banter, the kitchen was clean and Norma suggested they go into the living room âwhere itâs more comfortable.â
They passed another pleasant hour talking and watching Thea play with the Lego set Norma kept in a toy box for her beloved granddaughter. But at seven oâclock, Olivia reluctantly said she thought it was time to go. No matter how much she loved this part of the day, it couldnât last forever. âPut the Lego away, sweetie,â she said to Thea.
âI donât want to,â Thea said, pouting.
âThea,â Olivia said.
Theaâs lower lip protruded.
âI mean it.â
With a long-suffering sigh, Thea began to very slowly put each Lego piece in the toy box.
Olivia considered saying something about speeding it up, but didnât. It was enough that Thea was obeying.
âNeed some help with that, princess?â Matt said, getting down on the floor with her.
âMatt... â
He looked up, and when his eyes met hers, the rest of what Olivia was going to say died on her lips. There was something undeniable in his eyes, something Olivia knew she was going to have to deal with. The only question was, how? Because here...and now...she knew it wasnât going to be easy to walk away from him, no matter how much she knew it would be the right thing to do.
Why does he have to be so wonderful? And why am I so attracted to the absolute wrong man?
Heart pounding, she looked away and began gathering her things.
Finally they were ready to leave.
At the door, when Norma hugged Olivia goodbye, she whispered, âHe would make Thea a wonderful father.â
âMom!â Olivia whispered back. What if Matt had heard her?
But he hadnât. Heâd instead picked up Thea and was allowing her to sit piggyback, which she loved to do. She was giggling and he was pretending to be a horse, complete with neighing sounds as he transported her outside to the car.
All the way homeâwhich was only minutes awayâOlivia couldnât get her motherâs comment out of her mind. Hadnât she thought the same thing earlier? That Matt would make a wonderful father? And heâd probably make an even more wonderful husband.
And lover.
That thought made her breath catch, almost as if sheâd said it out loud. She glanced over at Matt, but he wasnât looking at her. Thank God. Even though sheâd not voiced that thought aloud, her eyes might have betrayed her.
When they reached her house, she turned to say goodbye to him at the door, but he said, âIâll come in. Help you get Thea ready for bed.â
âYou donât have to do that, Matt. I know you have things toââ
âI want to.â
What could she say? I donât want you to. That would be a lie because she did want him to. The fact was, she wanted even more. She wanted, after theyâd gotten Thea ready for bed and settled her into her room, to take Mattâs hand and lead him into the master bedroom. She wanted him to stay the night. She wanted him to undress her and make slow love to her, not once, but several times.
She remembered that old song from the oldies station her mother used to listen toâthe one about slow hands.
She swallowed.
Just thinking about what she wanted made her stomach feel hollow.
It had been so long. So very long. She could hardly remember what it had been like to be held, to be loved, and touched, and cherished. She and Mark had been too young, really. Their lovemaking had been fast and impatient, the way young lovers are. Mark had never had the chance to grow with her.
She was so lonely.
Her loneliness hadnât been so bad when Eve was living there, when theyâd been in the same boat, but now Eve had found love again. A wonderful, passionate, grown-up love. All you had to do was look at her to see how happy she was. How fulfilled.
I want that, too. I deserve that, donât I?
Why was she torturing herself? She knew
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