Olivia may not have felt either the relief or gratitude that she’d expected to feel when she walked out the Sutherlands’ front door and left George behind. But thirty minutes later, the elusive emotions washed over her as she sat on the end of Cooper’s bed looking through his baseball card collection with his sister.
Olivia hadn’t been back home since she’d left last September. Nothing had changed. Cooper’s bedroom was exactly the way it had been the day they left for the hospital that last time more than two years before. Nathan, his parents, even Olivia’s cousins had told her it wasn’t healthy. She needed to box everything away. But she’d felt close to him here. It was the same today. And even nicer that she had someone to share it with.
The little girl spotted Cooper’s collection of signed baseballs and bats and ran across the room. Olivia joined her on the blue-carpeted floor and told her the story behind each souvenir. In turn, George shared the stories her father had told her. The same ones he’d told his son. But unlike last week or the week before that, George’s stories no longer made Olivia want to cry. They made her smile. It felt like she and George shared a history, a love for Cooper.
Because the more George opened up, the more Olivia realized that Nathan hadn’t forgotten his son after all. He’d built Cooper up in the stories he told George. He created a life for the little boy he would have been, had he been healthy.
After more than an hour of sitting on the floor playing with Cooper’s toys and looking through albums, Olivia said, “We should probably head back to Harmony Harbor before traffic gets bad, George.”
She looked disappointed but nodded. “Can we come back another day?”
“We can come back anytime you’d like.” She started picking up the toys and noticed the way George petted them as though needing to touch them one last time. Olivia smiled. “You know, your brother would have wanted you to have his toys and baseball collection, George.”
Her eyes went wide. “He would?”
She nodded. “Yes, he would. So why don’t we get a box and you can fill it with whatever you want?”
They’d ended up filling four boxes and two suitcases. Olivia had also snuck in two family photo albums that she’d go through before she gave them to George. She’d pick out some photos of just Nathan and Cooper for the little girl.
George gave Olivia a gap-toothed smile from under Cooper’s Red Sox baseball cap while sitting in her booster seat eating a chocolate fudge ice cream cone. Nathan would have had a conniption. Petty as it may be, that gave Olivia a great deal of pleasure. Though that wasn’t the reason she’d parked the Lexus and taken Nathan’s black Range Rover or bought George an ice cream cone. The SUV was more practical for carting around a little girl and all her treasures.
In George’s eyes, it seemed the afternoon they’d spent together had more than made up for Olivia even thinking of leaving her with Nathan’s parents, but just in case, she’d thrown the ice cream cone in for good measure. Celeste and Walter weren’t horrible people. In some ways, Olivia felt sorry for them. The loss of both Cooper and Nathan had affected them profoundly. But they had always been judgmental and strict disciplinarians, and that didn’t seem to have changed.
They’d been the same with Cooper, but they had genuinely loved him, and of course Olivia had been there to mediate and offset any hurts that might arise. But George wouldn’t have had her there, and she didn’t think the little girl would have fared as well with them as her son had. She imagined Nathan had thought the same or he would have named his parents as George’s guardians. Or maybe Stanley was right and George was a gift to make up for all the pain Nathan had caused.
She was beginning to think Stanley was right about something else. She hadn’t thought much about it until she’d opened the garage at the town house and spotted the Range Rover. Nathan had purchased the SUV when he was home last June. He’d driven it once—taking it off-roading with a couple of friends. It gave credence to Stanley’s belief that Nathan had planned to come home after all. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would have abandoned the little girl in the backseat as easily as he’d abandoned his son. She’d liked to think that he wouldn’t have.
She glanced at the sign announcing ten miles to Harmony Harbor, and the reality of what she’d done set in. For better or for worse, that smiling little girl in the backseat with chocolate all over face was now hers. No one had forced Olivia to do this. She’d made the decision all on her own.
No matter how terrified she was of letting this child into her heart, she had to. From now on, George would know she was wanted, loved. There’d be no half measures. This time, Olivia was all in. Her pulse raced at the thought and instead of heading for the manor, she headed straight for Primrose Lane. George had her Red Sox T-shirt, and apparently Olivia had Finn. “Why don’t we stop by the clinic on our way to the manor and say hello to Finn? Good idea?”
George gave her a smile and a thumbs-up.
