His Greatest Treasure (Greatest Love #4)

Chapter 26

26

AVERY

Adalyn sits on the couch cushion beside me with Nova on the floor between her legs. She weaves another strand of my daughter’s hair into a sophisticated braid and repeats her steps to me as if I’ve got a single goddamn clue what she’s doing.

“Yeah, I’m already lost,” I admit.

Addie giggles, running another section of Nova’s silky hair through her fingers. “This is one of the most complicated ones. I had to teach it to myself because my mom couldn’t get it either.”

“Did you always do your own hair? I don’t think I saw you often without your hair done up, even when you were a little girl.”

“I convinced Maddox to try a couple tutorials with me, but he was even worse than Mom. And Dad, well . . . he’s not to touch anyone’s hair but his own,” she says.

Nova twists to look at the both of us, and Addie grips onto her hair to keep from losing it. “Grandpa once cut my mom’s bangs.”

“He did?” Addie asks squeakily.

“Did the whole grab, twist, and cut method. They were less than an inch long and stuck straight out.” I shiver at the memory, sinking into the cushions .

“That’s rough,” Addie notes, offering a sympathetic smile before turning Nova back around. “My dad didn’t cut my hair or anything, but he did help me box dye my hair the first time and missed an entire section at the back of my scalp.”

“What colour?”

“Hot pink.”

I chuckle before stopping myself. Nova’s silent, shoulders slouching forward. Tugging at my lip, I look to Addie, and she’s already watching me, waiting.

She mouths an “I’m sorry,” but I shake my head. There’s no need for her to apologize. Nova’s sudden silence is because of Chris, I’m sure of it.

“Do you want to dye your hair, mitt hj?rta ?” I blurt out.

“No, thank you,” she says too softly.

Addie smooths a hand over the frizzy hairs on the top of Nova’s head. “Do you want to cut it? I’m a pro with some scissors.”

“Will I have funny stories to tell about Dad, Mom?”

There’s a near audible crack in my chest as I fumble for an answer. “Of course, baby. You’re only seven. You’ll have a million stories to tell by the time you’re our age.”

She tugs her legs into her body and leans forward, clutching her ankles. In a blink, I’m on the floor beside her, my hand on hers.

“You know, Nova, I’ve been keeping a secret for a while now, and I think I want you to be the first to know,” Addie says, abandoning the braid.

When she leans close to Nova’s ear and whispers, Nova grins so wide, all thoughts of Chris abandoned. My appreciation for Adalyn triples in size.

“Really?” she shrieks, turning to stare at Adalyn’s stomach in awe.

My eyes bulge as I gawk at Addie, my question obvious in the way she giggles and nods .

“I’m pregnant,” she tells us, patting her belly. “Seven weeks along.”

My sight grows blurry. I push to my feet and throw myself onto the couch before pulling her into my arms. “Oh, Addie. I’m so happy for you.”

“Is it a girl like me?” Nova asks, joining our hug.

“It’s still too early to tell, but I’d love a girl.”

Cooper was meant to be a girl dad, but I keep that to myself for now, not wanting to remind Nova of what she’s just forgotten about.

“And we’re the first to know?” I ask instead.

Addie huffs and sits back, slowly peeling herself from Nova’s grip. “I’ve been leaving clues all over the house for a week, but Cooper’s always too focused on me to pay attention to them. I’ve decided that I’m going to paint the walls tonight with terrible pictures of baby things until he gets the idea.”

“Men can be so obtuse,” I say.

Nova sits on my lap, cuddling close. “What is obtuse?”

“Dumb,” Addie answers. “Men can be really dumb sometimes.”

“But we shouldn’t call them that. We shouldn’t call anyone names,” I add, staring pointedly at Addie.

She hides a smile. “Your mom’s right. No name-calling.”

“Oliver isn’t obtuse. Right? You said he was kind.”

The words are a shock to Adalyn, and I can understand why. The last time we saw her, Oliver and I were at each other’s throats, and the last thing I would have called him was kind. Gracie had a similar expression when she picked us up from the station yesterday and Oliver made sure to tell her to drive safer than she normally does. Or, well, more like threatened her. His own mother.

