My Love at Last (6 page)

“All the signs of a good evening.” He lifted his glass.

Olivia did the same.

“To forming new habits.”

Olivia’s glossed lips quirked with a smile. She touched her glass to his.

Connor took a swallow of his drink. “So… tell me, what do I need to know about Olivia Gray that isn’t on your very impressive résumé?” He studied the way her gaze slipped away for a moment and a brief shadow passed quickly across her face.

Olivia set her glass down and met his stare with one of her own. “My résumé? You’ve been checking up on me?” She wrapped her fingers around her glass.

He gave a dismissive shrug. “I always want to know who I’m dealing with… in business and pleasure.”

She blinked against his directness. She would not let him rattle her, she silently swore. Clearing her throat, she replied, “Pretty much what you see on paper is who I am.” That was as close to the truth as even she knew it. There was so much about her life that was a dark hole, a hole that she’d dug herself out of, and Olivia had no intention of taking that journey again.

“I find it hard to believe that a woman like you is no more than data and degrees. What do you enjoy… when you’re not working?”

She tugged in a breath and dropped the armor back into place. “Good food.” She grinned. “I think if I’d chosen another profession it would have been a chef.”

Connor grinned. “Really? Favorite dish.”

“Hmm, smoked salmon with my
very
special sauce, asparagus spears and risotto.”

“You think it can top my jambalaya, Cajun-style?”

She tipped her head to the right. “Is that some kind of challenge?”

“Ready when you are.” His brow arched.

“You’re on.”

“My place or yours?”

The conversation was clearly taking a swift turn in a dangerous direction, but Olivia repeated her mantra. She would not be rattled. “Mine.”

“Say when and I’m there.”

The waitress returned. “Ready to order appetizers?”

They both picked up their menus and simultaneously ordered the wine-cooked mussels. Over the tops of their menus their gazes connected.

“I think one will be sufficient,” Connor said. He lowered his menu and got a smile of confirmation from Olivia.

The waitress hustled away.

“Great minds think alike,” he said in response to their order. “Now, you were in the middle of divulging some intimate secret.”

Olivia sputtered a laugh. “Oh, I was, was I? And here I thought you’d just agreed to a challenge that I can guarantee you will lose.”

“A woman who doesn’t back down. I like that. A lot.” He took another swallow of his drink.

“What about you? What do you do in your spare time?” she asked, shifting the focus off her to get her bearings.

Connor leaned back and looked at her from beneath those incredibly thick lashes. “Not as much spare time as I would like,” he confessed. “But one of my big passions is travel. I have that part covered with the jobs that I get, but what I really enjoy—” he leaned forward, rested his arms on the table “—is painting.”

Olivia’s head jerked back in surprise. “Painting? Really?”

He nodded. “Yep. I have a small studio in all of the homes that I rent while I’m on a job.”

“I’d love to see your work sometime.”

“My door is open.”

“Why did you ask me out?” she asked, shifting gears again as Desiree’s comment about Connor not dating wiggled in the back of her head, vying for attention.

Connor rocked his hard jaw from side to side. “It’s not something that I do… for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I’m not interested in ‘the getting to know you’ conversation that happens over dinner and dates.” He paused. “But
you
I want to know. And if you ask me why, I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

What did you say to something like that?
“Honest.”

“I try.”

She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. “I guess I should be honest, too.”

“All ears.”

“I did a bit of research on you, too.” She lifted her shoulder. “After all, a girl can’t be too careful about who she goes to dinner with.”

His eyes darkened. “What did you find out?”

“That you’re a member of the Lawson clan from Louisiana. Your father is Paul Lawson. You have a sister, Sydni, and a younger brother, Devon. Your uncle Branford is a senator. You are very well respected in your field and you’ve done some of the most important restoration work of African-American artifacts and sites in the country.
And
you paint.” She grinned.

“I would say that I’m impressed with you, but that would be redundant.”

Olivia squinted in mild confusion.

“Everything about you impresses me.” His voice lowered. “Everything.”

