Chapter Ten

Owen

WITH A PLAN SET in his head, sleep had been difficult to achieve the night before. But even the lack of sleep had not stopped him from leaving the house early and heading out to Santa Barbara.

Parking on the sidewalk at 7:58 a.m., he stepped out and rushed over to his girls as they were stepping out of the house to walk to the bus stop. Their squeals of joy as they ran toward him must have caught Nadia’s attention. He could feel her eyes on them and simply looked at her and told her he was going to walk them. Hand in hand, he walked with Vivian and Becca as they shared about camp and their week a mile a minute. After giving their foreheads a kiss as they stepped onto the bus, he walked back to the small house they’d bought and thought back to a moment in time before they had even been able to buy an investment property. Hell, they hadn’t even been able to splurge on a steak dinner while living in their tiny studio apartment back then. But he had surprised her with a quick getaway up to Santa Barbara, and they had found themselves walking around a residential area and had talked about their goals and dreams. What life would be like. She had pointed to a house and said she would one day want a place like it. Something small they could go to as a family to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life in LA.

He had felt overwhelming pride when escrow closed on the place. Proud he had been able to make that dream come true for her. Looking at the house, the disheveled state of it, what had been the point of the purchase if he never had a chance to get out here?

He was always too busy to spend time with his girls when they came here. Or on the rare occasion he did head out, he was always hidden away behind a laptop, catching up on work shit instead of spending time with them as they ran through the sprinklers in the backyard during the summers or walking hand in hand with them in the winter through the craft fairs they liked to visit.

“You’re early.” Nadia’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he took in the black tee and faded worn-in jeans he knew did amazing things to her incredibly luscious ass.

“I wanted to be here before the girls left,” he explained and didn’t miss the way her eyes softened.

“I’m glad. They’ve missed you.” She stepped toward him. It wasn’t lost on him she didn’t say she missed him. Why would she when all he did was put his foot in his mouth lately? When she reached him, he wanted to grab her by the waist and pull her in close, kiss her hard. Remind her of what it was like to be them. Instead, he cleared his throat and they both walked to his car, where he took his bag out.

Silence surrounded them as they walked back to the house. Taking in the space, he could see that she had already started to work on redoing it. Blue painter’s tape trimmed the baseboards, art that she had carefully found and hung up now sat on the far corner next to the outdated TV they had brought from home. She was definitely serious about fixing the place up, and for a moment, he wondered if it was her preparing to make a bigger move. Would she want to live here if they split up? Would she leave him in their big house all alone?

“That’s a big bag for a weekend,” she pointed toward the suitcase he’d packed up, and he nodded.

“I’m here for the month,” he announced, not missing the way her eyes widened and narrowed in clear disbelief.

“A month?” she repeated. He nodded again.

“Yep.”

“How did you get Claudia and HR to—”

“It was actually her idea,” he sighed, being honest with her. This whole thing between them was going to be harder before it became easier.

“It was your boss’s idea for you to take a month off?” she asked incredulously.

“And HR agreed,” he filled her in and knew what she was going to ask next.

“What did you do?” she asked suspiciously, and he frowned.

“What?” His own eyes narrowed. Maybe he didn’t know what she was going to ask.

“What did you do, Owen?” she repeated. He didn’t miss the way she took a step back and her arms crossed in front of her.

“What do you mean?” Why does it have to be my fault? he thought to himself defensively.

“You hardly ever get a complete weekend, and if you do, you always bring work home to hide out in your study,” she pointed out. He deserved it, so he wasn’t going to try to argue. “So, what did you do?”

“Nothing. Look, it worked out perfectly, since they need to hire me a new assistant,” he told her, and she blinked, silent for a long second. Her tanned skin paled and something ugly flashed in her eyes before she straightened her back.

“What happened with Monique?” she asked him. There was something about the tone in her voice he didn’t appreciate. Even though he could understand and saw the issues that regarded Monique, he didn’t like what she was wordlessly implying.

“She quit.”

“She quit?”

“That, or she would have been fired. Either way, she’s gone and HR is going to find someone new for me,” he explained, but her expression didn’t change.

“Why?” she asked again, and his jaw clenched.

“Why?”

“Why did she quit?” she asked, taking yet another step back, crossing her arms. The space felt like an ocean separating them.

“Do you think something happened between Mo—” he started to ask, hating he would even have to. But he needed to clear the air between them so they could start laying the groundwork on getting their relationship to a better place.

“I don’t know,” Nadia answered honestly, her back ramrod straight. His jaw twitched.

“Nothing unprofessional happened between us.” He tried to stay calm.

“What do you consider unprofessional?” she asked, her eyes flaring. At least she wasn’t pale anymore; he noted the pinkening in her cheeks.

