Chapter 36
If she’d ever doubted she’d done the right thing, seeing the tumbling emotions on Connor’s dumbstruck face gave her all the
reassurance she needed. There was shock, disbelief—she’d watched him close his eyes, then open them again, as if he couldn’t
believe what he was seeing. Close on the heels of those was hope, and threading through it all was love. The clear, unfiltered
adoration in his gaze when it collided with hers caused her heart to expand so much, it pressed against her rib cage.
“What.” He shook his head. “Please tell me you’re not here because you missed the plane.”
He had no clue, she realized with shame. No clue how much she loved him. How, in the end, it hadn’t come down to a decision
of whether to go or stay. Staying had simply been the only option. She hadn’t been able to envision her life without him in
it. Him and Ellie, who’d given her such a welcome when she arrived—a delighted squeal, followed by a hug that had almost knocked
her over—that she’d cried.
This family had reduced her to an emotional mess, and she couldn’t be happier about it.
“Do you really think I would miss a plane?”
He gave her a weak smile, but she could see he was trying to keep grounded, trying not to leap to conclusions. “I went to
the airport to stop you from catching it.”
“So your parents said.” Right before they’d asked her if she wanted them to take Ellie back to their house so she and Connor
could have their reunion in private. She’d contemplated it briefly, but then she’d looked at the beaming smile on Ellie’s
face. Today was the start of them as a family, and Ellie was just as important a part of that as her and Connor. “How were
you going to stop me?”
He let out a strangled-sounding noise, like he was barely keeping things together. “Fuck knows . . . fudge knows,” he corrected
himself, and Ellie giggled.
“It’s not like you haven’t said that word before, Dad.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t. Especially not in front of you, but . . .” He waved his hand toward them both. “My mind is scrambled.
You’ve got to give me a swear pass today.” His eyes flew to hers, searching, and his body was like a giant coiled spring,
as if he were bracing for the moment his life imploded again. “What happened to my parents?”
“They went home but said we could drop Ellie off later if we wanted.”
Ellie pulled a face. “I want to stay here.”
Connor exhaled a heavy-sounding breath. “Livvy and I need to talk, Turnip.”
“That’s okay. You can do it here. I’ll be quiet as a mouse.”
Again her eyes met Connor’s, and the emotions she watched swirl in the blue depths sent her heart cartwheeling. Frustration,
yes, exasperation, but also love, amusement. “We need to talk in private, Ellie.”
“Oh.” Her eyes went wide. “You want to kiss? ’Cause I don’t mind if you do that in front of me, you know. I’m not a child.”
Olivia bit into her lip. It wasn’t fair to laugh. They had things they needed to say, and Connor still wasn’t sure why she
was here, but, God, she didn’t think she could contain this laughter bubbling inside her.
Her gaze clashed with Connor’s again, and the laughter burst out of her like water from a busted dam.
Connor looked at her helplessly, like he wanted to join in but was too on edge.
“Ellie.” She put her arms around the girl. “Would you do us a big favor and watch TV here for a bit while I go and tell your
dad why I didn’t get on the plane?”
“Okay.” She grinned. “I’ll be quieter if I can watch Friends.”
Connor let out a low groan. “That’s blackmail.”
Olivia glanced between the two of them. “Is she not allowed to watch Friends?”
He had the expression of a man who was going to lose his shit if he didn’t get her alone in the next few seconds. “I used
to let her, but the mums at school said it wasn’t suitable, so we compromised.” With a heavy exhale he marched over to the
coffee table, picked up the remote, and selected a recording. “You can watch this one. No getting off the sofa. I see you
move or hear a squeak out of you, it’s no more Friends until you’re twelve.” With that, he grabbed Olivia’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “You’re with me. In the hallway. Now.”
He stalked ahead of her, a solid wall of pure, barely restrained testosterone.
God help her, she felt a flood of arousal between her legs.
The feeling intensified when he maneuvered her against the wall in the hallway, then stepped in front of her, trapping her
in place with his towering hulk of masculinity.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed.
His vivid blue gaze snapped to hers. “Why on earth?”
