Chapter 15 #2
The only way she could avoid becoming too attached was to remind herself how Brock had changed. That thought kept her grounded. Not that she truly believed Todd would change from who he was. She knew that all men weren’t bad. She was surrounded by plenty of good men every single day.
After pizza, the three of them walked down the street to the pier. When her daughter grew tired, she lifted her into her arms to carry her, only to have Todd reach over and easily take her into his arms.
Instantly, Simona laid her head on his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
“She’s getting so big,” Olivia said when they stopped at the end of the dock. She’d noticed that her daughter’s legs went down to just below Todd’s knees. “How did she get so big so quickly?” she asked, seeing that her daughter was fast asleep.
“That’s what kids are supposed to do,” Todd said with a smile.
He reached over and took her hand in his free one.
It would have taken both of her arms and hands to keep Simona up, not to mention her back would have been hurting by now under her daughter’s weight.
Todd, however, acted like Simona weighed next to nothing.
“I suppose,” she said, wishing for years and years of her daughter being just the way she was now. “Soon she’ll start looking at boys, stop wanting to hang out with me as much.” She leaned on the railing and looked out over the water.
It was easily her favorite time of the day. The sun was just setting, leaving the water growing darker while the sky filled with shades of every color. All the boats were back in their spots for the night, tucked in until they left again just before dawn for another day of fishing or excursions.
“I’m thinking there is already one boy she’s crazy about,” Todd said softly.
She turned towards them, smiling at her daughter’s dark hair falling over her face. “She does seem to like you.”
He chuckled. “I was talking about CJ.”
Olivia frowned. “What?”
Todd’s laughter continued. “You should see the fear in your eyes.” He shifted Simona slightly. “He was all she could talk about over dinner and the other day when I watched her when you were sick.”
Olivia relaxed slightly. “They’re friends.”
“It’s more than that. She has other friends she doesn’t talk this much about.
Besides, it’s not that, it’s what she says about him.
” He reached up and brushed a hand down Simona’s hair, soothing it.
The gentle way he treated her daughter had her heart melting.
“From what she says, she can’t stand him one minute and, the next, she’s telling you something cool CJ did.
” He nodded slightly. “That’s infatuation. ”
Olivia thought about it. Really thought for a moment. Simona did talk about CJ a lot. She’d just believed it was because they were so close. They were like brother and sister.
Then slowly, she started seeing it the way Todd saw it, and she realized he was telling the truth. Simona liked CJ. Liked liked.
Her shoulders sank and she turned away from the water to lean back on the railing. What was she going to do now? How was she going to let her little girl go?
“Hey.” Todd took her hand again, shifting the sleeping Simona so he could move closer to her. “It’s not like she’s moving in with the kid tomorrow. So, your daughter has her first crush.” He smiled. “How old were you when a boy caught your eye for the first time?”
She thought about it and realized she had been Simona’s age.
“See.” Todd squeezed her hand and then dropped it to get a better hold on Simona. “Did you run away from your parents’ house and get married when you were seven or eight?”
She chuckled. “No, of course not.”
Todd smiled. “Then I’d say you have nothing to worry about. At least for another…”—he narrowed his eyes— “eight years.”
Her smile fell away again, and she felt her stomach drop.
“Ten,” he jumped in quickly. “Or twelve,” he offered, and she knew he was just trying to make her feel better. “Years and years from now.” He pulled her close to his side, and she wrapped her arms around him and her daughter.
“I never want to let go,” she said, resting her face next to Simona’s.
“Then I’ll hold on forever,” Todd said softly as he kissed the top of her head.
It hadn’t been what she’d meant, but just hearing it, she realized how wonderful it sounded. How much she could get used to being held. Being guarded, protected, and cherished.
If she let her guard down, she could just imagine letting Todd consume her life like Brock had.
She pulled back, took a step away, and wrapped her arms around herself.
“I’d… better get her home and in bed.” She reached for Simona, but Todd shook his head.
“I’ll carry her back to your car.” He shifted Simona again, who remained asleep even when he gently set her in her car seat and buckled her in.
After shutting the car door, he turned to her, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her until she relaxed and completely forgot why it was a bad idea to let him in.
Her body wanted to be with him more than anything, but as she drove home, her mind and heart knew that there was no way she should chance it. Not again. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she’d have to break things off with him.
If she was going to survive, she knew the day was coming when she’d have to be completely alone again. After all, she’d convinced herself that it was for the best. It was for the benefit of her and Simona.
They’d been alone for years now and things had been just fine.
But, as she tucked her daughter into bed, she knew that it was a lie. There was no way she was going to be okay, not now that she’d gotten a taste of life with Todd by her side.
Once she’d tasted how sweet life could be with a man who was kind and generous next to her, she doubted she could ever convince herself that she was better off without him.