“I’m not trying to pull a fast one over on you, Nadia. I would never lie to you,” he told her and watched her shake her head. “Don’t you believe me?” he asked, taking his own step back.

“I don’t know what to believe,” she whispered, and frustration grated him. He might be able to see where she was coming from, but he was still human. How can she have lost faith in me? In us?

“I’ve never stepped out on you. Jesus, Nadia. I sure as hell wouldn’t touch my assistant,” he growled, taking two quick, long steps forward, his hands grabbing her hips, done with keeping his distance. She was his. He needed to remind her that he was hers, too.

“You both worked long hours,” she pointed out. He breathed in deep, trying to taper down his emotions.

“We did,” he agreed because it was the damn truth. “But she was never in my office after hours or alone,” he stated and watched her blink. His words processed in her mind, so he kept going. “She was spreading rumors. Stupid shit. That I was going to leave you and go to her.”

“She did that?” Her eyes widened.

“Yeah. I guess to anyone who would spare a moment to listen.”

“Why would she do that? Did you give her—” Nadia tried to get out of his embrace, but he held on to her.

“I never did anything around her away from you that I wouldn’t have done in front of you. Baby, you are everything to me.”

“You could have fooled me.” When her eyes flared, he had to bite away a smile, a wave of relief washing through him.

There. There she was.

The girl he had fallen in love with.

The one who would never let him get away with shit.

The one who called him on any crap he tried to pull.

The girl he had somehow lost and forgotten to protect and cherish and nurture.

The girl he would fight heaven and earth to be by her side.

“You are everything to me, Nadia,” he repeated.

“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. She was straining to get away from him, but his hands held on to her, loving the way her body fit in his hands. Made for me.

“I think I need to remind you.” He leaned down. His lips twitched at the sharp intake of her breath and the way her body relaxed and leaned toward his.

Touching his lips to hers, he kissed her.

Slowly.

Softly.

Taking his time, his hands roamed upwards, leaving a trail of heat up her arms and through his own body, until he was cupping the back of her head. Nadia’s silky hair in his fingers, he swallowed up every sexy sound that escaped. Her soft moans and the way her fingers dug into his biceps felt like a gift. Pulling away was difficult, but he found the strength to do it and rested his forehead on hers.

“I love you,” he panted, and her eyes met his head on. She opened her mouth, and the doorbell rang.

“That’s—”

“David Leon,” he finished her sentence. Her head nodded slowly, surprise obvious on her face.

“How did you—”

“Simone.”

“Tell me you didn’t call her.” Her face scrunched up, which made him want to laugh. “That’s not funny, Owen. She is on—”

“Vacation, and no, I didn’t. I guess she cc’d me when she first emailed you. I read it after we hung up last night.”

“Oh.”

“Come on. We have work to do,” he told her, and she tilted her head.

“Wait, you’re going to—”

“Help?” he asked, not able to fight the smile on his face when she nodded, a dumbfounded look on her face. “You wanna fix this place up?” he asked her seriously and watched her beautiful face closely. Her eyes warmed and twinkled. Fuck, he hadn’t seen that look in years.

“Yes,” she whispered, and he knew this was important to her.

“Then I am going to be next to you, each step of the way.” He leaned in closer, meaning more than just a damn remodel. His own lips were still tingling and hungry for more of her. “Grout line by grout line,” he mumbled against her lips, giving her a small peck before leaving her with an adorable, surprised look on her face as he went to answer the door.

Nadia

Wiping the sweat from my brow, I chugged from the icy, cold water bottle and moaned as the cold liquid gave me some relief from the heat.

“You guys did an awesome job today. I will see you two tomorrow,” David yelled out, and I nodded, waving good-bye as he walked out the front door. When I turned to look at Owen, whatever I was going to say got caught mid-way up and I couldn’t put two words together.

Just from looking at him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed water from his own cold bottle, and my thighs clenched together. His neck straining like that made my mouth water for a taste. I had the sudden urge to lick him. I wouldn’t care one damn bit about how sweaty he was. Hell, I wanted to taste his sweat, too. The white tee shirt he’d changed into before we started breaking stuff down was straining mercifully at his shoulders and arms, beautifully stretched at his broad chest, tapering off at his narrow waist. The jeans and work boots he was wearing made him so much more approachable and laid back than his usual work attire of three-piece suits and lab coat I was used to seeing.

“See something you like?” he asked, obviously having caught me checking him out.

“I… umm…” My cheeks were burning and I was flustered. “I should start dinner…”

“Let’s go out tonight,” he suggested. I wanted to jump at the chance but hesitated. By the look of confusion on his face, he hadn’t missed it. “Please?” That soft plea and the hope in not just his voice but his green eyes did me in.

