Chapter Twelve
With the kitchen and living room painted, the bathrooms up next, Olivia was pleased with the progress they’d made in just a few short days. She had stopped to get flooring samples this morning, so with those taking up the trunk of her car, she focused on another project. The birthday party.
She guided her car toward Jackson’s house. He’d explained that he lived in the subdivision behind the school at the end of the cul-de-sac. As she turned onto his road, she glanced to her red sundress and wondered if she’d gotten too dressed up. She’d only brought a limited supply of clothes because she hadn’t planned on staying too long, so she’d had to go buy something for this toddler spa party.
What grown adult went and bought a dress for a child’s birthday party? Olivia didn’t know any of the people who were going to be there.
Dread curled in her belly as she realized that she most likely would know people. As Jackson’s two-story house came into view, Olivia had to fight back a panic attack. Haven wasn’t a large town by any means, so most likely there would be people there she went to school with. What had she gotten herself into?
She wasn’t an extrovert—she lived in her office in Atlanta and cranked out killer marketing deals for companies. Her interaction with others tended to be via e-mail or social events with associates. What did she know about children?
“You can do this,” she whispered to herself as she pulled into the drive.
She wasn’t sure what she expected out of his home, but the porch swing and the bright flowers along the sidewalk were a pleasant surprise. His home nestled back against the woods, almost giving it a feel of being all alone and away from neighbors. Old mossy oak trees surrounded his property and for a moment, Olivia envied the quiet, peaceful setting. She didn’t have plants or trees or flowers at her condo. She certainly didn’t have a porch or a swing. She did have a killer view of the city, though. That was something . . . wasn’t it?
Olivia pulled in a deep breath. She’d clearly been in this town too long if she was growing envious of her surroundings. She needed to remain focused on getting some concrete decisions made and getting out of Haven.
As she stepped out of her car, Piper ran onto the porch. “You’re really here,” she squealed. “I didn’t know if you’d actually come.”
The way Piper ran off the porch and raced down the drive had Olivia smiling and bracing herself. Tiny arms flew around Olivia’s waist as doe-like brown eyes stared up at her.
“You’re going to be the prettiest one there,” she said. “I don’t own a dress, but I wore my favorite new sandals.”
Didn’t own a dress? Because she didn’t like them or Jackson just didn’t buy them? She never thought too much about the dynamics of a single father raising a little girl. Were there things she wanted and missed out on simply because he never thought of such things?
“Of course I came.”
Olivia leaned over to look Piper in the eyes. She was well aware Jackson had stepped onto the porch and stood looming over them. Her heart kicked into high gear, but she ignored that automatic reaction and the curl of desire.
“I can’t wait to spend the day with you,” Olivia stated, surprised that she was being completely honest.
Seeing Piper’s excitement was well worth the doubts and turmoil she’d experienced moments ago.
“I need to get the present.” Piper raced back up onto the porch, but turned around and pointed at her father. “Don’t forget my booster seat.”
He laughed and gave a mock salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
As Piper went inside, Olivia straightened her dress because Jackson was heading her way and she . . . well, damn it, she was fidgety.
“You look amazing,” he told her as he stopped directly in front of her. “Would you get this dressed up for me if I took you out?”
The flirting, the kisses, the heavy-lidded glances were all getting to her. She was having a difficult time trying to remember why being near him was a terrible idea. Because each time he came close, she got swept up in those dark eyes, that devilish grin, and that sweeping glance he’d give her that told her he was taking in every inch of her in one swoop.
“We aren’t going out,” she countered, thankful her voice sounded strong.
“Maybe not,” he agreed. “But let’s say I asked you out. Would you wear something like this? A little dress that showed off your shape? Or would you go back to those stuffy clothes that scream CEO?”
She swallowed. “I’m not a CEO.”
Jackson leaned in and whispered, “I like this Livie better.”
“Olivia,” she murmured.
“Not to me.” He eased back. “I’m going to get the booster seat from my truck and put it in your back seat. You think about when you want to discuss the airport plans.”
He walked away and Olivia turned to watch him go as if he hadn’t just flirted, came within a breath of kissing her, and told her she looked beautiful. She seriously couldn’t keep up with that man.
“I’m ready, Livie.”
She spun around as Piper came bounding down the steps, her pigtails in perfect position today and even tied with little blue ribbons. The image of Jackson using those big strong hands to tie something so dainty and feminine did nothing to squelch her fascination and attraction.
Jackson put the booster seat in the back of Olivia’s car and propped his arm on the top of the open door. “Come on, hot shot.”
Piper climbed into the back of the car and sat the gift bag beside her. “Bye, Daddy. Love you.”
He leaned in, fastened her belt, and kissed the top of her head. “Love you, baby girl. Have fun and be good for Livie.”
