Olivia came three times. Before Cole had proven otherwise, she wouldn’t have thought that was possible. But he’d set out almost relentlessly to make her into a trembling, quivering wreck, and they hadn’t even gotten to the best part yet. Olivia was so sated and loose she would have drifted off to sleep if he hadn’t chosen that moment to finally enter her.

As she hooked her legs around his hips to take him in, she watched him. Something was different, and if she hadn’t been so busy having mind-altering orgasms, she might have noticed it sooner.

He was holding back.

Even as he made passionate love to her, he kept a firm grip on his control. There was no sign of the reckless, abandoned lover who had taken her against a wall in Washington.

Saddened by the realization that he felt the need to protect himself from her, Olivia caressed his face and brought him down for a deep, searching kiss. “Turn over,” she whispered.

He shook his head.

“Yes,” she insisted, pushing at his shoulders until he gave in and did as she asked.

He kept his arms tight around her and turned them so she was on top.

Olivia pulled out all the stops to break him. She went slow, dragging her nails over his chest as she arched her back and took him deep, her eyes fixed on his while she waited and hoped. When slow didn’t work, she gave fast a whirl.

His breathing changed and his fingers dug into her hips, but there was still an aura of control about him that frustrated her. Even when he finally climaxed, it wasn’t the all-consuming event it had been the last time but rather a civilized ending to a rather civilized round of sex.

Olivia wanted to scream. She didn’t want him civilized. She wanted him the way he’d been before when he’d loved her with everything he had, before she’d given him reason to hold something back so he wouldn’t be left with nothing if she walked away.

Why shouldn’t he be afraid? She’d certainly given him ample reason to be concerned. I’m skittish and hesitant, so why shouldn’t he be, too? I can’t have it both ways. I can’t commit only halfway and expect him to be in it all the way. He’d have to be stupid to take a risk like that, and he’s anything but stupid.

He caressed her back as she rested on top of him, drinking in the scent of his cologne mixed with a hint of perspiration that actually smelled good coming from him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Mmm. You?”

“Never better.”

“You must be hungry.”

“A little. We can order something.”

She slid off him and pulled the covers up over them. “Whatever you want.”

“What’s wrong, Liv?”

Startled, she glanced over at him. “Nothing.”

Lying on his back, he ran a hand through his hair and stared up at the ceiling. “Are we going to play games now?”

“No, we’re not.”

He sat up. “Okay, well you know where I am if you want to tell me what’s bugging you.” He stalked into the bathroom and closed the door with a loud thwack.

Olivia hugged a big fluffy pillow and battled the huge lump in her throat. How was this going so terribly wrong?

She awoke to the sound of “Ode to Joy” the next morning. Since Cole had slept on the far side of the big bed, she didn’t disturb him when she got up. In the large, dark hotel room, she fumbled to find her purse before the phone woke him. Once she had the phone in hand, she didn’t take the time to check the caller ID.

“Hello?” she whispered. On the way into the bathroom, she glanced at the clock and found it was five forty-five. She closed the door softly.

“Hi, honey. Did I wake you?”

“Oh, hey, Dad.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stifled a yawn as she put a thick Fairmont robe on over the silk nightgown she had slept in. “That’s okay. What’s up?”

“Where did you end up on your mystery trip?”

“San Francisco.”

“Oh, you must be thrilled, Livvie! You’ve always wanted to go there. How is it?”

“What I’ve seen so far is beautiful.”

“Crap, it’s really early there, though!”

“Don’t worry about it. My body is still on East Coast time. What’s going on?”

“Well, honey, I hate to do this to you while you’re away, but I wanted to let you know that Mom’s committed herself to a treatment place. It’s a nice facility in southern Virginia that we’ve heard good things about.”

Astounded, Olivia sat on the closed lid of the toilet. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she cried. “I would’ve been there with you!”

“Her doctor called on Thursday to say they had a spot opening up, so it happened fast. I knew how much you were looking forward to your trip.”

“Dad! You should’ve told me!”

“Believe me, Liv, you were better off not knowing.”