Ten minutes and ten cleansing wipes later, they walked into a packed waiting room. The busty blond receptionist sighed when Olivia approached the desk. “Unless it’s an emergency, I don’t have any openings today.”
Olivia glanced around the waiting room. She’d guarantee half the women with appointments to see Finn had nothing wrong with them. “It’s an emergency.”
“And the nature of the emergency is?”
“I’d rather not say. It’s personal.” The blonde gave her a look. “I have poison ivy. It’s spread to places it shouldn’t spread.”
Sherry, who’d been pulling a file from the jam-packed shelves behind the desk, pursed her lips at Olivia before saying, “Poison ivy doesn’t spread. Maybe you have an STD.”
Olivia stared at the woman. She couldn’t believe she’d actually said that to her. It more or less confirmed her suspicion that Finn’s nurse didn’t like her.
Maybe because she didn’t respond, Sherry said slowly and loudly as if Olivia were deaf, “What I said is that you may have a sexually transmitted disease.”
“I understood you the first time. I was just surprised you’d be so rude and unprofessional as to say it out loud in front of witnesses.”
George tugged on her sleeve and asked in her husky voice, which was almost as loud as Sherry’s, “Do you have HIV, Livy?” The only difference was that, while Sherry was trying to embarrass Olivia, George was genuinely worried about her. As the daughter of physicians based in Kenya, the little girl had no doubt overheard her parents talking about STDs.
“No, George, I’m fine. Sherry thought she was being funny.”
Realizing she’d perhaps taken the joke too far, Sherry pointed at the computer screen and the receptionist said, “Dr. Gallagher can see you, but you’ll have at least an hour wait.”
From the looks of the waiting room, it would be longer than an hour. “All right, we’ll be back then.” She wasn’t going to make George sit around a stuffy waiting room, at least a quarter of which may be filled with actual germs. “George.” She looked around. She was gone. “George, where are you?”
“Olivia,” a woman called from behind. Olivia turned. It was Brie Fitzgerald. She managed Guppies, a high-end children’s clothing store on Main Street. Sitting beside Brie was her grandmother, Widows Club member Ida Fitzgerald, who’d made it clear she was actively seeking a husband for her granddaughter. Olivia was a little disappointed to realize the young, pretty blonde must be okay with her grandmother’s plan to ensnare Finn. Brie smiled. “I think she went back to the examination rooms.”
“Thanks, Brie,” Olivia said, and took a step in that direction.
Sherry blocked her way with her arms crossed and feet spread wide. “You’re not bumping ahead. So, if you sent her back there to get in faster, you’re out of luck. Sit down and wait your turn. I’ll get her,” she said, and flounced off.
If Olivia were running the office, Sherry would be gone. The receptionist too. As would half the women sitting in the waiting room. When Nathan first started out, he and two of his friends opened a practice together. Olivia had just finished her MBA and organized their office for them. She ended up staying on because she’d enjoyed working with Nathan. She had fond memories of that time in their life together.
“Olivia,” a woman called from the other end of the waiting room. It was Julia Landon, the owner of Books and Beans. She appeared to be there with the mayor, Hazel Winters. Last year, the mayor had joined forces with Paige Townsend to strong-arm the Gallaghers into selling out to the developer who wanted to buy Greystone. As of late, they hadn’t heard much from the heavyset woman with the big hair.
Julia patted the empty chair beside her. “Come sit down. It looks like we’re in for a wait.”
“Are you not feeling well?” Olivia didn’t know why—it was silly really—but she hoped Julia wasn’t there because she was vying for Finn’s attention like the majority of single women in Harmony Harbor. Which made her feel guilty because it was almost like wishing Julia was sick. And Olivia would never wish an illness on anyone, least of all Julia, who was one of the sweetest women she knew.
Julia turned in her chair to look at Olivia, making her violet eyes go wide in the universal sign of I don’t want to be here. Olivia nudged her head at Hazel, and Julia nodded. She sat back in her chair. “Hazel, have you met Olivia Davenport?”
“Yes”—the woman nodded and gave Olivia an uneasy smile—“but I thought your name was Dana…something.”
“It’s a long story.” Olivia smiled, leaving it at that. Even Julia didn’t know everything. Olivia hadn’t spent much time hanging out on Main Street these past few weeks. She used to spend quite a bit of time in the shops and went out for dinner at least twice a week. Those days were over now that she had George.