When he closed the door, he turned to Olivia. “I’d tell you to have fun, but you look like you’d rather do anything else. It’s not too late to back out.”
Piper stared out the window, a wide grin spreading across her face. There was no way Olivia would back out. She knew exactly what it was like to be let down, to not be able to depend on someone. Even though Piper wasn’t a permanent part of her life, Olivia would never purposely disappoint such a sweet child.
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “I’ll bring her back once the party is over.”
He nodded and stepped aside. “I’ll be here. Just text me if there’s any problems.”
She nodded and slid into the driver’s seat before he could say anything else or touch her. Not that he’d do much with little eyes watching, but Olivia wanted to get the car started since it was so hot.
As she backed out of the driveway, she tried to focus on not looking at Jackson staring at her. She did give him one final wave as she headed in the opposite direction.
“Thank you for taking me,” Piper said from the back seat. “I know you probably had other things to do—”
“Actually, I had nothing to do today.” Olivia steered toward town where the party was at a salon owned by the birthday girl’s family. “I have never been to a spa party, so I’m super excited to spend this day with you.”
“Daddy said you didn’t care, but he also told me I should thank you.”
“Your daddy is teaching you manners.” Olivia glanced into the rearview mirror and smiled. “You’re lucky to have him.”
“Can you fix hair?” she asked, suddenly into another subject.
“I suppose I can. I do mine every day.”
“Would you do mine?” Piper asked, her eyes locked onto the mirror. “One of my friends always wears hers curly and she looks like a princess.”
Olivia’s heart went out to Piper. How could a four-year-old know exactly how to make the largest impact with just a few simple words?
“I’m sure I could curl your hair.”
“Today?”
Olivia gripped the wheel and thought of how she should approach this. Jackson may not want Olivia spending a bunch of time with his daughter. Olivia completely understood not wanting to give the wrong impression. At the same time, Piper was only asking for some girl time and there was no way Olivia could deny her.
“Of course,” Olivia answered. “How about after the party? I have some friends at my house and we could just continue spa day with them.”
Olivia glanced to the mirror long enough to see Piper’s eyes light up. “Really? I love you.”
Emotions threatened to overtake Olivia. Were all children this expressive? Did they all have their barriers down, ready to welcome the life that surrounded them? Had Olivia ever been that innocent and ready to pull people into her life?
“I’ll text your daddy to make sure it’s okay first.”
“He won’t care. He likes you.”
Okay. Definitely not something she wanted to chat about with a four-year-old, but at the same time the inner high school girl in her came out and she wanted to know exactly what he had said, the tone he used, and how often he spoke of her. That wasn’t immature . . . was it?
“Your daddy is a good friend.” Okay, that didn’t sound convincing, but her audience was a toddler, so . . . “I like him too.”
Yeah, that sounded convincing because it was completely true. He made her feel all giddy, which was ridiculous. She was a grown woman with a very prestigious position in a marketing firm. She didn’t do giddy . . . or at least she hadn’t before coming back to Haven.
She resisted the urge to groan. How could she even entertain the idea of getting tangled with Jackson—“just call me Jax”? He was much younger than her and . . . well, there were several other reasons. Many reasons, in fact, and she didn’t have the mental stamina to list them all.
“I heard him telling Cash and Tanner that he kissed you.”
Olivia completely failed at keeping her expression blank. How did she respond to that?
“They thought I was asleep,” Piper went on. “They do that all the time. They come over for dinner or cards and then they tell me it’s time for bed. But babies go to bed early and I’m not a baby.”
“No, you’re a big girl,” Olivia agreed, wanting Piper to move back to the portion she overheard. “Maybe you misunderstood what your daddy said.”
“I heard real good, Livie,” she insisted. “Daddy said he took you in his plane and you argued, then he kissed you.”
Considering that’s exactly how their first kiss went down, Olivia knew Piper had heard correctly. But Olivia was more interested in the fact that he was discussing her with his cousins. That was something she’d talk to him about later. Because Olivia wanted to know exactly what he thought he was doing and where he thought all this attraction would lead.
Okay, she knew what his answer would be, but she wanted to know what he thought they’d accomplish by acting on this attraction. They still had the airport between them and it appeared they were going to move forward with renovations. Letting personal emotions and hormones interfere would surely just cause a mess in the long run.
At least, that was the only reason she could come up with to keep her distance because everything in her wanted to ignore the red flags and take what she wanted.
And she wanted Jackson.
* * *
“Can I have my hair your color?”
Piper’s wide eyes zeroed in on Jade’s crimson hair. Olivia had brought the eager toddler home after Jackson gave the okay. Now they were getting ready to have a hair session and some girl talk—toddler-level girl talk.
“I’m not sure your daddy would appreciate if I brought you back with colored hair,” Olivia answered with a smile.
