His Greatest Treasure (Greatest Love #4)

Chapter 33

33

AVERY

I’m incredibly horny.

I’m not joking. It doesn’t feel funny either. Not in the slightest.

There’s something criminally sexy about a buff hulk of a man playing mermaids in the pool with your daughter while you get to lounge on a hot pink floatie and drink a bellini that he made you.

Nova squeals and screams as Oliver picks her up and tosses her into the water again. She surfaces with a grin so big it makes her eyes squint nearly closed before she swipes her hand through the water to splash him. The water hits me instead, and I gasp at the shock of cool water under the hot sun.

“Mermans aren’t supposed to stand, Ollie!” she tells him when he starts to chase her around the pool.

“Why not? You’re standing,” he replies.

“Mer maids are different. We’re special!”

“That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Too bad.” She giggles and splashes him again seconds before she’s yanked into his arms.

He holds her above his head, grip strong even as she wiggles and reaches for me on my floatie. I shake my head at her and lift my cup in the air. She doesn’t have to know it’s empty .

“Sorry, sweetie. You’re on your own this time.”

“Mom!”

“You heard her,” Oliver says. Our eyes catch behind my dark sunglasses as he smirks and takes a step closer. Unease creeps in.

“Don’t, Oliver,” I warn, already dipping my free arm in the water to try to paddle further away from him.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t dump her beside me.”

“What do you mean? Like this?”

Nova falls into the pool with a splash that swells over my pool floatie and wets my entire body. Nova grips the side of my floatie to try and stay above the water, and it goes rolling, sending me falling in beside her with my mouth and eyes open.

Water fills my ears, but I shut my mouth and blow the rest of the air out of my lungs before I resurface. I wipe the water from my eyes before pinning Oliver in place with them, fire in my belly. My cup is gone, floating in the water, and I leave it.

“You’re going to pay for that,” I threaten, standing now.

My bikini’s modest, with ultra-high-waisted bottoms and a top with thick straps and a wide chest, but the way he stares at me right now tells me I might as well be wearing nothing.

I lick my lips and arch a brow in a silent question. I’m egging him on, and I fucking love it. His reactions not only boost my ego, but they make me feel like a woman again and not just Nova’s mom. I’m desired by someone, and not just by any man.

By Oliver.

His chest moves with his slow, even breaths, and the water dripping from the ends of his hair and down his chest is downright sinful.

“How do you plan on making me pay, princess?”

His pool is big. Huge, really. The water hits below my breasts and Nova’s chin, and as I take a leap at him, he goes down beneath it like a dead weight.

My arms wrap around his shoulders as I fall onto him and cling like a koala. He grips me back with an arm banded along my back as he pushes us up through the water until we break above it.

Nova’s laugh is louder than I think I’ve ever heard it, at least in the last few years. Her cheeks are flushed from the afternoon in the sun, and I fight off happy tears, knowing how okay she is with Oliver being around.

Hell, the moment she saw the both of us outside of school this afternoon to pick her up, she ran out of her classroom so fast that she almost tripped on the laces she forgot to tie. Even ushering her inside the house for just long enough to get changed into her swimsuit and unpack her lunchbox was a struggle. All she wanted was to spend time with him.

Fuck, my eyes burn behind my sunglasses. Tipping my head back, I suck in a breath and smile.

The past two days have been something from a dream. I want to hope that they’re a sneak peek into the future, but I don’t want to jinx anything.

From our first real date to our night together and the morning waking up in my bed with him beside me, I’ve been walking on air. He even got my parents’ approval. Or, well, my mother’s. Dad will play it off for as long as he can, but he’s sure to fall for Oliver too.

“She got you, Ollie!” she shouts with a poke to Oliver’s chest.

“She did, peanut. But you know what happens now?”

“What?”

“We get payback. Mermaid attack!” he bellows.

In a blink, I’m in his arms and up in the air, the pool water beneath us. I flail my arms and play into the act as Nova cheers and jumps, egging Oliver on.

“Tickle her stomach, Nova. We have to torture her before tossing her overboard,” he says.

Nova doesn’t hesitate. She digs her fingers into my ribs and has me scream laughing in an instant. My cheeks burn alongside my abs, but all I can focus on is the mix of laughter coming from Oliver and Nova. I add mine and prepare to be dunked under again.

This time, I plug my nose and close my mouth before falling beneath the water and flailing back to the surface with my feet planted beneath me.

“Okay, okay. No more dunking Mom,” I beg once I’ve wiped my face free of water.

Neither of them replies.

Confusion sparks as I stare between them before realizing neither of them is looking at me. I follow Oliver’s stare and stiffen, my well of happiness suddenly empty.

“What are you doing here, Chris?” I ask tightly.

He inspects me with a dirty glare from his place by the front fence, and I feel underdressed in my bathing suit. Still outside of the yard, he grabs hold of the silver top of the chain-link fence and leans against it.

“What the fuck is going on here?” he spits.

Oliver moves at my back, so close now I can feel the heat from his body. I want to be comforted by it, but the subtle shift of his position doesn’t go unnoticed by Chris.

Nova wades to the edge of the pool and lifts herself up by the rim. “It’s not the weekend yet, Daddy.”

“Our custody arrangement was made loosely.”

It’s an innocent reply wrapped in a threat as clear as any I’ve ever heard. My back snaps straight as I stand beside my daughter.

“Why are you here?”

“I found one of Nova’s library books at my house. Apparently, I should have called before coming by to drop it off.”

“Which book?” Nova asks, curious now.

Chris nods back at his car. “It’s in the car.”

“Give me a second, and I’ll walk you to the house so you can bring it inside,” I say when it’s the last thing I want to do.