The mayor’s cell phone buzzed. Hazel glanced at the screen and frowned. Then she looked at Julia and Olivia. “I’ll take this outside where it’s not so noisy,” the sixtysomething woman said, and got up. “Hold my place, dear.”
Julia smiled, slumping in the chair once Hazel was out of sight. “I can’t believe I let her talk me into this.”
“Into what?” Olivia asked, craning her neck to look for George.
“Don’t worry, she probably ran into Kitty. She’s back there having a visit with Dr. Bishop.” Julia smiled. It was the kind of smile that made you smile in return. There was something otherworldly about the bookstore owner. Fae, Olivia’s Scottish grandmother would have said. Maybe Julia gave off the whimsical aura because she spent so much of her time immersed in fairy tales, either reading them or acting them out for the children. “I’d heard you were bringing George to your in-laws to live. Since you’re both here, I take it that you had a change of heart?”
Olivia nodded. “I couldn’t do it. She’s been through enough.”
“So have you from what I’ve heard. If you ever want to talk, I hope you know I’m here for you, Olivia.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. And I might take you up on that. Maybe I’ll bring George in for story hour. You wouldn’t happen to have a book on childhood fears, would you?”
“Of course I do. Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for? I can hunt it down for you when I get back to the store.”
“George calls it bad juju, an evil spirit. So maybe something about ghosts?” Olivia pulled a face. “I really didn’t think this through. She slept outside in a tent last night. I hope Finn has some suggestions because I’m not sure I feel like spending the next few weeks roughing it.”
Julia grinned. “Do you realize you light up when you say his name?”
“I do not,” she said, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. “It’s not what you think. He’s just been a very good friend to me through all of this. And he’s wonderful with George.”
Julia gave her a knowing look.
Olivia thought a subject change was in order. “Before Hazel gets back, tell me what you’re doing here with her.”
“Hazel is doing what half the older women in this room are doing for their daughters and granddaughters—she’s trying to find me a husband. And if you haven’t already guessed, your very good friend is on the top of their lists.”
Matchmaking mothers and grandmothers converging on the clinic wasn’t news to Olivia, so she didn’t understand why she felt an anxious twist in her stomach. “But why is Hazel interested in finding you a husband? She isn’t your mother or your grandmother, is she?”
A small frown pleated Julia’s brow and then smoothed out. “Of course, what am I thinking, you wouldn’t have known. I was engaged to Hazel’s son Josh. He died six months before we were to be married. It didn’t change my relationship with Hazel though. She’s always treated me as her daughter-in-law, and I’ve always thought of her as my mother-in-law.”
“I didn’t know, Julia. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and gave Olivia’s hand a gentle pat. “Let’s get back to you and George and your ghost. And just tell me to butt out if I’m overstepping, but now that you’re keeping George, have you thought about getting a place of your own? I mean, the manor is lovely, but wouldn’t it be a nice to have some privacy?”
“To be honest, it’s a little terrifying to think of just the two of us on our own. And…” She looked over to see Finn standing by the desk with George. He was looking at Olivia with an expression on his face that she couldn’t read. He lifted George’s hand and raised an eyebrow as if to say, You’re really doing this? She nodded, and he gave her a smile that she felt straight to her toes. A smile that seemed to say, You did good. I’m proud of you. And her chest filled with a fuzzy, warm glow.
Julia looked from Finn to Olivia and smiled her sweetly mischievous smile. “Do you know, I think I’ve just thought of the perfect solution.” She took out her phone and texted someone. She waited a few moments, then smiled and looked at Olivia. “How would you like to live right next door to the clinic?”
Olivia pressed a hand to her chest. “Are you kidding me? That would be ideal. If George wasn’t feeling well, Finn would be only steps away.” She caught the triumphant gleam in Julia’s gaze and waved her hand. “I don’t know why I said that. Probably because we’re here and Finn’s right there, you know. Just ignore me, sometimes I babble. What I really meant to say was that it’s an ideal location because it’s close to the school. And the library. And you, it’s close to you too.” Fig Newton, she had to stop talking. Then she thought of the pretty Cape Cods on the street with their well-tended lawns and gardens. “But I didn’t see any homes for sale.”
Julia smiled. “You just leave that to me.”
