Stay with Me (Return to Haven 1)

Olivia sighed and eased back in her seat, clutching her drink to her chest. “I have no clue what’s going on. He said he’d get with me when his schedule

wasn’t so busy. Piper made him pinkie swear that he’d call me within two days.”

Jade laughed. “I love that little girl already. She’s going to be a fun adult.”

The spunky toddler would indeed, and an image of her in her teen years with Jackson trying to keep her under control was quite an amusing thought.

Piper was adorable, and it was clear she had her daddy wrapped around her finger. Olivia couldn’t help but see the parallels once again with her own life when she’d been young. She’d thought her father walked on water, she was convinced he was the greatest person, and her very own superhero. He could fly, couldn’t he? Definite superhero material.

But as she’d gotten older, her mother had told her things that made Olivia see her father in a different light. He hadn’t always been there for his family. Her mother had often stated that clearly, they weren’t enough for him, that the airport was all he needed. He’d chosen that dilapidated place over anything else . . . even his health, apparently.

Anger, resentment, even some guilt for not being enough coursed through her. Since her father passed, she’d run the full gamut of emotions. At the root of every single day, though, there was sorrow. No matter what happened in the past, he was still her father and she loved him. All those precious memories from her childhood kept replaying in her mind.

The burning in her throat, then her nose, followed by her eyes had her reaching for her drink again.

“We’re going to need another for her,” Melanie stated, nodding toward Olivia. “I know that look and she is about one second away from a meltdown. Quick, let’s think of a movie we can watch. Something hilarious, nobody can die, and there has to be hot men.”

Olivia shook her head and tipped back the last of her drink. “I’m okay. I just get nostalgic at times. Well, mostly since I came back.”

She blinked away the moisture as it threatened to make an unwelcome appearance. “I’m still determined to sell this property. I have bigger things to worry about than this Podunk town.”

So she kept telling herself, but every time she bashed the town out loud or even in her mind, that niggle of guilt rose once again. She seriously needed to get out of here and back to the life she’d created for herself. Returning to Haven might not have been the smartest move. She should’ve considered doing this business over the phone. Then again, what would she have done with all the stuff in her dad’s house?

There was no good way to get closure. She’d simply have to endure it and hopefully she’d be somewhat unscathed on the other side.

“You’re going to get that promotion,” Jade assured her. She slid her barstool back and headed for the mixer. After surveying the bottles, she started making her own concoction. “That ass you work with isn’t fit to be COO of Stennett Enterprises.”

“The choice is obvious,” Melanie agreed. “And I’m not just saying that because I’m your friend. I mean, I am, but I firmly believe you work harder and you are much more dedicated to your job.”

Wasn’t that the truth? She didn’t recall the last real date she had been on and now she’d been set up by a toddler.

Olivia appreciated her own cheering section—she just wished she was as confident as they were. Examining her red nails, Olivia figured she might as well polish her toes the same shade.

She lifted her knee and propped her foot on the edge of her seat. “Well, they must see something in him or we wouldn’t both be in the running.”

“It’s ridiculous and insulting that they even compare the two of you,” Jade fumed. “He asked me out and when I turned him down, he attempted to tarnish my business. It didn’t work, but he’s such an arrogant jerk, he doesn’t even deserve the position even if he was qualified.”

Olivia had been with the company longer than Steve, but he’d brought in more business than she had. In her defense, he’d gotten sneaky when he’d pulled clients away from other agencies. Olivia didn’t believe in being deceitful. She’d gotten this far in her career without being ruthless or flat-out lying. She worked her ass off, put in way more hours than Steve ever thought about, and had a legitimate love for the business and their clients. Steve basically loved himself and anything wearing a skirt.

“Are you still dodging the date question?” Melanie asked, raising her brows.

Olivia shrugged. “I don’t know anything else. We didn’t set a place, so for all I know we’ll have takeout food in the hangar office.”

“Or maybe he’ll fly you somewhere fancy for a nice dinner,” Melanie retorted with a wide grin.

“You’re a hopeless romantic even after all you’ve been through,” Jade stated as she added more ice to the mixer.

Melanie pulled her hair back and smoothed it all over one shoulder. “I have to be. I refuse to believe what I had was a typical marriage. I still feel that there’s someone out there for me.”

Jade threw Olivia a glance over Melanie’s head. They both were too cynical and definitely not on the same page as Melanie when it came to men. Olivia and Jade were busy with their careers, proving they deserved their places and working toward higher goals. Even if they had time for men, they both had their reasons for not wanting to get into that.

Melanie, though, she was still on the lookout for Mr. Right. She wasn’t one of those desperate women, though. She didn’t hang on every word a man said just because he gave her attention, but she was hopeful. Maybe that’s what made her so sweet, despite the fact her jerk of an ex continued to randomly rear his ugly head just to get under her skin.

“Well, I doubt there’s someone for me,” Olivia stated. “I’m not even looking anyway. My eyes are on this COO position and nothing else.”

The knock on the front door had all three women jerking toward the front of the house.

“Expecting someone?” Jade asked, looking between her friends.