She didn’t pry in the car, but I could tell she wanted to. Yesterday was probably my only pass when it comes to her and the thousands of questions she’s thought of since .

“Your mom said Oliver was kind?” Addie asks slowly, expression slack.

“Yes. Last night. He watched me at the fire station. I played Go Fish with his friends!”

“They’re his colleagues, Nova,” I correct pointlessly.

“Okay, hold on. Give me a second here. Oliver, as in Oliver Bateman, the resident grump of the Bateman family, watched you at the fire station? Why did he do that?” Addie asks, her eyes slowly sliding to me. “And why were you giving him compliments? I feel like I’ve missed a chapter here.”

A car door shuts outside, and Nova’s jumping up immediately, eyes wide and excited. She climbs onto the couch and leans over the back of it to stare out the window at the street.

“Ollie!”

I swallow, ignoring Adalyn’s even stronger sense of surprise and following my daughter’s stare. Seeing Oliver for the first time since leaving the station yesterday does something to my stomach. It flutters, hard . I fight to ignore it while he grabs a duffle bag from the back seat and throws it over his shoulder. Before shutting the door, he reaches back inside to grab a rectangular box.

Even from all the way over here, I can see how exhausted he is. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been checking my phone every single hour since waking this morning, waiting for him to get home. Every time I checked and he wasn’t back, I let my mind run in circles for a few minutes before busying myself with something else.

I got in the car I rented last night and drove to the shop before scrubbing the floor spotless. It took me all day, but by the time I picked Nova up from school, brought her home to meet with Adalyn, and fed them supper, I wasn’t obsessing over where he was and why he wasn’t home yet.

I know his job is dangerous and busy. We got lucky yesterday to have so much of his time and attention, but I don’t have any experience dating someone who works outside of a dirty mechanics shop every day. I never thought I’d be here .

Nova knocks her knuckles against the window once Oliver starts up the sidewalk, and he squints at us. I expect him to wave and head to his house, but it’s our sidewalk he takes, not his.

“He’s coming over!” Nova shouts, scrambling off the couch to open the door for him.

Adalyn grabs my arm and blinks at me, lips parted. “You’ve been holding out on me all afternoon.”

“You never asked.”

“I didn’t think there was anything to ask about!”

I smile apologetically. “My bad.”

“Ollie! Ollie! You’re home!”

“Hey, peanut.”

His voice makes me inhale a sharp breath, suddenly aware of just how much I’ve missed him. I should have texted. Done something.

“Can you come to ballet tonight?” Nova asks.

I jerk out of Addie’s hold and join the two of them, an apology already on my tongue for Nova’s question, not wanting him to feel pressured. It disappears into thin air when Oliver toes his boots off and smiles at her, one hand already ruffling her hair.

“Hi.” It escapes me in a whisper.

He focuses on me, eyes simmering with words unspoken. The tiny curl of his lips sets my skin on fire. Fuck, he’s good-looking. The five o’clock shadow he’s rocking makes my toes curl into my socks.

“Hi, princess.”

“You’re home later than usual.”

A cock of his brow. “Were you waiting for me?”

“She was,” Nova says, earning herself a glare.

I cross my arms, leaning back on my left foot. “I just didn’t know when your shift was over.”

“Should have been about five. We didn’t get back from the last call until an hour ago.” He hands the box in his hand that I can now see is from Nova’s favourite cookie place to her. “Want to take this to the kitchen for me? ”

She nods and snatches it from his hands before disappearing down the hall. Shuffling forward a step, I ask him, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bad call.”

I search his face for any hint of a lie but don’t find anything but exhaustion and a heaviness that I’m not used to seeing on him. It has me saying fuck it and going to him the way I’ve been forcing myself not to since I first saw him on the street.

He takes me into his arms the moment I move toward him, securing me to him as I slip mine around his middle. The scent of smoke lingers in his clothes, but it doesn’t stop me from continuing to breathe him in, searching for the regular scent of his cologne.

He blows out a long, weighted breath over the top of my head and then presses his cheek against it. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you. I planned on helping you at the shop before Nova went to bed.”

