Page 59 of Second Chances

“Wow.” Todd smiled. “You must be proud.”

“So proud.” The woman smiled. “You look over the menu now.” She went to help other customers who had walked in.

By the time they ordered their food, the entire restaurant had filled up.

“The food must be good here,” Todd said, looking around.

“The best,” Olivia agreed.

He took a deep breath. “So, I’ve been thinking.”

“Okay.” She took a sip of her water. “About?”

“Us.” He reached across and took her free hand. “I know you wanted things to go slower.” He felt her tense in his hand. “And I’m okay with that,” he added quickly. “But I do have a few of my own stipulations.” She relaxed and nodded.

“Okay,” she said slowly.

He looked into her eyes. “One, I’d like a scheduled date night.”

She smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”

“One for just us, and one night a week with the three of us,” he added. He felt her tense again. “Simona is part of you, part of your life. I’d like a chance to know all of you. Besides…” He smiled. “She brings me joy. I like hanging out with her.”

Olivia was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, two nights a week. But, just to warn you, your time with Simona may just be watching cartoons or playing games at our house.”

His smile grew. “Perfect.”

“Any other stipulations?” she asked.

He ran his thumb over her palm slowly. “We pick back up where we were, physically. I miss being with you.” He watched her eyes heat with desire. “And I think you miss it as well.”

Chapter 17

What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to deny something that was true, deep down? She missed him. She was torn between protecting her and Simona’s hearts and wanting to leap and enjoy her feelings again.

“See, you can’t deny it,” Todd said easily with a smile. “I’ve seen how you react when I touch you.”

His thumb was running over her palm, the simple touch already lighting fires deep within her.

“I can’t deny it,” she admitted. “But part of me is afraid.”

“Of?” he asked. His thumb stopped moving. “Me?”

“No,” she answered quickly. “Of my feelings. I don’t think I could bear letting go. Trusting again.”

This wasn’t the time or the place she’d hoped to have this conversation. Not that she’d ever planned on telling him about her fears, but certainly not in Thai It Up.

He was silent for a while then nodded. “The last person I opened up to was when I was on assignment. She was the daughter of a diplomat. I believed that Kimber could see past my assignment, so when she found out what I was, I told her everything. Well, almost everything. I had naively believed that she didn’t know what her father was doing. How he was silently locking up and murdering his countrymen and women all in the name of purification, money, and power.” He leaned back, dropping his hand from hers and, for the first time, she noticed weariness in his eyes. Weariness and something else she couldn’t pinpoint. “When I told her that I was on a mission, she at first acted like she didn’t know about her father. Then, New Year’s Eve, during a large party her father was throwing, I was attacked.”

“What happened?” Worry caused her to lean forward, even though he was safe, sitting across from her.

“Kimber had told her father everything. She stood over me, even helped while her father’s men beat me, tied me up, and then took me away to kill.”

“How did you escape?” she asked, eager to hear the rest of the story.

“Thankfully, I was wearing a wire. My team swooped in the first moment they could and rescued me. If it wasn’t for them, I would have been dead a long time ago,” he admitted. “So, I understand how hard it is to trust again after being betrayed. Brock betrayed you and Simona. I won’t.” He took her hand again. “This is my promise.”

She believed him. Deep down, she knew that if anything was going to go wrong between them, it wasn’t going to be because of betrayal. Not in the sense that Brock had betrayed her.