Two weeks later, Finn walked into the examination room. “Hello, Mrs….” He slapped a hand over his eyes and backtracked out of the room, walking into someone. Before he apologized to whomever he’d bumped into, he said to the naked woman on the examination table, “Mrs. Edwards, you’re here for”—he glanced at her chart to be sure he’d read it right the first time—“a sore throat, not a”—he mentally deleted the curse word before finishing—“physical. Get dressed, and I’ll be with you in a minute.” Not without Sherry, he wouldn’t be. He closed the door and turned to apologize to…the reason he couldn’t tell his grandmother and Doc Bishop what they could do with this job.
Lexi leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and a grin on her face. “Gotta love a job where married women drop their clothes and jump on your table and half the single women in town are packed like sardines in your waiting room just to get a look at your pretty face.”
“Har har, you’re spending too much time with Liam.” He pretended to look around while doing a quick visual search of her face to gauge how she was feeling. Lex didn’t stop in just to razz him or shoot the breeze. She broke out in a cold sweat anytime she had to go to the hospital or clinic. “How did you get past Kerry without an appointment?”
Her lips flattened, and she pushed off the wall. “I have an appointment. Your brother made it.”
“The guy’s been a pain in the ass since he learned to talk,” Finn said, gently throwing an arm over her shoulders. “Always checking up on you, making sure you’re okay. Yeah, Griff’s a real pain in the ass.”
“Oh, shut up. I know I got lucky as far as exes go. But he hovers and gets this worried look on his face if I say I’m tired or complain about a sore arm or back.” She leaned against him, her voice going low. “And then I get paranoid that maybe it really is something. Maybe it’s not because Gabe weighs a shit ton or I was up with him three times in the night.”
And this is why his brother wanted him home, and why, when Finn caught the tiny break in Lexi’s armor, saw a touch of fear in her eyes, he knew he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And he realized he was good with that.
Finn leaned past her to open the exam room door. “You’re fine, Lex. I’ll just check you out to make my brother happy. Now go get bare-ass naked and get up on my table,” he teased to distract her.
She elbowed him. “In your dreams. Besides, I wouldn’t want to ruin you for the hordes of women coming after me. It’s standing room only out there.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “Grams and the Widows Club are behind this, you know. I’m tempted to tell them I’m gay so they’ll just leave me alone. They’re taking time away from people who are actually sick.” It was weeks past amusing. He’d already planned to talk to Doc Bishop about it tonight.
“Or you can just tell them the truth and say you and Olivia have a thing.”
“We don’t have a thing. The only thing we have is a standing appointment every second day at four o’clock because the woman is neurotic. She’s going to turn George into a hypochondriac if she doesn’t stop.”
“But she’s beautiful. Olivia, I mean.”
An image came to him of the other day when he’d walked into the exam room to find Liv on her hands and knees hunting down the baseball that George had dropped on the floor. She had on a pink skirt that gave him the perfect view of her sweet cheeks. He felt his lips curving and quickly corrected that. Making sure to sound uninterested, he said, “Some people might think so, I guess.”
Lex gave him a look.
“All right, yeah, she’s got incredible eyes, great hair, and a nice bod. That better?”
“Why are you asking me?” She patted her chest. “This is what matters to me. I care what’s in here, and Olivia has heart. I couldn’t ask for a better friend. She puts herself out there for everyone. The woman is tireless, and what she’s doing for George…that says everything about her. She’s one in a million.”
“Yeah, she is.” He smiled as he remembered the day she was supposed to bring George to live with Nathan’s parents. Finn had been thinking about her, about both of them, and then George had opened the exam room door—much to the chagrin of the patient having a physical—and announced that she was staying with Liv. The kid had been beaming, happier than he’d seen her since she’d landed in Harmony Harbor. And Liv, well, she’d gotten to him that day, not that he’d tell either her or Lex. Because his ex-sister-in-law was right—the most beautiful thing about Liv was her heart.
“So there’s your answer,” Lex said.
He blinked, afraid he’d said the last out loud. “Does everyone around here talk in code? I have no idea what you’re getting at.”
“Olivia can be your fake girlfriend. Everyone will buy it and back off, and you can get back to what you do best, taking care of your patients, not just the ones who want to get naked with you.”
“They don’t want to get naked with me…Okay, a couple might, but mostly they want a ring on their finger.”
