Haunting Olivia (11 page)

Sweeter. Softer.

“You’ll what?” he asked.

“I’ll be devastated,” she said. “That’s what. So can we go talk somewhere?”

He glanced at her, then led her into the heated barn, where he’d set up Kayla’s gymnastics equip-ment. Upstairs was a heated loft that contained a sofa, a desk and chair, and a table and chairs. They sat down on the sofa, their coffees and muffins on a small coffee table in front of them. He could tell HAUNTING OLIV IA

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Marnie had a lot on her mind, and he had no doubt her questions would concern Olivia.

We were catching up at Barker’s
. . . .

“I just need to know that things are okay between us,” Marnie said. “All of a sudden, this woman turns up and you’re acting differently.”

“Things are fine between us, Marnie,” he said, covering her hand.

She searched his eyes. “So is Olivia an old girlfriend?”

He nodded and bit into his muffin to avoid having to elaborate.

Her eyes widened. “She’s Kayla’s mother, isn’t she. They have the same hair.”

“Marnie, I’m sorry to be so evasive, but I’m just not ready to answer any questions about Olivia. She and I do have a history, but I’d like to leave it at that for now. Okay?”

“Okay,” she said, but she looked anything but satisfied. She placed his hand on his belt buckle. “How about a little morning delight?” she asked, rubbing against his fly. Before he could blink her tongue was in his ear and she was straddling him. “Lookie,”

she said, taking his hand and putting it up under her skirt, “no underwear.”

Oh, Marnie,
he thought.
You don’t have to do this.

You don’t have to try to keep me yours with sex.

She started unzipping his pants. In seconds he could be inside her, neither of them having to even undress. But it was eight o’clock in the morning, and though Kayla was fast asleep and probably wouldn’t awaken until nine, he’d never allow himself to be caught in a compromising position by his daughter.

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“Kayla might come looking for me,” he told Marnie, as her hand stroked him. He put his hand on hers to stop her, and she flinched. “Why don’t we continue this tomorrow night,” he said.

She smiled. “How about tonight instead? I can’t wait.”

“You’re hard to resist, Marnie, but Kayla’s a little all over the place with the pageant and I think I’d better stick close to home tonight.”

That was true, actually. The fact that he couldn’t get Olivia out of his mind was also true.

She pouted, but his expression must have seemed unyielding because she smiled and said,

“Tomorrow night, it is.”

Marnie was his girlfriend. He was doing nothing he hadn’t been doing for a month. So why did he feel so guilty?

Because Olivia was in his heart and always had been. Thirteen years and all the terrible circumstances hadn’t changed that.

Zach drove Olivia’s car to the cottage, the faint smell of her trademark perfume assailing him. He used to love just sitting beside her, breathing in that beautiful clean scent. One of his assistants was trailing him in the pickup so that he wouldn’t have to walk the two miles into town. Good thing, too, because today was a cold one. And a waiting assistant meant he’d have to keep this meeting short.

Truth was, he was glad for an excuse to see her again this morning. Despite how easily he’d fallen asleep last night—thanks to Marnie—he’d woken up several times and tossed and turned for thinking HAUNTING OLIV IA

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of her alone in the house, a nasty message scrawled on the mirror, some stupid figurines smashed.

It was a warning. A warning of what, he had no idea. Who gave two figs if Olivia Sedgwick was in town? She hadn’t been in town to get on anyone’s bad side in ten years. Olivia was right: it made no sense.

He was pulling into her driveway when she came out of the house. He got out of her car, hating his response to the sight of her. It wasn’t just her beauty that always stopped him dead in his tracks.

It was her aura, if he could use a word like that, her confidence, the intelligence in her eyes, the old-soul quality in her eyes. There were those who’d written Olivia off as a spoiled Sedgwick girl, but Zach had always known the real Olivia.

Even bundled up in a down coat, she was sexy as hell.

“Perfect timing,” he said. “Were you planning to walk into town?”

She nodded. “It’s colder than I realized today.”

She glanced over at Zach’s truck. “Is someone waiting to give you a ride back home? I was hoping to talk to you about something important.”

