Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
She was glad they found the man, though she couldn’t remember much past Scott looking horrified. She shook her head. “Not scared tears.”
“Baby, what’s happening?” Her mom moved close, wrapping her hand around Olivia’s. “I don’t like to see you sad.”
“Not sad, either.” She sniffled. She was starting to feel stronger now. “I’m just having a revelation.”
“About what?” her mom asked.
“About how all my life I let things put pressure on me that I shouldn’t. I decided at the age of eight that I was in love, and even when it didn’t work the way I wanted it to, I closed myself off. I dated and thought if I couldn’t have the perfection I thought I found at eight, I would simply find someone and be normal.”
“Oh, baby. There’s no such thing.” Papa looked down on her with kind eyes. “The word normal is a weapon the rest of the world uses on anyone who doesn’t conform.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“Uhm, and it wasn’t perfection. I know you loved Bobby, but…” her mom trailed off.
The thought made her laugh. “Will and I were oil and water. I know. Looking back there’s so much I should have seen. But I see it now. I see it because I think I found something. Not something perfect. Something real.”
Her mother smiled. “You’re dating someone?”
Well, this was not how she planned to tell them, but there was no time like the present. “You remember the lawyer and the foreman who came out to work while Josh is gone?”
Her mom’s eyes widened. “Yes.”
Olivia winced. “We kind of had a fling the night of the wedding, and I didn’t mean to ever see them again…”
“I don’t know that I should hear this.” Her papa went a bit pale.
Olivia ignored him. Her parents hadn’t instilled some sense of shame about sex in her. This was their fault. “It was so good, but I told myself I wasn’t ready for a relationship, much less a ménage. But then they were on the plane.”
“Please tell me you didn’t do it on the plane,” Papa whispered. “I like that plane.”
Her mother’s eyes rolled. “You have had sex on that plane, Sam.”
“That’s what I’m saying. It’s my sex plane. I love my kids, but I shouldn’t have to share my sex plane with them,” Papa announced like that made a lick of sense.
“I told them we should be professional. I was ready to not get involved even though deep down I wanted to. And then Scott showed up and I introduced them as my boyfriends. I didn’t even hesitate and neither did they, and then the fake part got real. I think I’m in love with them.”
“You haven’t known them long enough to be in love with them,” Papa said quietly.
Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “How long did it take for you, Sam Fleetwood? Because I seem to remember you saying you loved me the first time you saw me.”
Her papa went the slightest bit pale. “I did. I just didn’t think… I’m going to be quiet now and support my sensible daughter. I look forward to getting to know them both. Aidan and Lucas speak highly of them.”
She looked to her mother. This was a conversation they should have alone, but here she was. “I know it’s quick, but I want to see where this goes.” That wasn’t the right word. It was more than wanting. “I think I need to see where this road takes me. Momma, they’re wonderful.”
“I can’t wait to get to know them, baby,” her mom said with a brilliant smile and shining eyes. “Your sister is going to be thrilled. You know she…”
Her sister was going to be impossible to live with now. And that was okay. “Lexi wanted to set me up with them. Well, fine. She was right.”
Papa frowned. “So where’s Gabe been sleeping? Is he sharing the house with you or is he out at the resort with Gigi and Miranda?”
Gigi took that moment to walk back in carrying a bottle of water and what looked like a chocolate pudding cup. “Oh, we’re all staying at Olivia’s. The resort can be a lot when you’re not there for fun, and they don’t have any open apartments in the staff village right now. Also, Miranda and Gabe are working on some kind of custom crown molding. Gabe’s teaching her to use a miter saw, and he gets freaked out a lot.”
“Is she making you sleep on the couch?” Papa asked.
Olivia felt her cheeks heating. “Not exactly.”
Gigi put the water and pudding down on the tray. “Nah. Miranda and I are sharing her room and Gabe’s in the guest room.”
Papa nodded, seeming to try to do the math in his head. “So my sweet girl offered up her own bed to her friends and her guest room to Gabe, and those other men are in the bunkhouse.” He stopped. “Wait. There’s no way Gabe would take the room and put Livie on the couch.”