Stay with Me (Return to Haven 1)

“He won’t care. He likes you.”

Okay. Definitely not something she wanted to chat about with a four-year-old, but at the same time the inner high school girl in her came out and she wanted to know exactly what he had said, the tone he used, and how often he spoke of her. That wasn’t immature . . . was it?

“Your daddy is a good friend.” Okay, that didn’t sound convincing, but her audience was a toddler, so . . . “I like him too.”

Yeah, that sounded convincing because it was completely true. He made her feel all giddy, which was ridiculous. She was a grown woman with a very prestigious position in a marketing firm. She didn’t do giddy . . . or at least she hadn’t before coming back to Haven.

She resisted the urge to groan. How could she even entertain the idea of getting tangled with Jackson—“just call me Jax”? He was much younger than her and . . . well, there were several other reasons. Many reasons, in fact, and she didn’t have the mental stamina to list them all.

“I heard him telling Cash and Tanner that he kissed you.”

Olivia completely failed at keeping her expression blank. How did she respond to that?

“They thought I was asleep,” Piper went on. “They do that all the time. They come over for dinner or cards and then they tell me it’s time for bed. But babies go to bed early and I’m not a baby.”

“No, you’re a big girl,” Olivia agreed, wanting Piper to move back to the portion she overheard. “Maybe you misunderstood what your daddy said.”

“I heard real good, Livie,” she insisted. “Daddy said he took you in his plane and you argued, then he kissed you.”

Considering that’s exactly how their first kiss went down, Olivia knew Piper had heard correctly. But Olivia was more interested in the fact that he was discussing her with his cousins. That was something she’d talk to him about later. Because Olivia wanted to know exactly what he thought he was doing and where he thought all this attraction would lead.

Okay, she knew what his answer would be, but she wanted to know what he thought they’d accomplish by acting on this attraction. They still had the airport between them and it appeared they were going to move forward with renovations. Letting personal emotions and hormones interfere would surely just cause a mess in the long run.

At least, that was the only reason she could come up with to keep her distance because everything in her wanted to ignore the red flags and take what she wanted.

And she wanted Jackson.

* * *

“Can I have my hair your color?”

Piper’s wide eyes zeroed in on Jade’s crimson hair. Olivia had brought the eager toddler home after Jackson gave the okay. Now they were getting ready to have a hair session and some girl talk—toddler-level girl talk.

“I’m not sure your daddy would appreciate if I brought you back with colored hair,” Olivia answered with a smile.

Melanie plugged in the curling iron and patted the seat to the vanity. “Come on over, Piper. Let’s see about making you a princess.”

They’d congregated in Olivia’s old bedroom where there was still an old antique vanity with a large oval mirror. She’d loved this station when her father had found it for her. Her mother had wanted something fancier, but when her dad brought the vanity set home from a yard sale, he’d sanded on it for days, then repainted it a crisp white and added new hardware.

Those memories kept creeping up. The ones that forced her to realize that her father did love her, that he did things for her that went against her mother’s wishes. But being a child and spending most of her time with her mother, Olivia hadn’t seen things from his perspective.

She swallowed back her emotions. Now wasn’t the time to face them, not when she had an adorable little girl waiting for this much-needed female bonding time.

“I don’t just want to be a princess,” Piper said as she settled onto the cushioned bench. “I want to be a pilot like my daddy.”

“That sounds like a perfect goal,” Jade replied as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you like when your daddy takes you on trips in the plane?”

Piper nodded. “Yeah, but we don’t get to go many places by ourselves. We want a new plane, so we’re saving money. Well, daddy says it’s not brand-new but even used ones take a lot of money. I told him he could have my piggy bank. I have almost four dollars saved. I was going to buy a Play-Doh set I saw on TV, but I’d rather have a plane.”

Melanie and Jade shared a look before both women turned to Olivia. She merely shrugged. She didn’t know what to say—she didn’t know Jackson wanted a new plane. The fact Piper was offering all her savings just proved children were so much more giving and precious than Olivia thought. There was definitely something to be learned from hanging out with a chatty toddler.

“I’m sure your daddy appreciates you offering your money.” Olivia went over and sat on the floor next to the vanity, her back against the wall. “But I bet he’d rather you keep that for yourself.”

“I really want the new plane,” Piper whined. “He has a picture of it hanging on our fridge. It’s so pretty and shiny. He said he wouldn’t have to keep sinking money into the old one.”

Olivia pulled in a deep breath. “It is old,” she agreed. “That plane was one my daddy bought used and I learned to fly in it.”

Piper’s eyes widened. “You’re a pilot, too? I love you so much. You’re the coolest girl I know.”