He glanced at her. “That’s one of my assistants.

I’ll tell him to drive on ahead to the office. You can drop me off there. We’ll talk on the way.”

“Okay,” she said and watched as he walked over to his truck and spoke to the driver, who then drove off.

“Did you call a locksmith?” Zach asked as he got into the passenger side of her car.

Olivia buckled her seat belt. “He’s come and gone. I feel a lot better now. Well, as good as I can feel about the situation.” She paused. “Zach, there’s 102

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something I need to talk over with you. It has to do with the Inner-Beauty Pageant.”

He glanced at her. “What about it?”

Olivia backed out of the driveway and headed toward town. “Someone from the town manager’s office asked me if I’d be interested in coordinating the pageant since the previous coordinator up and left on them. I told her I’d let her know. My answer is dependent on yours.”

“Do you want to coordinate?” he asked. “Sounds like a big job.”

“Well, I do know the ins and outs of the pageant, and Pearl, from the town manager’s office, thinks that my having been an editor at
Glitz
magazine will add cachet and even greater sponsorship from local businesses. But the main reason I’d want to do it is to get to know Kayla.”

He nodded. “We’d have to tell her that you’re her mother immediately, though. No lies. Just the truth. I wouldn’t want her to get to know you as the coordinator and then have it sprung on her that you’re her long-lost mother.”

Olivia’s entire face lit up. “I agree.”

“We’ll tell her tonight,” he said. “I think we should do it on her turf. Can you come for dinner?

Seven?”

“That would be great,” she said.

He had no idea how Kayla was going to react. He was only grateful that something had forced his hand.

Olivia felt eyes on her in the Eat-In Diner. She glanced around, and indeed people were staring.

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Blueberry was a small town and didn’t attract out-siders in the dead of winter. She didn’t recognize many of the diners; she’d only spent two weeks a year in Blueberry and she and her sisters had rarely come to town. They’d spent most of their time at home or at the private beach behind the cottage.

She stood at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee and a cheese Danish to go.

“New here?” asked the waitress, an attractive young woman.

“Just visiting,” Olivia said.

“Visiting whom?” the waitress asked.

“Nosy!” snapped another waitress, an older woman who shooed the younger one away. She turned to Olivia. “Sorry about that, hon,” she added, handing Olivia her coffee and Danish.

Olivia smiled. “No problem.”

As she left, she saw Marnie getting out of her bright red car. The woman didn’t look happy. When she noticed Olivia, her expression changed in a snap.

“Olivia,” Marnie said in what sounded like the fakest I’m-so-happy-to-see-you voice. “How did you sleep last night? I stopped by your house just a few minutes ago to see if you’d made it through the night all right, but you weren’t home. Now I know why! Join me for breakfast?”

Olivia shifted her bag of food from the Eat-In Diner. “I’d love to, but I just got takeout, and I have an appointment. Another time.”

This time Marnie wasn’t as quick with her smile.

“Of course. Another time. I’m disappointed, of course. I would loooove to compare notes about Zach.”

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“Compare notes?” Olivia repeated.

Marnie grinned. “The former girlfriend and the current girlfriend. Although, you were only teenagers when you dated and it was only for what—a couple of weeks? I know your little summer fling with Zach can hardly be compared to our serious relationship, but I still thought it would be fun to talk shop.”

Summer fling
. . . Was that how Zach had described their relationship? And was Marnie and Zach’s relationship serious? Or was Marnie just baiting her?

Oh, for God’s sake, Olivia thought. It’s not like she herself had any claim on the man. And if she were in Marnie’s position, she’d be threatened too.

The old girlfriend comes to town—and Marnie didn’t know the half of it—and of course the new girlfriend would be worried.

“Well,” Marnie continued, “if you’re free for dinner tonight, we could have a girls’ night out.”

Her expression turned teasing, and she leaned close. “I can tell you all about last night. After leaving your house, I stopped by Zach’s to return a T-shirt he’d left at my house the night before, and, oh, my God, we didn’t even make it out of his truck.

Okay, I know this is TMI, but I can still feel the impression of the steering wheel against my back.”

She laughed and rubbed her back.