Melanie plugged in the curling iron and patted the seat to the vanity. “Come on over, Piper. Let’s see about making you a princess.”
They’d congregated in Olivia’s old bedroom where there was still an old antique vanity with a large oval mirror. She’d loved this station when her father had found it for her. Her mother had wanted something fancier, but when her dad brought the vanity set home from a yard sale, he’d sanded on it for days, then repainted it a crisp white and added new hardware.
Those memories kept creeping up. The ones that forced her to realize that her father did love her, that he did things for her that went against her mother’s wishes. But being a child and spending most of her time with her mother, Olivia hadn’t seen things from his perspective.
She swallowed back her emotions. Now wasn’t the time to face them, not when she had an adorable little girl waiting for this much-needed female bonding time.
“I don’t just want to be a princess,” Piper said as she settled onto the cushioned bench. “I want to be a pilot like my daddy.”
“That sounds like a perfect goal,” Jade replied as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you like when your daddy takes you on trips in the plane?”
Piper nodded. “Yeah, but we don’t get to go many places by ourselves. We want a new plane, so we’re saving money. Well, daddy says it’s not brand-new but even used ones take a lot of money. I told him he could have my piggy bank. I have almost four dollars saved. I was going to buy a Play-Doh set I saw on TV, but I’d rather have a plane.”
Melanie and Jade shared a look before both women turned to Olivia. She merely shrugged. She didn’t know what to say—she didn’t know Jackson wanted a new plane. The fact Piper was offering all her savings just proved children were so much more giving and precious than Olivia thought. There was definitely something to be learned from hanging out with a chatty toddler.
“I’m sure your daddy appreciates you offering your money.” Olivia went over and sat on the floor next to the vanity, her back against the wall. “But I bet he’d rather you keep that for yourself.”
“I really want the new plane,” Piper whined. “He has a picture of it hanging on our fridge. It’s so pretty and shiny. He said he wouldn’t have to keep sinking money into the old one.”
Olivia pulled in a deep breath. “It is old,” she agreed. “That plane was one my daddy bought used and I learned to fly in it.”
Piper’s eyes widened. “You’re a pilot, too? I love you so much. You’re the coolest girl I know.”
And that was the second time this precious girl professed her love and Olivia still wasn’t sure how to respond.
“My first plane ride was with Olivia,” Jade chimed in. “She’s an awesome pilot.”
“Will you take me?” Piper squealed. “I know Daddy won’t care.”
Melanie wrapped another long strand of blond hair around the barrel of the curling iron and met Olivia’s gaze. She hadn’t piloted since leaving Haven, but there were some things that were just engrained in you and you never forgot. She didn’t know why, but she’d always renewed her pilot’s license and now she was glad she had.
Olivia had to admit that being back made her want to get behind the controls again. She wanted to know that freedom, because the only place she’d ever felt that was when she was in the sky.
“I’ll have to talk to him,” Olivia stated, not committing to anything just yet.
“Tell me about the birthday party.” Melanie sat the iron down and parted off another section of Piper’s hair. “I love that purple on your fingers and toes.”
Piper held up her hands and smiled. “Purple is my favorite color. Daddy paints my nails sometimes, but it doesn’t look this good. He’s a boy so don’t say anything.”
Olivia realized she could learn quite a bit about Jackson simply by spending more time with Piper. But on the flip side of that, she didn’t want to get any more involved than she already was.
“What is your friend’s name who had the birthday?” Jade asked.
“Molly Ann. She’s my best friend. We have cubbies next to each other and we put our cots together at nap time. We don’t nap, though. That’s for babies.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Jade shook her head and smiled. “I never turn down a nap when I get the chance.”
“I hate naps,” Piper insisted. “Me and Molly Ann whisper. I think the teacher saw us once, but she didn’t say anything. Only the bad kids get in trouble.”
“Do you like school?” Olivia asked, wrapping her arms around her legs.
“It’s fun, but I miss being at the airport all the time. I don’t get to go on as many trips with Daddy like I did before school.”
Olivia vowed then and there to make sure this baby got on a fun flight soon. Not transporting another client, but something just for Piper. Another item she mentally added to the list of things she needed to discuss with Jackson. At this rate, she’d have to schedule a two-day conference with the man.
“Are you going to make the airport bigger?”
Piper’s question caught Olivia off guard. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, that was something else I heard Daddy say when he thought I was in bed.”
Her devilish grin was so rotten and adorable at the same time. Olivia wondered if Jackson knew he had a very intelligent kid on his hands.
“I’m not sure what we’re doing quite yet,” Olivia answered honestly. “Your dad and I are going to talk. What do you think we should do?”