Or to feed him, he thought several hours later as he looked at the casseroles piled up on the reception desk. He’d forgotten to say that to Lex this morning. He’d tell her when he dropped by the manor later. She’d made him promise to have a talk with his brother. Which he planned to, but he’d talk to Ava first. Because if anyone could alleviate some of Griff’s fears for Lexi, it was his wife.
“There’s no more room in the fridge,” Sherry said, gesturing at the two foil-wrapped casserole dishes on the desk. “Or the freezer,” she added when he’d opened his mouth to suggest exactly that.
“All right, what about…” He turned to see what Sherry was scowling at, thinking it was another casserole-bearing patient. It was Liv. “Hey, you’re early. Where’s George?” he asked, even though all he could think about was his conversation with Lex earlier. He couldn’t ask Liv to be his fake girlfriend, could he? No, no way. It was a bad idea.
She looked confused. “Early for what? George is in school.”
“Why are you acting all innocent? You’re only in here every other day. You’re going to give the kid a complex if you’re not careful,” Sherry said.
Finn looked at his nurse and picked up the casserole dishes. “Find room for them. And I want to talk to you before you leave tonight, Sherry.”
“Fine. Whatever. You want to keep seeing patients who have absolutely nothing wrong with them while patients like poor Mr. Taylor, who is dying, have to wait hours to see you, fine.” She turned and headed for the back, making as much noise as she possibly could wearing rubber-soled shoes.
He might not like how she handled the situation, but Sherry was right. He had to do something.
Her cheeks bright pink, Liv said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize how often I’m here. Sherry’s right, I shouldn’t be using you like our own private physician. I just get worried, that’s all. I promise, I’ll get a handle on it. We won’t bother you anymore.”
Finn looked out into the waiting room, wondering if he had a big enough audience, and then he remembered where he was. He took Liv’s hand and smiled down at her. “It’s okay, Princess. You come by anytime. You know how much I love playing doctor with you.” He inwardly grimaced. He’d taken it a bit too far, as evidenced by the stunned and possibly horrified look on Liv’s face.
“Kerry, I just need two minutes before I see the next patient,” he said, tugging Liv after him.
“Uh-huh,” his receptionist said, looking kinda shocked and disappointed, which was heartening. Because if he was going to make an idiot of himself, it was good to know his plan had a chance of succeeding.
“Give me a minute, and I’ll explain,” Finn said to Liv as he dragged her down the hall. When he was out of earshot of the waiting room, he stopped and put his hands on her shoulders. “Okay, I know that was weird, but it’s about to get weirder. I have a favor to ask.”
“You want to play doctor with me?”
He gave his head a slight shake to clear the image of Liv in the same position as Mrs. Edwards this morning. “No, if there’s any playing, it will be of the pretend kind. So would you be up for that?”
“Are you feeling all right?”
“Sorry, I’m messing this up.” Probably because a voice inside his head was yelling, No, don’t do it! You were never any good at playing let’s pretend…“I need your help, Liv. Sherry’s right. I spend three-quarters of my day seeing patients who should be on Match.com, not at the clinic. What do you say? Will you do me a huge and be my fake girlfriend? But you can’t tell anyone it’s not real or my grandmother and the Widows Club will find out.”
She rolled her eyes. “No one will believe we’re dating, Finn. You’re too young for me, and—”
Finn heard the squeak of Sherry’s shoes coming toward them. “Trust me, they will. And I’m going to prove it to you right now,” he said, lifting his hands to frame her face. “Pucker up, Princess, and make it good.” His lips closed over hers, swallowing an irritated huff that was soon replaced with a tiny, far-from-fake moan. And he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he may have groaned when her fingers tightened around his shoulders and she pressed against him. The reason he couldn’t be sure whether he was groaning or not was because he was high from the feel of her soft, plush lips under his, the warmth and the taste of her mouth, the…
“I knew it! I knew there was something going on between you two,” Sherry muttered. “You can bet I’m going to tell Dr. Bishop about this, Dr. Gallagher. Making time with your girlfriend while patients are waiting.”
Finn slowly pulled back from Liv. This was when he was supposed to smugly point out to her that he was right. But he couldn’t because, the way his heart was pounding and his head was spinning, he had a feeling that he should have listened to the voice in his head.