Way too much information, Marnie.

Olivia wondered if it was true. “I wish I could join you for dinner, but I just made other plans.”

The smile disappeared again, then returned.

“Another time, then.”

“How long have you and Zach been dating?”

Olivia asked before she could stop herself.

She
should
have stopped herself. First of all, she HAUNTING OLIV IA

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didn’t want to know. Second of all, she was talking about Zach behind his back, which felt wrong. And third, she was playing right into Marnie’s hands.

But she couldn’t help herself.

Marnie grinned. “Hmm, let’s see. We’ve been a couple since just before Christmas. So, a month.

The holidays were so wonderful this past year. A real family affair. Zach and Kayla came over for Christmas Eve dinner, and then we spent Christmas and New Year’s together. I wouldn’t be surprised if he surprised me with a ring for Valentine’s Day.”

Olivia’s back went up. Were they that serious?

“Have you and Zach talked about getting engaged?” Olivia asked. Perhaps Zach and Marnie had talked about blending their families. Perhaps Marnie had been a mother figure to Kayla this past month.

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. Speculating was stupid.

She should just ask Zach what was going on. The problem was, she barely felt entitled. Yes, Kayla was her daughter. And Olivia had missed out on Kayla’s entire life through no intention of her own. But Olivia couldn’t just waltz into Kayla’s life after thirteen years and demand to be mom. It didn’t work that way.

Marnie glanced at her watch. “Ooh, I’d better run, actually. Let’s make plans to get together soon.”

Olivia smiled, and Marnie headed inside the diner.

Evasive. Interesting. Olivia doubted there was talk of engagement or Marnie would have told her all about it.
I think I can still feel the impression of the steering wheel against my back. . . .

Which meant that
that
little we-didn’t-make-it-106

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out-of-his-truck episode was very likely true, Olivia thought, her stomach flip-flopping.

Olivia crossed the boulevard, glancing back at the diner. Through the plate-glass window she could see Marnie watching her.

Creepy. Maybe Marnie
was
responsible for last night’s welcome to Blueberry surprise. Or perhaps Johanna was, she thought, as she passed the sweater shop. She glanced in to find Johanna folding sweaters. The woman did not look happy.

Pearl’s words came back to her.
His
fiancée?
He
dated a different woman every time he came up here. . . .

Olivia wouldn’t have thought that possible—for one woman to believe she was a man’s one and only when he was clearly playing the field. Johanna was either deluded, believed what she wanted to believe, or William was just that good of a liar. Olivia knew that last one was dead-on.

The wind picked up, and Olivia zipped up her coat.

She passed a pickup truck—not Zach’s—and immediately envisioned Marnie straddled on Zach’s lap in the driver’s seat.

She squeezed her eyes shut to shake the image.

Focus, Olivia,
she told herself.
You need blinds for
the bathroom. You need something to bring for tonight’s
dinner. Dessert?
She glanced across the street. There was a hardware store just a few shops up from a bakery and the General Store.

At least she’d easily fulfill her receipts quota. She headed into the hardware store and estimated the measurements; she’d had so much on her mind this morning that she’d forgotten to look for a tape measure. After dropping off the heavy carton in her car, she continued on down the boulevard on HAUNTING OLIV IA

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foot, thinking about what she’d contribute to tonight’s dinner with Zach and Kayla. A dessert, definitely. And she’d bake it herself, from scratch.

I wish I knew what Kayla’s favorite flavor is. I don’t
even know what my own child is allergic to.

Chocolate cream pie and apple pie were her favorites and seemed safe, so she entered the General Store and filled a shopping basket with everything she’d need.

As she debated about ice cream, she felt eyes on her and turned around. A woman she’d never seen before was staring at her, her expression . . . angry?

No, that wasn’t quite right. Olivia couldn’t quite place it. She was in her midthirties, attractive, but dressed like a teenager in a tiny pink jacket and tight jeans with rhinestones and embroidery that read “HOT!” dotting the pockets and hem. She had shoulder-length blond hair and bangs, a rhinestone clip holding back one swath of hair above her ear.

“Hi,” Olivia said, trying to summon a smile.