I move my head side to side as best I can. “You’re busy. But you should go home and eat. Go to bed early too.”

“Nova asked me to go to ballet.”

“She’ll live.”

“I’ll sleep once I’ve made her happy by going.”

“Are you sure? She won’t let it go if you say yes, then change your mind. She’s had a tough afternoon.”

His back grows rigid beneath my fingers. “Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

I reluctantly release him and move back, knowing we’re not alone and that Addie is probably chomping at the bit to interrupt.

Oliver’s arms tighten around me for a beat before he drops them to his side. “I’m coming to her class as long as that’s okay with you.”

“I never took you for a ballet lover, cousin. I actually remember you refusing to go to your mom’s recitals more often than not,” Addie says, poking at him from where she leans against the wall .

He scowls at her, scratching his jaw. “I knew that was your Jeep outside. Your front right tire is low, by the way.”

“Tell Cooper about it. I’ve never put air in my own tires,” she replies, tone thick with attitude.

“That’s because you don’t know how.”

“And with a husband, why would I want to?”

“What if it popped on the highway? Do you know how to change a tire?” he asks.

“Not a fucking chance.”

“Two older brothers and you don’t know how to change a tire?”

“Leave her be,” I say, drawing both their eyes.

Addie narrows hers on me, the black liner around them making the blue pop. “You’ve betrayed me, Avery. I thought after you’d ignored his crush for this long that you’d wind up with Jamie, at least.”

I inhale sharply while Oliver tucks his finger through the back loop of my jeans. Tipping my head back, I watch the tick of his jaw, wondering—no, knowing—that he’s annoyed at Adalyn’s mention of me being with his brother.

Not prepared to let what I’ve just heard go, I step in front of him and palm his chest. “This is the second time I’ve heard about this crush. Want to explain it to me?”

“If he doesn’t, I will,” Adalyn sings.

Oliver stares her down. “Why don’t you go check on Nova? I’m pretty sure she’s eating all the cookies I brought.”

“Fine. But I’ll be back. Time to come clean, Olliepop.”

I know she’s wandered to another room when he drops those broody brown eyes of his and stares at me, his cheeks tinted pink. The prickly hair covering his jaw is more obvious up close, and I’m pretty into the addition. Oliver’s a rugged guy, and a fit of facial hair fits him really well.

With the back of my finger, I brush the underside of his jaw, testing the feel of the hair there. The thrum of arousal growing between my legs is a distraction that I don’t want right now, so I drop my hand instantly.

“If you had a crush on me, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you reach out at all since I last visited?” I ask.

“You were dating that fucking tool that your dad set you up with, and I knew I was too damn young for you. There wasn’t a point, princess. Not then.”

“I was here only a few years afterward. We could have reconnected or something—I had no idea. If I did anything wrong, I’m sorry. I was so young then too.”

He licks his bottom lip and shakes his head. “I don’t wish anything happened differently anymore. Not now.”

“I used to stalk you online,” I admit blatantly. “If you had a crush on me back then, I had one on you after based off of only your internet profile.”

“A silent stalker,” he grunts, a smirk teasing his lips.

“Don’t get arrogant about it. I doubt you don’t know how good-looking you are.”

“Doesn’t hurt to hear it from you.”

I roll my lips, dropping my stare to the floor before bringing it back up. “You could use a shower.”

“Class is at seven, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be back at six thirty, then.”

I reach for his hand, taking it and linking our fingers for a moment. “There’s a plate of leftovers in the microwave . . . if you want them. Have you eaten this afternoon?”

The warmth in his expression threatens to undo me. “No, princess. I haven’t.”

“Leftovers, then. You have an hour, Lieutenant.”

When he dips his head to kiss me, I lean up on my toes, meeting him halfway. It’s only a second, but my body doesn’t understand that. It lights up at the first taste of his lips, my nipples pebbling in my bra and core turning molten.

“An hour,” he breathes against my mouth.

Then he’s stepping back into his shoes and disappearing, the promise of more time with him settling in my chest, turning me giddy with excitement.