“Okay,” I agreed, shrugging slightly.

“Go get ready. I’ll get the girls.”

“If I’m fast, I can go with—” He stepped close, like he had done before David had shown up. His hand rested on my hip, and I stilled; my eyes went down to look at them. His hands. He had such amazing, powerful hands. Hands that helped others and created incredible beauty. But to me they were more than that. They were the hands I held when my grandmother passed away. They were the first set of hands that held our daughters when they took their first breaths. They were the ones that knew my body better than I knew it, and they couldn’t be anything but sexy to me.

“Take your time.” His free hand brushed the apples of my cheeks and rested at my hairline over my temples. I couldn’t breathe. His scent filled my senses. His usual cologne mixed with sweat and his skin had always been an aphrodisiac but never as much as in this moment. It’s been too long. “Soak in the bath. Blow-dry your hair. Don’t rush. I’ll take the girls out and be back in two hours.”

“But what about you?” I asked him. He usually took longer than I did to get ready.

“I’ll get back in, take a shower, and we will get out of here.”

“Owen, you usually take—” I couldn’t help but start to remind him, but he gently tugged my head back so I would look at him.

“I’ll be fast. Trust me, okay?” He kissed my forehead and started to turn away from me. I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed a hold of his hand; he turned back, obviously surprised and slightly confused. I opened my mouth and closed it.

We’d had a great day.

We had worked great together through the day. I didn’t want to ruin it, but I couldn’t keep digging my head in the sand. I needed to know.

“What is it?” he asked, and I knew by the look on his face he knew my hesitation wasn’t a good one.

“Monique.”

“What about her?” he asked, tilting his head, giving me every bit of his attention. I didn’t know how to ask. “Nadi, what about Monique?”

“Right here, right now, honestly, did you?” I blurted out, deciding to go with the pulling-the-Band-Aid-off-quickly method.

“Did I what, baby?”

“Did something happen between you two?” I repeated, watching him closely, afraid to blink in case I missed a tell he might be lying.

“No,” he answered, pulling me closer.

“Why did she quit?”

“Because she thought something was going to happen between her and me and I made it clear it wouldn’t.” My body went tight, but he didn’t let me go. His fingers stroked my skin, back and forth, and I fought from relaxing. “Before your mind goes wild, you have to know that I love you. I have since the moment I saw you when you moved into the dorms.”

“Owen—”

“She was gossiping, spreading shit to anyone who would listen. I told you that,” he shared, and I soaked in his words. He took my silence as a request to expand. “She was fucking nuts. Paul heard her talking and came to me. I was going to brush it off, but when I went to talk to her about clearing my schedule for two weeks, she went even crazier.”

“Are you telling me you two never…”

“Never, baby. Only one woman has ever made me look twice and want more than a conversation with her, and she is standing in front of me. And it’s been like that for the last fourteen years.”

“Almost fifteen.”

“In September,” he whispered, and I smiled. He remembered. “We have a lot to work on,” he acknowledged, and I swallowed hard.

“I’m willing to put the time in if you are,” I threw out there, and he rewarded me by giving me a kiss.

This time, it wasn’t soft or sweet.

It was hungry and passionate.

All I could do was hold on to the front of his shirt for dear life in hopes my knees wouldn’t give out under me. With every nip and lick, it kindled the fire burning deep in me. Need and ache building within, my body begged for release. How long has it been since we’ve had sex? I wondered as he pulled away. Lust twinkled in his eyes and left me feeling empowered. I had put that look in his gaze.

“Fuck,” he hissed before leaning in for another quick kiss. “I gotta go get the girls,” he panted, my fingers in his hair. A moan escaped from me when he brushed his chest against mine; delicious sparks ignited as my hard nipples brushed against my bra and his hard body.

“Owen…” My voice was a wanton plea; I needed and wanted more from him, but he pulled away.

“Fuck, love hearing my name in that little purr, Nadia. It’s been too fucking long.” His voice was thick and strained, and I watched in delight as he breathed in deeply before exhaling slowly. “I’ll pick up the girls, run a couple of errands so you can relax and get ready. I’ll get back and shower to go out for dinner.”

“But—”

“Tonight, you and I got a date.”

“Tonight? But we don’t have a sitter. Should I look for—”

“We won’t need one,” he simply said, and I stared at him.

“What?”

“Just trust me. Okay?”

“Okay.” I nodded with a shy smile.

Right then and there, I realized I somehow felt lighter. Like a weight had been taken away. I knew we hadn’t resolved anything, but talking to him, being close to him in those few minutes, I felt hopeful.

And that little bit of hope was all I needed.