. And another kind with apricots. Theyâre both wonderful.â
âAnd sometimes poppy seed,â Norma said.
He grinned, the strain gone. âI canât wait.â
Olivia got up and began clearing the table. Surprising her, Matt stood, too, and helped.
âSit, sit,â Norma said. âOur guests donât do kitchen duty.â
âThis guest does. I invited myself, remember?â He turned to Thea. âLetâs get you cleaned up a bit, princess.â
âYouâre silly. Iâm not a princess.â But she allowed him to wipe her face and hands.
âYouâre my princess,â he said, ruffling her hair.
Thea giggled.
Oliviaâs heart squeezed at his tender words. He would make a wonderful father because it was easy to see he loved Thea. In fact, heâd shown time and again that he really liked kids, not just Thea. Some men only pretended to, but with Matt it was genuine, and kids responded accordingly. He even helped coach a Little League baseball team and had once said he couldnât wait until he had a son of his own to coach. Yes, heâd make a terrific father.
If only... But she cut the thought off. âTime for dessert,â she said brightly instead.
Minutes later they were all settled around the table again. The adults had fresh coffee with their slices of kolache , and Thea happily ate Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream to go along with hers.
âThis is the best kolache Iâve ever had,â Matt declared.
âItâs different than what you usually find in Czech communities,â Norma said, âbut itâs the way my grandmother made it.â
She was referring to the fact she baked long jelly-roll-like pastries, then sliced individual servings. Most Czech bakers made stand-alone fruit kolaches , with a well in the middle containing fruit or jam.
âWell, theyâre wonderful,â Matt said.
Olivia made a determined effort not to let her thoughts stray into dismal territory again, and for the most part, she felt she was successful. After theyâd finished their dessert, Olivia and Matt cleaned up the kitchen. He even allowed Olivia to give him an apron.
âIâm not going to be responsible for you ruining that suit,â she said, knowing it was expensive.
âSlave driver.â But he was laughing.
She laughed, too, especially when she saw how cute he looked in the frilly apron. âThat suits you.â She pretended to reach for her phone. âI think I need a picture. To post on Facebook.â
âIâll kill you if you take one.â He wielded a wooden spoon as if it were a weapon.
Still laughing, she mock-ducked.
After more silly
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