“Why?” she asked, hesitantly. “What happened?”

“Let’s just say she didn’t go easily.”

“Oh, God,” she sighed.

“She signed the paperwork willingly, but then she lost it as we were helping her out of the house. They ended up having to sedate her.” His voice caught. “It was a horror show.”

Her eyes filled. “Daddy…”

“I’m okay, honey. We should’ve done this years ago.”

“How long is she going to be there?”

“Thirty days to start with. They’re going to re-evaluate her after that.”

“Can you go see her?”

“I doubt she’ll want to see me. She thinks I’m the root of all evil right about now since I didn’t give her much choice. I told her it was this or a divorce.”

“You’re just trying to do what’s best for her.”

“She doesn’t see it that way. I’m so sorry to dump this on you right now, but I didn’t want you to hear about it from your brothers or Jenny.”

“Do you want me to come home? I can be there this afternoon if you need me.”

“No, honey. That’s not necessary, but thank you. I’m fine. In fact, I have a second interview next Monday at a Cadillac dealer in Springfield. I have a feeling it’s just a formality, and the job’s mine.”

“They’d be lucky to have you. That’s your line.”

“It is indeed. I’m also meeting with a Realtor today about the house, and I found someone who’ll clean out the place for cheap. She’ll get what she can for all the junk, so at least it won’t be a total loss.”

“I hate that you’re dealing with this by yourself. I can help with the house when I get home.”

“Don’t worry about it, Livvie. Andy’s coming home this weekend to help me move the furniture I’m going to keep into storage until I get a new place. The rest is crap. We’ll either trash it or sell it.”

“Jenny and I looked at an apartment the other day that’ll work for me until I figure out what I’m going to do. They said I can move in at the end of the week.” She glanced at the door, thought of Cole sleeping in the next room, and remembered him asking her to live with him. She wondered if the offer was still on the table. “I’ll get my stuff out of the house as soon as I get home.”

“There’s no rush. I’m sure it’ll take a month or two to sell.”

“So what happens with you and Mom when she gets out?”

“I guess that’ll depend on whether or not the treatment works.”

“No matter what happens, you know you have me, right? And Andy and Alex, too. We’re always here for you.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. They said the same thing. I’m blessed to have three great kids who somehow turned out beautifully despite how they grew up.”

“Will you let me know if you need anything?”

“I sure will. Please don’t worry about any of this. It’s all going to work out. I promise.”

“I love you,” she said.

“And I love you. Have a great time with your pilot, you hear me? Tell him your old man wants to meet him the next time he’s in D.C.”

“I will. Bye, Daddy.” Olivia ended the call and curled her hand tight around the phone as she absorbed the news from home. She had no idea how long she sat there before she realized she wasn’t alone.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked from the doorway.

Olivia cleared her throat. “That was my dad. My mother is in a ‘very nice facility’ as of yesterday. I know it’s for the best, but he sounded awful.”

Cole took her hand and led her from the bathroom to a big easy chair by the window. He brought her down onto his lap and put his arms around her. “Do you want to go home? I’d totally understand if you wanted to.”

“He’d flip if I went home on his account.”

“What can I do for you?”

Resting her head on his shoulder, she released a deep sigh. “This is pretty good.”

“I woke up, and you weren’t there,” he whispered as his lips brushed her forehead. “I was worried until I heard you talking in the bathroom.”

“Did you think I’d run away?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“I wasn’t sure.”

“I’m not going to run away, Cole. I hate that you’re worried I might.”

“We still have three-and-a-half days until serious talk is allowed,” he reminded her.

“That’s true.” She ran her fingers through his hair and lifted her head off his shoulder to kiss him.

“Do you want to go back to bed for a while?”

“To sleep?” she asked, trying to coax a smile from him.

“Whatever you want.”

“I’m seriously torn between you and a spot right in front of this hotel.”

His eyebrows knitted with confusion. “What spot?”

“The only place in the whole city where all the cable car lines come together.”

He laughed. “Well, since I wouldn’t dare try to compete with the cable cars, what do you say we get an early start?”