“I should have taken your parents up on their offer to look after Ellie, but she was so happy to see me. And she was bursting
to tell me all about the part she got in the play.”
“Judge Grumpy,” he said gruffly.
“Yes.” She found herself staring at his mouth, anticipation humming through her. Kiss me, please kiss me. “I didn’t want to let her go.”
His gaze dipped to her lips, which she was now blatantly, provocatively, licking. Letting out a guttural groan, he slapped
his hand against the wall above her and pinned her in place with his hips. “The only reason you need to be sorry is if you’re
about to break my heart and tell me this is only a temporary stay of execution.”
She lifted her eyes to his, and the vulnerability she saw in his expression melted her heart. He had no clue, she reminded
herself.
Gently she placed a hand on his cheek. “I told them I wouldn’t relocate. If they wanted me, they needed to let me work out
of the London office. Otherwise, I’d walk.”
“Hardball, huh?” His hips thrust against her, letting her feel how much he liked that.
“It was Meera’s suggestion. She said they clearly thought highly enough of me to promote me to CIO, so why not just ask for
what I want? And if they aren’t prepared to give it me, then, in her words, fuck them. I won’t know until Monday whether I’ve still got a job.” She pressed a gentle kiss on his lips and felt his big body tremble.
It was both terrifying and empowering to realize she held so much power over him. “Are you willing to move in with a woman
who’s unemployed?”
“That depends,” he said, eyes not leaving hers. “Are you willing to marry me?”
Olivia’s breath caught and Connor knew he’d surprised her. Well, good, because she’d nearly given him a fucking heart attack.
Five minutes ago he was contemplating life without her. Now she was here in his house, dressed in clingy black leggings that
made him want to rip them off her and get those gorgeous legs wrapped around his. And she was saying she wanted to move in
with him?
“You want to marry me?”
“I know this is a shit proposal, but it’s going to be the only time I’m the breadwinner, so I’m going for broke here. Yes,
I want to marry you, Livvy. I’m a caveman at heart. I want to put a ring on your finger. Make you mine. If you’d accept a
tattoo across your forehead saying Property of Connor Harris, I’d go for that too. And to be clear, I’d tattoo my own forehead with Property of Olivia Davies.” He took a breath, rested his head against hers, emotions running so close to the surface, he couldn’t guarantee he wasn’t
going to start blubbing. “I love you. My daughter loves you. There’s never going to be a time when I won’t love you. Marry
me, marry us. I promise, far from standing in the way of whatever you want to do with your life, I’ll support you, help you
achieve it. No more crappy takeouts when you come home late and exhausted. No more not taking care of yourself. Yes, I’ll
force you to rest, to relax at the weekends, but you’ll work better for it, smarter.” He took her face in his hands. “Go,
take on the world. I’ll be right here, cheering on your successes, supporting you through the dips. Loving you. Always.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Yes,” she stated firmly. “Yes, I want to marry you.” And then, as if she hadn’t just
upended him, hadn’t just made him the luckiest man in the whole frigging universe, she kept on talking. “I got up this morning
and I didn’t feel excited. All I felt was dread. This was supposed to be my dream, but I didn’t want to go to the airport.
All I wanted to do when I stepped into the cab was go to you.” She gave him a watery smile. “So I did.”
He ducked his head, planted a trail of soft kisses across her face. “And I’ll never be more grateful.”
“No, I’m the one who’s grateful.” Her hands reached up to slide over his. “You showed me a whole life that I didn’t realize
I wanted. Needed. Yes, I enjoy my work, I want to keep doing it, but what I have with you? That’s everything, Connor. It’s all the things
I wanted in life—challenge, stimulation, reward—plus a whole lot of things I didn’t realize I was missing out on. The feeling
of being loved, of having someone in my corner fighting for me, even when I don’t think I need it.”
“Stuart needed to be told,” he muttered.
