Page 82 of His Greatest Treasure

I roll my lips, dropping my stare to the floor before bringing it back up. “You could use a shower.”

“Class is at seven, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be back at six thirty, then.”

I reach for his hand, taking it and linking our fingers for a moment. “There’s a plate of leftovers in the microwave . . . if you want them. Have you eaten this afternoon?”

The warmth in his expression threatens to undo me. “No, princess. I haven’t.”

“Leftovers, then. You have an hour, Lieutenant.”

When he dips his head to kiss me, I lean up on my toes, meeting him halfway. It’s only a second, but my body doesn’t understand that. It lights up at the first taste of his lips, my nipples pebbling in my bra and coreturning molten.

“An hour,” he breathes against my mouth.

Then he’s stepping back into his shoes and disappearing, the promise of more time with him settling in my chest, turning me giddy with excitement.

27

OLIVER

It’seasy to learn the important things about a person when you dial in and pay attention to them. With Nova, I’ve found it impossible to ignore the subtle wrinkle that grows between her eyebrows when Avery mentions frozen yoghurt instead of ice cream or the pout that forms when she’s told that she has to earn her way to a pet frog.

She might only be seven, but she’s highly intelligent for her age. Her homework is harder than I remember it being when I was in the second grade, and she flies through it without asking for help with a single question. When Avery asks her to load the dishwasher after every meal, she doesn’t complain before doing it. There are no arguments as Avery reminds her not to put the bowls on the bottom rack, only a slight nod and grin of thanks. She’s proud of the night lights plugged into the outlets around her room and shows them off to me with innocent excitement.

Avery’s raised her all on her own, if we’re being honest, and she’s done a phenomenal job. While there are still questions I want to ask about her life before she came to Vancouver, I’m happy soaking up these moments.

Watching Avery and Nova together, just the two of them existing doing regular things, makes me feel like I’m a real part oftheir lives. It’s a front-row seat to the workings of the family I hope to join one day.

Leaning a hip against the counter, my offer to help scrub my dishes gets turned down for the third time, so I finally relent. Adalyn left as I was striding up the sidewalk, and with a flick of her hair over her shoulder, she slid into her Jeep.

She’ll probably never notice that I filled her tire for her, but I wasn’t going to let her drive home alone with the risk of it popping.

“Can we do my hair now, Mom? Auntie Addie never finished it,” Nova says in between sips of her juice.

“Oh, shit—I mean, ohno.” Avery wrings out the dishcloth and drops it into the empty sink. “Yeah, sweetie. Can you go get your hair basket from your room?”

“Okay, Mom.”

I watch Nova skip out of the room, her ballet tights and bodysuit already on. I’m half a second from calling Adalyn and scolding her for not finishing her hair when Avery sighs, turning to rest her back against the counter.

“We’re going to be late.”

“No we’re not. It’s only a fifteen-minute drive to the studio from here. How long does it take to braid her hair?”

“I’m the world’s slowest braider.”

I chuckle and trap her against the counter with my body. Gripping the counter on either side of her, I say, “I’m fast at it.”

“You know how to braid hair?”

“Your doubt in my abilities hurts, princess.”

She leans back, head tilted. “You have one brother.”

“Jamie liked his hair braided beneath his football helmet when he was fourteen. Mom taught me how to do it.”

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