Page 107 of Love for a Lifetime

Dawson was love in action. In a world of black and white, he was vibrant color.

He stepped to the side and moved her plate to the table. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Water would be great.” She hopped off the counter and took her seat at the table.

Dawson had a glass of ice water sitting in front of her within seconds and took the seat beside her. “You want me to pray?”

Olivia nodded and bowed her head. No one but Dawson would be that excited to pray a blessing over someone else’s food. The selflessness of the moment stuck in her throat as he thanked the Lord for everything from breath in their lungs to the grocery store that butchered the meat.

Dawson filled her in on things at work while she ate. He mostly told her about how Lyric was settling into her dispatch job. Then he moved on to the restoration he was working on at Beau’s garage.

When she finished eating, she pulled out her phone and checked the few messages she’d skipped over throughout the day. One was a reminder about an upcoming appointment with her doctor.

The date in the text message ticked like a clock. She’d forgotten all about the appointment. Life had been coming up roses, but now the frost was coming full-force to kill the beautiful moment.

“Liv?”

Olivia looked up at Dawson. He stood beside her with a hand extended.

“You okay?”

She took his hand and stood, sliding the phone back into her pocket. “Yeah.” Her throat threatened to close, but she had to get the words out before she lost her nerve. “We need to talk.”

28

DAWSON

Talking was good. Talking was normal and fine. It was a casual thing he did with Olivia every day.

But “We need to talk” referenced a conversation that would probably chew him up and spit him out.

“Um, okay. What do you want to talk about? I’ve already thought about our couple name. I prefer Olison over Dalivia.”

Olivia chuckled, which was a good sign. She still looked happy behind her tired eyes. “It’s not necessarily…awful, but it’s definitely a serious conversation that impacts our relationship.”

“More than this stuff with Anna? Come on, Liv, there can’t be that many things standing in our way.”

When Olivia didn’t outright agree with him, he reached for her, pulling her to rest against his chest where she belonged. “I love you. We can get through anything.”

“If we both want to, that is.”

Dawson took a step back so he could see her face. “What does that mean? I always want this. I want us. More than anything.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. Her easygoing attitude from earlier was gone, replaced by a nervous humming that radiated from her entire body. “I know you do. I do too. But let’s go sit on the couch.”

She threaded her fingers in his and led him into the living room. This was one of those times when he wanted to dig in his heels and run away from whatever trouble Olivia was about to reveal.

But if it was her problem, then it was his problem now too. They would do everything together from here on out, and what better time to start than right now?

She settled onto the couch with her legs tucked underneath her before she patted the seat beside her.

Not liking the idea of any space between them when they needed to be a united front, Dawson sat beside her, lifting her knees until they rested on top of his thigh.

Olivia took a deep breath and faced him. Red splotches crept up her neck as she swiped her hands down her thigh.

Dawson covered her hand with his. “Let’s play a game.”

“This isn’t a game,” she whispered mournfully, as if she’d give anything to participate in something as simple as a game when this revelation was causing her to break out in hives.

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