Page 23 of Trust

Before he could respond, Kelsey scrambled back on his knee. “Liv, are you gonna help me out here?”

Lifting her eyes away from the unicorn she was painting on a child’s arm, she shook her head. “Nope.”

“Want to think about it for more than a second?”

“Not really.” She waved her hand at the group of kids surrounding them. “You’re in charge of keeping me fed, crowd control, and…”

“Anything else you decide?” he finished with a snort.

“Yes!”

“It’s important to keep your woman happy,” Sam announced as he leaned against Zane’s shoulder. “When my dad doesn’t do it right, he has to sleep on the couch with the dog.”

Zane watched Olivia fight a smile and knew that if he ever took the woman on for real, she’d light his world up in ways he couldn’t imagine. Not that he was considering it.

Kelsey pushed her small fingers into his side, and he looked down. “Girl, you need to quit poking me.”

“Why? It’s the only way to keep your attention.”

“Have you thought of just saying, Mr. Hawker, I have something to ask you?”

“No.”

Telling himself he wasn’t entertained, he rolled his hand. “Try it next time.”

“You need to get Ms. Olivia a corndog. And a lemonade.”

“Might as well get a funnel cake, too,” Sam added. “My mom loves them and gets real happy whenever she has one.” He wiped his nose on his shirt. “Maybe you should get two, just to be safe.”

“You hearing this, Liv?”

“Yes, indeed.”

Pinning her with a gaze, he watched an indecent smile form on her full lips as the fair’s noise and the children's chatter fell away. Within a second, there was nothing but the two of them grinning at one another like complete fools. No demons yelling, ghosts whispering, or voices telling him what he wanted wasn’t possible. It was just him and Olivia in their own world.

Seconds later, the distant sound of music filtered back into his consciousness, and he realized he’d become that guy.

The one he’d always felt sorry for and silently mocked—the one staring at a woman with at least two dozen kids as witnesses.

“Anything you want to add?”

Olivia dug her teeth into her bottom lip and swirled her paintbrush in a glass of water. “I agree with the premise of a man taking care of his woman…”

“And?”

“A woman should also take care of her man. No one comes before the other.”

Nodding, he lifted Kelsey off his knee, peeled Sam off his shoulder, and then stood, holding his hand out. “What do you say to a lunch break?”

“Yes,” she said quietly. “A hundred times, yes.”

“Okay, munchkins, we’re out. Find some other people to crawl on; we’ll be back in an hour.” A chorus of moans and groans followed the announcement, and he ignored it as he picked his way through the kids and took Olivia’s hand. “Ready?”

“I hope so.”

“Me too,” he murmured, leading her away from the tent.

“Can I say I told you so?”

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