Page 65 of Accidental Theirs

I clear my throat. “How did you find your chef? Thinking of getting one for myself.”

Richard raises an eyebrow at me. “Thought you liked to cook?”

I shrug. “Getting lazy in my old age, I guess.”

“How oldareyou, anyway, Sebastian?”

“That’s Mr. Ashford to you,” I tease, and she snorts out a laugh, eating her veal. “And a gentleman doesn’t reveal his age.”

“He’s forty-three,” my traitor best friend pipes up.

“Forty-two,” I say through gritted teeth, and Olivia looks at me with some surprise.

“I wouldn’t know except for the silver in your hair.” She touches my temple.

I shudder and pull away, her touch doing things to me I wouldn’t want her father to know about.

“Why don’t you dye it?”

“Aging is a privilege not everyone is afforded.” My mind goes to a different pair of eyes, these ones blue as a summer sky.

My heart aches in my chest at the mere thought of Sophie, and Richard gives me a pained look, but I smile, waving my hand to dismiss his worries.

“You’re right about that,” he says quickly, as if to change the subject.

Olivia is looking at me rather curiously.

Richard looks at his plate. “I miss Yvonne every day.”

Olivia sighs. “Me too. She would have yelled at us for eating baby cow.”

We all laugh, and the mood is lightened at least a bit.

Richard smiles sadly but then changes the subject.

“How are things going between Titan and Carter Holdings? Everyone getting along?”

Olivia stiffens, but I keep calm.

“Everyone seems to get along. Especially Dominic and Olivia,” I drawl, and Olivia glares at me.

If looks could kill, I’d be one dead man.

Her father’s eyes shoot to hers.

Shit.

Maybe I revealed too much.

I suspected that there was some type of history between Olivia and Dominic from the way he talked about her, the way he looked at her, and vice versa. It was none of my business, though, and maybe I shouldn’t have teased.

Guilt feels hot at the back of my head.

“You’re working with Dominic? Dominic Hayes?”

“He works for Titan. Not me.”

“He’ll work for you after the merger.”