Page 14 of Second Chances

“I’m noticing now,” he said smoothly.

Chapter 4

Todd knew he was pushing his luck. He didn’t want to come off as desperate nor did he want to appear like he was stalking Olivia. The fact was, he’d felt something towards her last night. Something he wanted to explore. He’d felt an instant pull that he hadn’t felt in years, one he could afford to explore now.

Not that he hadn’t been free to enjoy himself over the years, but when you had to hide what you did for a living from everyone close to you, it tended to put a damper on any sort of permanent relationship.

In the past ten years, the longest relationship he’d had lasted all of six months. Before she’d tried to kill him.

Kimber had been an assignment. After she’d found out that he was only using her to get close to her father, a diplomat under investigation, she had ended things abruptly. Abruptly enough that he’d spent weeks in the hospital recovering.

Being in Special Operations Forces is all he’d known for almost a decade. He was finding it difficult to acclimate back into the real world. A world where he didn’t have to lie or try and find answers.

Yet, looking at Olivia now as she assessed him carefully, he figured he was still looking for answers. Just for a different reason.

“Maybe I’ll let you keep looking,” she finally answered him, making him smile. He liked strong women, enjoyed how the confidence oozed from her. “And maybe I’ll hint that I have this Thursday night free. Simona’s got a sleepover with some friends.”

“Thursday is good for me,” he replied, causing her eyebrows to shoot up. He understood that she was expecting him to officially ask her out. Old-fashioned. He liked that about her too. “What do you say we spend the time together? Maybe grab some food? You can catch me up on how things are around Silver Cove.”

“I can do that,” she said calmly. “How about you pick me up here around six?”

“I’d like that.” He reached over and took her hand in his, making sure to let his touch linger. “I’ll see you then.”

She nodded and he turned to go, but he stopped when he spotted the organic food section and turned back to her.

“You sell local meats here?”

She blinked a few times and then moved back to his side. “Yes, local meats, dairy, honey, breads, you name it.” She walked over to a large refrigerator that he’d been too busy to notice while admiring and flirting with Olivia. “All organic and humanely raised animals.” She motioned around a larger section of the store. “It’s one of the reasons we stay opened year-round. Locals help support one another.”

He walked over and picked up a small basket. “I didn’t think I was going to find anything in here that I wanted.” He put a carton of eggs, some cheese, and a loaf of bread into the basket. He glanced over at her. “Besides a date with you.”

She smiled. “Serenity’s Attic has it all. We even have local soaps, shampoos, and other items. There’s a farmer just outside of town that makes these wonderful cleaning products.” She showed him the section that housed the McCall’s products. “Everything from soap to wood cleaner. They’re all natural and work great. I’ll never use another glass cleaner in my life.”

He thought about all the cleaning he still had to do at the house, windows included, and glanced down at his basket.

“I’m going to need a bigger basket,” he admitted, causing her to laugh.

It took him two trips out to his car to carry in everything he’d purchased. Most of the items in the reusable bags that he’d purchased were cleaning supplies. The rest were groceries he’d needed to stock the place. He had planned on hitting the local grocery store after he’d visited with Olivia, but she’d had everything he wanted or needed at the store, saving him a trip.

Part of him wanted to get right to work cleaning the place after he arrived home, but he’d made a promise to a little girl that he wasn’t about to break. He hadn’t let on to Olivia that he’d be going to Simona’s graduation because he didn’t want her to try to talk him out of it.

After all, he’d just met them yesterday. But he knew that immersing himself in the community meant being active.

A very public event like a school’s graduation could be a good start. Besides, Sarah’s daughter was graduating as well, so it wouldn’t appear as if he was just there for Olivia and Simona. Even if he was there to see Olivia again.

He’d been reminded about the graduation after seeing the flyer for it at the local hardware store earlier that morning when he’d stopped by to drop off a few window screens that needed repairing. He still had another hour before the event and spent that time cleaning as many windows in the place as he could.

He’d have to wait until he could climb up on the roof to clean the outside of the two rows of windows that faced the water. But he managed to finish cleaning every single window on the ground floor.

The cottage boasted more than three thousand square feet, six bedrooms, four baths, two original stone fireplaces, and a detached four-car garage, which included a second-story apartment.

Because of the uniqueness of the small point, which was home to eight other such cottages, the road to the two homes beyond his place cut directly between the cottage and the garage. The apartment above the garage included a bedroom and bath, a small kitchen, and its very own stone fireplace. His father had used it as an office when they’d spent summers there. So far, Todd had yet to climb the stairs to take a look at what sort of shape it was in.

Both buildings sat directly on the edge of the dark rocky man-made sea walls and had amazing views from every window. From the house, Silver Cove and the lighthouse beyond were visible from every west-facing window.

On the east side of the house sat the Atlantic Ocean. The entire point had stone or brick seawalls, which kept the water almost ten feet below the properties.

There was a good-sized yard area between the main home and the road, which had a tall hedge for privacy that needed trimming. Most of the yard was on either side of the home, and there was a small deck just outside the kitchen doors that he planned to expand. Off the back of the house, a large cement patio abutted the seawall, with its own low stone wall for safety.