Olivia’s cheeks heated. She lowered her gaze to her drink. “I don’t know what to say.”

“No need. Just an honest observation. I will say that I hope this will be the first of more evenings.” He lifted his drink.

“You’re certainly direct.”

“I don’t know any other way. I figure if I put my cards on the table it’s the easiest way to see where others are coming from.”

“Makes sense.” She sipped her drink, then set it down on the table.

“And if I’m going to be totally honest… I’d tell you that I intend to make love to you.”

The saying that your heart stops was true. For a hot second, Olivia couldn’t breathe. As much as she may have had the exact same thing on her mind, she never expected him to say the words out loud, and so soon.

The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. He leveled his dark eyes on her.

Olivia nervously licked her lips. Should she be offended or turned on?

The waitress returned with their appetizer. “I’ll be back shortly to take your dinner order. Enjoy.”

The timing of the waitress couldn’t have been better. Olivia’s thoughts were all over the place. Focusing on the food was the perfect distraction, until Connor made even that a sensual experience. He speared the meat from the shell of a mussel, dipped it in the sauce and slowly brought it toward Olivia’s mouth.

Her lips slightly parted. Connor didn’t pull his eyes away from her, almost as if the intensity of his gaze was speaking to her, letting her know to open her mouth, let the meat slide across her tongue, let the flavor burst in her mouth… let the experience become one with her.

Slowly she chewed, mesmerized by the steamy look in his eyes and the half smile on that luscious mouth.

“Like?”

She swallowed. “Yes,” she managed to reply.

“Good.” He turned his attention away and the heat down as if he’d only asked her for directions. He lifted one of the appetizers to his mouth. “Know what you want for dinner?”

Olivia blinked rapidly.
You
, she wanted to say, but of course she didn’t. “I’m thinking the sea bass. Have you had it before?”

“No. But it sounds good.”

Olivia drew in a breath to steady herself. “What kind of things do you paint?”

“Nudes.”

She nearly choked. “You’re kidding.”

He broke out laughing. “Yeah, I am. You should see the look on your face.”

Her cheeks heated. She slowly shook her head and grinned. “You are hell-bent on shocking me tonight. Is that the plan?”

“Not exactly.”

“What exactly is the plan, then?”

He leaned forward and lowered his voice, which drew her near. “The plan, beautiful lady, is to have a fabulous dinner, listen to some good music, have an after-dinner drink, take a slow drive home and see if you’re up to what I plan to offer. And if you are, we’ll be having breakfast together in the morning.”

She was certain he could see the banging of her heart in her chest. “You’re not only honest but seemingly very sure of yourself.”

“Would you be interested in a man who didn’t say what was on his mind — a man who didn’t know what he wanted?”

“No. But I also wouldn’t be interested in a man who assumes that he knows me or knows what I want.”

“What
do
you want, Olivia? Honestly.”

What she wanted Connor Lawson could not give her — answers to the questions that echoed within the hole in her life. No one could. That much she was sure of. She’d tried. “I want to have a nice evening. Get up in the morning and do what I came here to do.”

He slightly pursed his lips. “Fair enough. One thing my daddy and my uncles always taught us was in order to please a woman you do what she needs and wants.” He lifted his glass, which needed a refill. “To dinner and work in the morning.”

True to his word, Connor stayed clear of innuendo and verbal seduction. Instead, he told laugh-out-loud funny stories about his various jobs, and tales of his large and outspoken family. By the time they’d finished their main course and the band was in full swing, Olivia was slowly developing a different and fuller picture of Connor Lawson.

One thing that struck her was that he clearly loved his siblings and had good relationships with his extended family. She envied him that as she listened to the tales of the Lawson cousins’ antics all over Louisiana, from his lawyer-turned-champion-for-the-underserved cousin Justin — who finally settled down — to the elusive womanizing Rafe, who was hell-bent on living life by his rules, even if it drove his father, Branford, up the wall and back. Justin and Rafe’s irrepressible twin sisters were Desiree and Dominique — with Desiree being a secret race-car driver and Dom… well, Dom was Dom. Their eldest sister, LeeAnn, had stayed in the family business and married her father’s protégé, while the other movie-making cousin, Craig, was on the fast track for his first major film award. Connor’s own powerhouse younger sister, Sydni, had gone all the way to Brazil to find a husband. And his brother, Devon, was determined to be a music mogul, which drove their father crazy. Connor told stories of his cousins and siblings with good humor and a lightness in his voice that was totally endearing.