“Well, he said something about movie stars.” Piper’s focus went back to the mirror as Melanie continued curling ringlets. “That would be the coolest thing ever if my daddy got to fly them. Maybe he’d let me ride too.”
So that was the angle he’d been discussing. From a business standpoint, the idea was brilliant and other than the obvious risk, there was no good reason not to pursue the plans.
But, from a personal, emotional standpoint, there was every reason not to push forward.
“Maybe if rich people use the airport, Daddy could buy that plane.” Piper’s questioning gaze turned to Olivia once again. “They’d have to pay a lot of money, right? Then we could afford it.”
Olivia wished she had that large chunk of money because she’d just buy the plane for Jackson and Piper. It was obvious they were a team and Piper thought the sun rose and set on her father . . . as most little girls do. Olivia had been no different at that age.
“Do you want your curly hair up or down?” Melanie asked as she fluffed up the curls.
Piper shook her head from side to side, watching in the mirror as each curl swung wildly. “Down. I always have two ponytails because that’s all Daddy knows how to do. Maybe you guys could teach him something new.”
“Olivia would love to show your father,” Jade piped up.
Narrowing her eyes, Olivia shot a death glare to her friend. Jade winked and offered a half grin.
What was one more thing to add to the list of things she wanted to discuss with Jackson? Perhaps she could just search some YouTube videos and send him the links. That way he could learn himself and she didn’t technically have to be there.
Melanie placed the curls in just the right spot and put a light spray on Piper’s hair.
“There.” Melanie stood back and clasped her hands together. “You are a beautiful young lady all the time, this is just a new look for you.”
Piper hopped off the bench and did a twirl. “Now I need a dress. Something that looks pretty when I spin.”
Jade came to her feet. “Then let’s go shopping.”
Once again, Olivia looked at her friend like she’d lost her mind. “Now?”
“I have nothing else to do but paint a bathroom,” Jade replied. “I’m always up for some retail therapy.”
“Is there anywhere close that sells kids’ clothes?” Melanie asked.
“Oh, my friend’s mom has a store,” Piper exclaimed. “It’s called . . . hmmm . . . I don’t know. But it’s by the store that sells fish.”
Fish? Haven didn’t have a pet store that Olivia was aware of. “Do you know the name of the fish store?” she asked.
Piper shook her head, sending the curls flying. “No, but it’s by the place that has stamps.”
Okay, so this new store was near the post office. That shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.
“I better text your daddy again and see if he cares.”
Olivia pulled out her phone and sent off a message. She was shocked to see how much time had passed since she’d first picked Piper up. She was the sweetest little girl and it was obvious she was thoroughly enjoying her girl time and in all honesty, Olivia was, too. Jackson had raised one very special girl and he was doing his best as a single dad, but sometimes a girl just needed another female . . . no matter how old.
Her phone chimed with his reply.
“Your dad says you can go.”
Piper squealed and started dancing around the bedroom. “I’ve been wanting to go to this place, but I didn’t think Daddy would like it so I never asked. Can you take me by my house first?”
“For what?” Olivia asked.
“I want to get my piggy bank. If Daddy doesn’t need it for the plane, then I can use it for a new dress.”
Olivia’s heart lurched. There was no other way to describe the strong emotions she felt right at this moment. The girl didn’t ask for anything except love and affection. She just wanted to be with women, to be shown what it was like to have some girl time and do all the things her father wasn’t quite sure about. He was a remarkable man, an impressive father, but understandably he couldn’t make up for the absence of a woman in her life.
“I’ll buy you any dress you want,” Melanie stated. “You keep saving for that Play-Doh set.”
Piper’s brows drew in. “Are you sure? I don’t mind giving you my four dollars.”
Melanie leaned down and gave her a hug. “I’m positive. But there’s one condition. You have to let me approve of it, so that means you’re going to need to try it on and model it for us.”
Piper clapped her hands wildly. “I will, I will. Let’s go.”
She raced out of the room, leaving everyone behind. Jade glanced to Olivia. “We’ve been with her such a short time and I’m already in love.”
Melanie nodded her agreement and Olivia blew out a sigh. “Yeah. She’s impossible not to love.”
“It’s going to make that attraction with Jax all the more difficult to fight,” Jade added.
“She wasn’t fighting it the other day,” Melanie stated with a grin. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
Olivia smacked her friend’s shoulder. “Hush. I’m confused, that’s all.”
“All the more reason to get out of the house and have some fun.” Jade slid her sandals on and headed out of the room.
“When are you going to talk to Jax about the airport?” Melanie asked as she unplugged the hot curling iron.
Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know. I guess today when I take Piper home. We can’t keep dancing around the doubts and worries. We need to make a final decision.”
“Need us to come with you?” Melanie offered.
“I’ll be fine.” Olivia crossed the room, but glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not the airport I’m worried about when I’m with him.”