Chapter Thirty-Six
Late Thursday afternoon, Olivia tapped “Enter” and continued typing.
Lincoln walked into her office. “You’ve been typing all day. Do you still want to go to your parents’ house? If you’re working, we can skip it.”
“No way.” She ended her sentence. “It’s family dinner night, and my nephew has challenged me to a backgammon game.”
“Will you let him win?”
“Hell no. That’s not healthy.” Also, the Cruz family was ridiculously competitive. She closed her laptop, rose, and rounded her desk to plant a kiss on his lips.
He kissed her back. “You look happy.”
“I am. I wrote an entire outline and the first chapter.” Olivia was giddy. She hadn’t been able to write in years. But the words had poured out of her all day. She’d typed so fast, her hands ached.
“I didn’t know you’d decided on a case.” Lincoln rubbed her arm. “Have you even been doing research?”
“I’m going to write about my own case.”
“A memoir?” He looked surprised.
“Yes. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I’ve always written to purge my demons.” And this was one hell of a demon.
“Wow. Not what I expected.” His hand slid down her arm to take her hand.
“I know it’s weird, but it’s my process,” Olivia said.
Zoe had fired Wendy and put the podcast on hold while Zoe sorted her legal issues.
Olivia would write her own story, then do the interview later to promote her book.
“I’m just taking things one step at a time.
” Considering she’d outlined the whole thing in a day, she’d finish the book in record time.
She could feel it. “For once, I’m not writing on a deadline.
I’m writing for me.” She grabbed her jacket and purse. “Has Chewy been out?”
“Yes, and I locked him in his crate.”
The border collie pup had earned his name both by being shaggy and by eating everything he could reach. Olivia spotted a ball of fur tumbleweeding down the hallway. She stooped to scoop it up and toss it in the trash. “I need to vacuum.”
“Once a day is enough. Don’t you think?” Lincoln asked.
“I don’t know. He’s pretty messy.” Which was making her twitchy. So far today, she’d cleaned up fur, mud—he loved mud—an entire box of shredded tissues, and the stuffing from a destroyed throw pillow. She eyed the furball, wagging his tail from the dog crate. “He looks so innocent.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
She paused by the garage door. She looked back at Lincoln, her heart warming, and realized that she didn’t want him to go back to his own place.
She no longer cared about feeling independent.
After almost dying together, the label felt hollow and pointless.
Why had she thought it was a bad thing that she slept better with him at her side?
She no longer wanted to waste a moment of her life—no—of their life.
“Since we’re raising a puppy together, maybe it’s time you officially moved in. ”
Lincoln spun her around by the shoulder. “You’re ready?”
“So ready.” Careful of his sling, she looped her arms around his neck.
“Even if that means Chewy and the accompanying puppy messes come with me?”
“Yes.”
He wrapped his good arm around her waist. “Maybe we could skip family dinner.”
“No way.” Olivia laughed. “I’ve been challenged. If I don’t show, I’ll forfeit.”
Lincoln rolled his eyes. “Would that be the end of the world?”
“I have a reputation to maintain.”
He opened the door for her. “Rain check?”
She looked up at him, her gaze radiating heat. “Definitely rain check. I suggest a strong cup of my mother’s coffee after dinner.”
He was still laughing as they left the house. His sense of humor was as sexy as the rest of him. And he was more than just a boyfriend. They’d officially entered a new, more permanent phase in their relationship. They were committed, and it felt wonderful.
Definitely a rain check.