That seemed to soften his eyes. He nodded and threaded his fingers through her hair.
“One of the reasons I’ve stayed out of relationships as long as I have,” she said, “is because a lot of Europeans have a lackadaisical view of commitment. I can’t even count the number of people I know who sleep around even when they’re in a serious relationship. Maybe my first eighteen years drilled the American culture into me or maybe it’s because my parents were married so long and loved each other until the very end, but I’ve never found anyone who made me believe that all they wanted was me. When you’re making love to me, I feel so completely…” God, she didn’t know how to put it into words. “Wanted and needed. I never knew how important that was to me until I had it with you.”
Emotions flashed across his face with the complexity of a kaleidoscope pattern. He slid his hand into her hair and massaged her scalp. “I’m ready to buy a fuckin’ plane so I can go home to you every night.”
“That,” she said. “That right there. That’s what I’m talking about.” She hugged him close. “I love the way you love me.”
He held her close and Olivia heard the thump of his heartbeat in her ear. She closed her eyes, loving the idea of having this to fall asleep to every night. God, this was so crazy.
“Baby?” he said.
“Hmm?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
She pulled back and looked up at him. His expression matched his tone. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not bad. I mean, it doesn’t have to be. I don’t even think it’s a big deal, and I know you’ve got a lot going on. It’s just—”
Footsteps cut off his words. They both turned toward the door where Olivia’s mother’s voice entered before she did. “Olivia? Quinn? I’m here to see how you’re—”
She felt Tate stiffen, but Olivia didn’t move away from him. If her mother didn’t care enough to even entertain Olivia’s concerns about the business, she wasn’t going to hide how she felt about Tate.
“Oh,” her mother said, her gaze skipping from Tate to Olivia and back to Tate. But instead of surprise, Olivia saw alarm before Teresa covered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Quinn said she was grabbing lunch,” Olivia told her, “but didn’t say where she was going.”
“I see.” Teresa wandered in, her gaze still skipping between Olivia and Tate. And she was acting nervous, which was odd. Then she noticed Tate’s cut. “Oh, Tate, what happened to your face?”
“It got in the way of a kid’s stick today. I’m fine.”
Teresa nodded. “So what do you two have your heads together about?”
Another odd question. “A few last minute menu changes.”
Her mother’s expression said she was suspicious of that answer, but she didn’t challenge Olivia. “And everything’s okay?”
“Fine. I have all the ingredients I need, either way. I’m just fine tuning for the audience.”
“All right then.”
She looked like she was going to leave, so Olivia told her what she’d wanted to tell her last night. “I want to talk with you more about the company’s finances before I leave, Mom. It’s important.”
“Oh, honey. I really do appreciate your concern, but we’re doing fine. All these new jobs are covering the expenses, providing a salary for both me and Quinn and we still have money left over to reinvest.”
“But you don’t have any cushion. If one of these jobs falls through, it could wipe you out. Things like that happen all the time. You just don’t have the capital to risk—”
“Honey. Let’s not waste Tate’s time. You and I can talk about this later.”
“Like we did last night?” These dismissals were making her angry.
“I got home late—”
“No, you didn’t. I heard you and Quinn talking. And I know Quinn told you I wanted to talk to you.” When her mother didn’t argue, Olivia relented. “Fin
e. Do it your way. Just know this banquet is the last thing I want to be involved in.”
“Olivia,” she said, in her don’t-be-ridiculous tone. “Don’t blow this out of proportion.” She glanced at Tate. “I’m sorry to be dragging out family business in front of you, Tate.” With another stern look from her mother, she said, “We’ll talk about this later.”