Page 80 of His Greatest Treasure

I got in the car I rented last night and drove to the shop before scrubbing the floor spotless. It took me all day, but by the time I picked Nova up from school, brought her home to meet with Adalyn, and fed them supper, I wasn’t obsessing over where he was and why he wasn’t home yet.

I know his job is dangerous and busy. We got lucky yesterday to have so much of his time and attention, but I don’t have any experience dating someone who works outside of a dirty mechanics shop every day. I never thought I’d be here.

Nova knocks her knuckles against the window once Oliver starts up the sidewalk, and he squints at us. I expect him to wave and head to his house, but it’s our sidewalk he takes, not his.

“He’s coming over!” Nova shouts, scrambling off the couch to open the door for him.

Adalyn grabs my arm and blinks at me, lips parted. “You’ve been holding out on me all afternoon.”

“You never asked.”

“I didn’t think there was anything to ask about!”

I smile apologetically. “My bad.”

“Ollie! Ollie! You’re home!”

“Hey, peanut.”

His voice makes me inhale a sharp breath, suddenly aware of just how much I’ve missed him. I should have texted. Done something.

“Can you come to ballet tonight?” Nova asks.

I jerk out of Addie’s hold and join the two of them, an apology already on my tongue for Nova’s question, not wanting him to feel pressured. It disappears into thin air when Oliver toes his boots off and smiles at her, one hand already ruffling her hair.

“Hi.” It escapes me in a whisper.

He focuses on me, eyes simmering with words unspoken. The tiny curl of his lips sets my skin on fire. Fuck, he’s good-looking. The five o’clock shadow he’s rocking makes my toes curl into my socks.

“Hi, princess.”

“You’re home later than usual.”

A cock of his brow. “Were you waiting for me?”

“She was,” Nova says, earning herself a glare.

I cross my arms, leaning back on my left foot. “I just didn’t know when your shift was over.”

“Should have been about five. We didn’t get back from the last call until an hour ago.” He hands the box in his hand that I can now see is from Nova’s favourite cookie place to her. “Want to take this to the kitchen for me?”

She nods and snatches it from his hands before disappearing down the hall. Shuffling forward a step, I ask him, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Just a bad call.”

I search his face for any hint of a lie but don’t find anything but exhaustion and a heaviness that I’m not used to seeing on him. It has me saying fuck it and going to him the way I’ve been forcing myself not to since I first saw him on the street.

He takes me into his arms the moment I move toward him, securing me to him as I slip mine around his middle. The scent of smoke lingers in his clothes, but it doesn’t stop me from continuing to breathe him in, searching for the regular scent of his cologne.

He blows out a long, weighted breath over the top of my head and then presses his cheek against it. “I’m sorry I didn’t text you. I planned on helping you at the shop before Nova went to bed.”

I move my head side to side as best I can. “You’re busy. But you should go home and eat. Go to bed early too.”

“Nova asked me to go to ballet.”

“She’ll live.”

“I’ll sleep once I’ve made her happy by going.”

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