Page 70 of Only You

His daughter was beautiful. Olivia was blessed with her mother’s delicate features and his colouring. The past few months had seen a profound change. She was more relaxed and at ease, and Ana deserved all the credit. She had been a beacon of light in their lives since she had arrived, her impact more powerful than she knew.

“Morning, Sunshine. What do you want for breakfast?”

“Waffles!”

Andrew groaned. Waffles were Ana’s speciality. Where was she when he needed her? His heart lurched at the thought. He wanted, no, needed, to talk to her, but Damian was right. He needed to sort out more pressing problems first.

“How about pancakes?” he asked hopefully.

Olivia laughed. “Nope, waffles please,” she said, hopping up onto the stool next to him. “Ana’s recipe is in the book,” she added helpfully.

She had an evil glint in her eye, as if she knew how much he detested making waffles. He always seemed to get the mixture all over the machine, which made cleaning it a nightmare.

Together they made the waffles. Olivia had helped Ana enough. She told him exactly how to measure out the mixture into the machine.

“Otherwise, it goes everywhere!” she said, mimicking Ana, which made him smile.

His daughter was picking up so many of her mannerisms. Andrew tweaked her nose before they took the waffles to the table.

“What are we doing today?” Olivia asked, having finished her first waffle in record time. He had to admit, they had done a good job.

“Well, I got a phone call this morning,” Andrew said, taking a deep breath and putting his knife and fork down. “Your Mummy is back in the country and would like to come over.”

Olivia tilted her head and looked at him strangely. “My mummy? Eva?”

“Yes, your Mummy, Eva,” Andrew said, scanning his daughter’s face for any hint of what she was thinking.

“Oh,” was all she said, a small frown marring her brow.

“Would you like to meet her?” Andrew asked quietly.

Andrew did not know what he was expecting, but it was something more.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders.

“She’d like to meet you,” Andrew added.

“Okay,” she said, taking another bite, before adding, “When is Ana coming home?”

Andrew sat back, his appetite gone. This is not what he was expecting. He had just told his seven-year-old daughter her absentee mother wanted to meet her, but Olivia was more interested in when her nanny was coming home. Who was he kidding? Ana had never been just a nanny.

“I don’t know Olivia. I haven’t heard from Ana. She is having fun with her friends. She should be home later today,” he said, crossing his fingers.

“Okay,” she said again.

Andrew wanted, no needed more from her, but she was seven. Kids were resilient, weren’t they? Isn’t that what all the parenting books said?

“Great,” was all he managed as he placed the rest of the waffles in a box and in the fridge. “Pop the plates in the dishwasher,” Andrew added.

“All done,” Olivia said, giving him the brightest smile. “What time is Mummy coming?” she added out of the blue.

Andrew drew in a deep breath and tried to steady his pounding heart.

“Eleven,” Andrew said.

He watched as Olivia screwed up her nose and stared at the clock on the wall, working out how long she had to wait. Her head tilt and grin let him know when she was done. They had forty-five minutes until Eva would arrive. Turning tail, she ran out of the room and thundered up the stairs. Andrew took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. He hoped he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of their lives, but only time would tell.

Chapter Forty-six

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