Thankfully, Grandma takes the hint and grins. “Ahh. Well. Enjoy your date, sweetie.”
“Thanks. Night, Grandma.” I smile and get the hell out of here. Hopefully, she doesn’t go blabbing to my parents, or I’m sure they’ll ask a million questions I’m not ready to answer yet. Right now, the last thing I want to do is add more pressure to Connor’s life.
When I’m in my truck, I think about how distraught I’d be if Olivia was my daughter and she was being mistreated. She’s adorable and well-mannered, not to mention how she’s way too young to be left unsupervised.
As soon as I turn into Connor’s driveway, my heart flutters with the anticipation of seeing him. Though we’ve spent nearly every evening together for the past couple of weeks, I still get excited when we’re together.
Once I park, I grab the food and walk up to the porch. Connor opens the door, shocked to see me, but allows me in. “I should’ve known you’re too stubborn and would show up anyway,” he says with a grin. His hair is messy, and I can see how exhausted and stressed he is. It’s a look I’ve seen a few times over the years, and after knowing what his ex has been putting him through, it all makes sense.
Before I can completely move past him, he pulls me close. Those nervous butterflies surface as he slides his hand behind my neck. His lips gently brush mine, and I lean into him with a content sigh.
“I missed you,” he whispers in my ear, smelling my hair and trailing his nose along my neck. His warm breath against my skin has me burning with desire.
“I missed you too,” I admit as goose bumps cover my arms.
He smirks and takes a step back. “I can never get enough of seeing you in tight jeans.”
“I could say the same about you,” I taunt, then remember I’m holding a bag of food. “You should eat first.”
Connor blows out a reluctant breath as if he’d rather devour me instead but leads me to the kitchen table anyway. Being the perfect gentleman, he pulls out my chair, then grabs napkins and silverware as I unload our food.
He smiles. “Thank you for coming even though you suck at listening.”
“Aren’t you glad I didn’t?” I smirk.
“Elle.” He meets my eyes. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
“You’re pretty amazing yourself.” I smile wide, then ask how he likes the food.
“It’s as good as you said.” He grins.
“Grandma always said the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Perhaps she’s right.”
He chuckles. “Funny, considering she’s asked why I wasn’t dating you at least a dozen times.”
A blush hits my cheeks. “Oh my God. How embarrassing.”
“One thing’s for certain, being subtle isn’t her strong suit.” He gives me a wink. “Not yours either.”
I shrug. “So, wanna tell me what happened?”
He swallows hard, explaining how he found Olivia—alone, hungry, and scared. Vivian’s a mess, and it’s affecting their daughter more than anything. Of course he hadn’t wanted to pull her out of her school and take her from her mom, but he didn’t have a choice. Regardless, Olivia’s better off with him and in a safer environment.
My heart breaks thinking about that sweet angel being left overnight not knowing if her mommy was coming back. “You did the right thing, Connor,” I reassure him
“She threatened to call the cops, and I told her to go ahead, but of course she shrugged it off. The sad part is, she didn’t fight me that hard about taking Olivia. She almost looked relieved, which makes me think she’s spiraling out of control. Until Vivian gets her shit together, I refuse to let her go back,” he says firmly.
“You’re an amazing dad, and Olivia is lucky to have you as a father. I hope for her sake, Vivian does get better.”
“I hope so too, but I’m not counting on it.” He sighs as if he’s exhausted by it all. “Nevertheless, having you here with me and by my side means a lot to me. I’m used to dealing with things alone. I’m sorry about all of this. I don’t mean to put any sort of burden on—”
“Connor.” I set down my fork. “You’re not. Neither is Olivia. I wanna be here for both of you. I mean, if you want me to.”
“Absolutely,” he whispers. “I just don’t want to scare you away. After finally getting to this point, I’m nervous you’ll decide it’s too much. I know we’ve only been together a couple of weeks, but I can’t help thinking about the future, Elle. A future with you.”
My heart rate increases, and I feel like I’m floating in outer space. It wasn’t a proposal, but damn, just hearing his admissions with so much fervor behind them means so much.
“I have too,” I confess.