All her life Olivia had wondered what it was like to have a loving family, people there to support you and your dreams, share family trips and holidays. All those things were foreign to her. She had no frame of reference for the things he said. It was like reading about a faraway country.

“Sounds like an incredible family,” she said, pushing away her very empty plate.

“We’re pretty interesting. I don’t get to see them as much as I once did. But with so much social media we find ways to stay in touch.”

“The band is better than you said they were,” she said, wanting to quickly steer the conversation away from her own lack of family life.

Connor bobbed his head in agreement. “Yeah, I have to tell my cuz Rafe about this group.” He returned his full attention to Olivia. “So what kind of schedule were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking at least three days per week. Say from ten in the morning until three or four.”

“Not a problem. I’m usually on-site, but if not you can always hook up with Jake.”

“That works. “

Connor signaled for the waitress. “You want a refill or dessert?”

The evening was coming to an end. Olivia had set her terms and apparently he was going to honor them. Now she was having second thoughts.

“No. Nothing else for me. Thanks.”

The waitress approached and Connor asked for the bill.

“I had a really nice time. Thank you.”

Connor smiled but didn’t respond. He handed the waitress his credit card. Olivia fiddled with her purse.

“We’ll be on the job tomorrow if you want to come by.”

Olivia glanced across the table and the smoldering look in his eyes ignited a fire in her belly. Yet his tone was noncommittal, casual and in stark contrast to the vibe he was giving off. Or maybe it was no more than her own wants and needs making her see things that weren’t really there.

“I’ll come by in the morning.”

The waitress returned with Connor’s credit card. “I hope you had a pleasant evening and you’ll come back again.”

“Thanks,” Connor said. He stood and came around to Olivia’s seat to help her to her feet.

He was so close. She felt the heat of him, caught the heady whiff of the bourbon. He draped her shawl around her shoulders.

“Ready,” he breathed, close to her ear.

A shiver slinked along her spine. “Yes,” she murmured.

Connor placed his hand at the dip of her back and led her out. Warmth spread through her. Her nipples hardened and she drew in air from between parted lips. It took all her concentration to focus on walking and not the feel of his hand on her body.

It had cooled considerably when they stepped outside. Olivia pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders as they returned to the car.

“Cold?” She nodded. Connor took off his jacket and placed it around her.

Connor opened her door and helped her into her seat, then rounded the front to get in. Olivia brought the lapel of his jacket up to her nose and inhaled deeply just before Connor got behind the wheel. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment.

“Seat belt.”

“Oh, right.” She fastened her seat belt and tried to clear her head.

Connor turned on the music and pulled off. Much too soon they were pulling into her short driveway. He cut the engine, got out without a word and came around to open her door. Olivia’s pulse zinged in her veins. Connor walked with her to her front door.

Olivia turned to face him. “Thank you for a great night. I really enjoyed everything.”

His eyes moved slowly over her face. He placed the tip of his finger beneath her chin and lifted it until she was looking into his eyes.

“We can do it again… whenever you want.”

Olivia swallowed. Her lips parted and Connor moved closer and kissed her so lightly that it felt like a breeze, except for the heat that followed the contact. He pressed his mouth more firmly against hers and the tip of his tongue brushed across her bottom lip. Olivia sighed against his mouth and his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her firmly against him. She felt his arousal press lightly against her and her head spun. She wanted to have breakfast with him in the morning.

The simple good-night kiss slowly grew in intensity. She gripped his shoulders. He explored her mouth, nibbled her lip, teased her with his tongue and then, when she was on the brink of pulling him inside her house, he stepped back, stroked her cheek with his finger, whispered good-night, then turned and walked away.