She smiled. “Maybe he did. But the point is, you were looking out for me, and I’m not sure anyone has ever done that. My sisters,
my exes, they all took my words at face value when I said I didn’t need help, but you ignored that. Without making a big deal
of it, you took care of me. Leaving food in my fridge, listening to me when I griped about Stuart, going to talk to him when
he was out of line, being there for me when Mia was sick, getting me to relax at the weekend, even practicing for my interviews.”
“Yeah, me and Ellie deserve some of the credit for you getting the job.”
She laughed. “You do, you really do. You taught me that being in a relationship can be freeing, not stifling.” Tears began to fall down her cheeks. “And more important than everything else, you taught me how to love,
Connor. And I love you so much. You and your daughter. I want to be part of your family. You are both my dream now.” Her voice
started to crack and she swallowed. “I want to be there for Ellie’s play, for when she wins her first show-jumping competition,
when she gets her first boyfriend. Help her work out what she wants to do with her life. And I want to be there when you figure
out how to capitalize on your Instagram influence, support you as you continue to show Aaron how bloody good you are. Cheer
you on when you open your restaurant.”
“Aaron’s going to promote me to manager when Pat retires next year.”
Her eyes lit up. “That’s fantastic, I’m so proud of you. But I’m also ashamed that my work drama took the edge off your success.
I won’t let it happen it again.” She kissed him softly on the lips. “I want to spend every day making sure you realize how
incredible you are. How dedicating your life to bringing up your daughter is far more impressive, far more important, than
anything I have ever done.”
“Christ, Livvy.” He choked out the words, tears burning his eyes. “I really, really want to kiss you now, but I’m scared if
I start, I won’t be able to stop.” Unable to resist, he captured her mouth, owning her with a few possessive, hungry strokes
of his tongue before pulling back. “I love my daughter to death, but right now I wish she were a long, long way away.”
Olivia’s eyes fell to his mouth, and lust coiled in his belly. “One more kiss,” she breathed.
He couldn’t refuse her anything. Angling his head, he pressed his mouth to hers again, his tongue slipping past her open lips
and sweeping inside her mouth, seeking her heat, her taste. Needing more, he ran his hands down her sides and around to her
bum, slid them beneath her firm buttocks, and lifted her against him. “More,” he grunted. “Fuck, I need more.”
“Dad!”
He froze, pulse hammering, his dick a rod of steel pressing against his zipper. “What?”
“Am I allowed to talk?”
Resting his forehead against Olivia’s, he groaned. “Yes, if it’s quick.”
His eyes met Olivia’s, and they mirrored everything he was feeling; Heat, arousal, frustration, amusement. Love.
“I’m hungry,” his daughter shouted.
“So am I,” he muttered, making Olivia laugh. “It’s not funny,” he complained, hips thrusting restlessly against her. “I need
to be inside you.”
“Later.” She gave him a soft look. “We’ve got the rest of our lives to enjoy each other. For now, you need to ask your daughter
if it’s okay for me to live with you. For us to get married.”
Reluctantly he drew back and adjusted himself. Then, because he had absolutely no doubt about the answer, he marched straight
into the living room and asked in a voice loud enough for Olivia to hear. “Turnip, do you want Olivia to live with us, yes
or no?”
“Yessssssss!” she squealed. “Are you going to get married? Some of my friends have a mum and dad who are married and some
of them don’t. I guess it doesn’t matter ’cause we can be a family anyway, can’t we?”
“We can.” He bent to hug his daughter. “And Livvy’s agreed to marry me, so we’re going to do it the old-fashioned way.”
At the sound of a ladylike sniff, he turned around.
Olivia stood in the kitchen, wiping her eyes.
“Hey.” He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms.
“I didn’t realize how terrified I was she’d not want this,” she murmured.
Emotion swelled inside him. “Of course Ellie wants you with us. She’s my daughter.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “She
knows a great thing when she sees it. And you, Olivia Davies, are the greatest thing that’s ever happened to us.”
A beat later, he felt a small arm wrap around his legs. When he looked down, he found Ellie trying to hug them both. “You
want to join in, Turnip?”
She jumped up and down. “Yes!”
Laughing, he lifted her up. And when she threw her arms around them both, he gave up trying to control himself and let the
tears flow freely down his face.