Page 32 of The Love Penalty

“Oh. Cool,” she says, but I can tell she’s a bit disappointed by that. If she’s feeling cuddly, she can just use me.

“Feeling cuddly?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She shakes her head but smiles down at her lap as she says, “Maybe a little.”

“Well, I’m sure we can find a solution,” I look over at her again as I say it and give her a quick wink. I see her cheeks go a little pink.

We pull up to my ranch-style home that’s a little ways north of Grand Marquee. Even though it’s not fully dark yet, I made sure to turn on my white Christmas lights that I’ve had up the whole year. I pull in to the garage.

“You have two cars?” Olivia asks, eying my truck as we get out and start unloading her suitcases.

“Yeah, I use the truck a lot over the summer, it’s useful for lots of things. Plus, Alice borrows it quite frequently and I can’t seem to part with it.”

“That’s cool,” she says.

“I know two cars for one guy seems a bit overkill, but trust me, it’s kind of a need when I have such a big family.”

She places her hand on my forearm and says with a chuckle, “Robbie, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’m not judging you, I promise.”

“I just don’t want you to think I’m an entitled prick,” I say, frowning. I don’t want her to get the wrong impression. I want to get this right.

“You’re not a prick. You’re literally the nicest person I’ve ever met,” she squeezes my arm and I give her a smile.

“C’mon, let me show you inside.”

The first thingI show Olivia is the kitchen and living room. She’s immediately impressed by the openness of the floor plan, taking a lap around the kitchen island, pausing to gawk at the large dining room table that can easily sit twelve people.

“Wow, how often do you use this?” she asks.

“Weekly,” I respond with a smile and give her the space to continue her perusal. As soon as she notices the large couch, she makes a beeline for it and sprawls on it dramatically.

“If you think that couch is comfortable, let me show you the bedroom,” I say, looking down at her from behind the couch.

She sits up alarmingly quick and her eyebrows go up. Shit, I didn’t mean to imply I’d be showing her my bedroom. “I mean, let me show you your bedroom, down the hall.”

I can see the amusement lighting up her face as she says, “Okay.”

Once we get to the spare bedroom, across the hall from my own, I place her bag down and nod for her to explore.

“Do you treat all your guests like they’re in a five-star hotel?” she asks, sniffing one of the candles on the dresser.

“Just you,” I reply honestly. She takes a deep breath and continues to look around. “Is it too much? I asked Alice to help me decorate the place a bit. It was hardly used before.”

“No, it’s perfect. I like her style,” she says and I feel relieved.

“She was mad I never asked you what your favorite types of books are. Fair warning, she’s a book nerd and very excited to talk to someone else about it.”

“I love that. I’ll make sure to bring it up tomorrow. Any other family-bonding tips you can give me?”

I shake my head and step closer to give her a hug. “Just be yourself, I promise they will love you.” She nods her head against me.

We don’t stay like that for long, because the next second her stomach rumbles so loud it scares Caramel, my orange tabby that was apparently circling our legs and purring. He scurries out of the room and we both look after him, amused.

“Sorry, Caramel,” Olivia yells after him.

I chuckle. She’s adorable. And hungry. “How about you unpack and get comfortable for the night and I’ll go get started on food.”

“Okay.”

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