He’s as angry as ever. Only one comment he doesn’t like away from exploding on me. I’m not going to let him ruin Nova’s day when she’s had such a great one .

We’ve never had a strict visiting schedule. Nova stays with him every second weekend because it’s all the time he can spare to give her his full attention, but he’s visited plenty of times outside of then. He just chose a really bad time to pop up. One where he’s had to see both me and Nova laughing with another man.

Fuck.

“Not yet, Avery. I want you to introduce me to him.”

I inhale deeply. “You’ve already met him, Chris.”

Chris stares at Oliver, jaw pulsing. He reaches over the fence for the latch on the gate, and I rush for the ladder to climb out of the pool.

I don’t glance back at Oliver, and embarrassment is a dark stain in my mind. “Don’t come back here. This isn’t my house.”

“It’s his?” he asks, opening the gate regardless of my plea. “If my daughter is here, then I’m plenty welcome to come as I please.”

“Actually, no, you aren’t.”

I freeze on the top rung of the ladder, my neck slick with sweat. Oliver’s deep, stern tone smacks Chris in the face, keeping him stuck just inside of the yard, expression twisted.

“You planning on keeping me out?” he asks.

The sound of water sloshing fills the yard, and a beat later, Oliver’s laying a hand on my back. His touch is so soft I lean back into it despite the circumstances. I can’t help it. My body seeks his comfort even when it’s not smart to.

“Your daughter is watching you right now. Turn around and let them meet you out front,” Oliver encourages, no room for argument in his tone.

“Not until you tell me why my family is hanging around you.”

My family.

He’s wrong. It’s my family. Not his.

Oliver pauses, not answering. Waiting for me to make the next move. Nova beats me to it.

“Don’t be mean, Dad. Ollie is nice,” she says. Turning in the pool, she grabs the frog floatie that’s hanging over the edge on a hook Oliver rigged to sit on the side. “Look what he got me! It’s a frog.”

I’m over and down the ladder quickly then. Eyes as hot as lava, Chris flings them at me, watching my every step. Nova meant well, but all she’s done is prove that Oliver knows her well and that he’s been doing thoughtful things for her. Both of which only serve to piss her father off more. His possessiveness was always my least favourite quality about him, but I hate it right now more than I ever have. I wish he could be something other than himself, just once.

“Let’s go, Chris,” I say, voice quiet. “You’re making a scene in front of her.”

When I risk setting a hand on his arm, he shrugs it off. “No. I’m not going anywhere until I know more about the guy you’ve been flaunting around our daughter without my permission!”

“Your permission?” I echo incredulously.

He ignores me. “Are you seeing him?”

“I am.” More water splashes, but I don’t look away from Chris. Don’t back down. “Don’t tell me you have a problem with me dating when you’ve been doing it for years now. How many women have you introduced to Nova now? Four?”

“Don’t turn this around on me. I’ve always been honest with you about who I’m dating. But this? This is deception!”

“I didn’t deceive you. It’s only been a few weeks,” I defend myself.

“A few weeks? He’s been around Nova for a few weeks, and you didn’t tell me? Oh, Avery, you’ve fucked up.”

The hairs on my arms stand on end at his cruel tone. “What is that supposed to mean?”

A shake of his head. “I think we need to discuss our current custody agreement.”

“Don’t say shit like that, Chris. Especially not in front of Nova.”

My throat is sticky, stomach turning .

He doesn’t deserve more time with her than he already gets. Nova can’t take the false hope that would come with hearing that her father wants to take her more often, only to flake and bail when it comes down to it. We’ve tried for more than every second weekend before, and he doesn’t have the commitment in him to hold up his end. I’m not confusing her again.

I’ve worked too hard to pick up his slack all these years to let him do more damage simply because he’s feeling threatened.

“Why can’t Nova hear about it? She deserves to know the truth just as much as I do.”

I ignore my fear and stay firm. “Don’t do that. This isn’t about her, and you know it. Don’t bring her into this pissing contest of yours under the pretense of wanting more time with her.”

“It’s not a pissing contest!” he shouts, face red as he takes a menacing step toward me.

Oliver’s between us before he can get any closer. “I highly suggest you don’t yell in her face again and leave. Now.”

“Mom?” Nova calls, standing at the bottom of the ladder with her feet in the thick grass.

My smile is wobbly when I say, “Why don’t you get your towel and go inside to dry off, okay?”

“In Ollie’s house?”

“Yeah, baby. Make sure to stand on the rug while you’re still wet so you don’t get drip on the floor.”

“Don’t go inside that house, Nova,” Chris snaps at her.

I nudge Oliver out of the way and step into my ex’s face. My chest pounds hard and fast with the adrenaline that comes whenever I stand up for my daughter. It’s an instinct as natural as breathing.

“ Don’t talk to her like that. She can’t go to our house because you’re currently pitching a fit in front of the way out of here.”

He takes a wide, dramatic step to the side, making more than enough room for us to leave the backyard.

“Nova. Home. Now,” he commands sharply .

She scurries past us in a blur, her green-and-yellow towel wrapped around her neck. The first sniffle I hear . . . I need to find something to hold on to. Oliver would be my first option, but also the worst one. His closeness doesn’t help like it usually does. Not right now.

I need Chris gone. Away from my safe place before it loses that quality.

“Follow her, then. We’ll finish this discussion inside.”

He juts his chin in the direction Nova took off in, and reluctantly, I force myself to leave him behind with Oliver. My man can handle himself, but fuck, if anyone could get him to decide I’m too much work and not enough reward, it would be Chris.

My priority is Nova, and right now, making sure she’s okay is the only thing that matters. Even if that means I risk losing the second-best thing that’s ever happened to me.