They returned to the hotel twelve hours later, laden with bags and souvenirs.

“You’re going to need another suitcase to get all this stuff home,” Cole said as he dumped his portion of the haul on the sofa.

“I went totally nuts, didn’t I?”

“You had fun. That’s what matters.”

She shrugged and studied the mountain of bags.

“What?”

“I just…”

“What, honey? Talk to me.”

“I don’t want to end up like my mother, you know? I shouldn’t have blown so much money on stuff I don’t really need.”

He came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “When was the last time you did something like this?”

Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, she thought about it. “Um, never?”

“So there you go. A one-time splurge does not make you like your mother.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Now I have a very important question for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you have any more of that dark chocolate, or did you eat it all?”

She smiled. “I might have one more piece I could share with you.” She found the bag from Ghirardelli and sat next to him on the sofa. Breaking off a piece of the chocolate, she fed him a bite.

“Mmm, that’s so good.” He leaned his head back on the sofa. “What was your favorite thing we did today?”

“I liked Alcatraz a lot. Can you imagine escaping from that place?”

“No way. Have you ever seen the movie?”

“Nope.”

“We should rent it sometime. It’s a great story.”

“I loved the cable cars, too.”

“By the fourth ride, I figured you were liking them.”

“The hills are amazing, aren’t they?”

“I’m still recovering from the trek up Lombard Street. While everyone else was walking down the crooked street, we had to walk up.”

“I wanted the full experience.”

“You’re going to feel the full experience in your calf muscles tomorrow.”

She shrugged. “It was worth it to beat you to the top. You were really showing your age up there, old man.”

“Shut up,” he snorted, poking her ribs.

Smiling, she added, “Union Square was cool, too. Can we go back to Fisherman’s Wharf tomorrow? I think I’d like to do some sketching.”

He dug through the pile of bags. When he found the one he was looking for, he pulled it from under the others and handed it to her. “You mentioned you want to paint the bridge, right?”

Olivia peeked inside the bag and let out a happy squeal when she found professional-grade watercolors, brushes, and a packet of oversized paper. “When did you get this?”

“While you were in that jewelry store in Union Square.”

She threw her arms around him and sprinkled kisses on his face. “You’re so thoughtful.”

His face twisted with dismay. “That’s almost as bad as romantic.”

“You’re both.”

“If you say so.”

Olivia got up, put the bag on the table, and turned to straddle his lap.

“Well, well, what’s this?” he asked with a grin as he cupped her bottom and pulled her tight against him.

“This,” she said, touching her lips to his, “is me telling you that this was the very best day of my whole life.”

“The very best day?”

She nodded. “And I have you to thank for it.”

“Any day I get to spend with you is the best day.”

“I love you, and I’ll never, ever forget this,” she whispered as she brought her mouth down on his.

A groan rumbled through his chest when he met her questing tongue with thrusts of his own. He filled his hands with her breasts and ran his thumbs over her nipples.

Olivia gasped.

“I was thinking we should go out to dinner,” he said, his lips moving on her neck. “We need to celebrate your art school news.”

“Could we maybe do that tomorrow?”

“I suppose we could.” He rolled her earlobe between his teeth. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“How about we get naked and spend the whole night in bed?”

He went completely still. “I can’t stand it when you mince words like that, Liv.”

She laughed and tugged at his shirt while rolling her pelvis over his erection. “Is that a yes?”

In answer to her question, he surged to his feet and carried her to the bed. Coming down on top of her, he molded his lips to hers. They rolled over the bed, locked in a passionate embrace that was only broken when Olivia dissolved into a fit of laughter.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“I’ve seen that done in movies, but I had no idea people could actually roll across a bed without breaking the kiss.”

His sexy smile stopped her heart. “Wanna do it again?”

“Uh-huh.”

This time they ended up perilously close to the edge.

“That’s a big fall,” he said, looking down at the floor.

Her lips coasted over the stubble on his unshaven jaw. “Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“Can we get to the naked part now?”

“I suppose if we have to.”

Olivia laughed and pulled his shirt over his head.