Page 56 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Greer

Holden stares at me. He’s speechless. I don’t blame him. I just dumped a lot in his lap.

“She passed away from an amniotic fluid embolism.” I take a deep breath in an effort to calm my emotions. “Not enough oxygen was flowing to Celia’s brain. There was nothing that could be done.”

“Fuck, Greer.” He rakes a hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for you and for Olive.”

I nod in appreciation for his kind words.

“Olive knows about Celia. I’ve always talked about her.

She has some of Celia’s favorite trinkets on a shelf in her room.

There’s a framed picture there of Celia when she was pregnant.

Olive wears Celia’s favorite pendant on a gold chain around her neck sometimes. ”

Holden watches intently as I tap my fingers on my chest. “Her heart is as pure as Celia’s was.”

He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Tell me about her.”

“Celia had a soft spot for animals.” My laughter envelops the words. “She convinced me to volunteer at an animal rescue with her when we were teenagers. I ended up loving it.”

Holden smiles. “Olive wanted a kitten. You two must have passed that on to her.”

Holding back tears, I smile, too. “She’s so much like Celia.”

He squeezes my hands. “It’s truly remarkable that you stepped in to take care of her.”

“I can’t imagine not doing that,” I admit. “When Celia was pregnant, she worried about a lot of what-ifs since she didn’t have any family. Her aunt was her only relative, and she died when we were nineteen.”

“What about Olive’s dad?” he asks the question I knew was coming.

I scratch the back of my neck. “It was a one-night stand. They didn’t even exchange fake names.”

He laughs at the reminder of our three-day stand in East Hampton. “Understood.”

“She was determined to raise Olive on her own. Celia had chosen the baby’s name as soon as she knew she was having a girl.

” My voice breaks. “Celia was scared about the possibility of something happening to her in the future, so she had a lawyer friend of hers draw up a will. She named me her baby girl’s guardian. ”

“You took it a step further and adopted Olive?”

“I had to,” I tell him. “It felt right.”

He lifts my hand to his lips to kiss my palm. “I’m sorry you went through all of that, Greer.”

“Thank you.” I rest my head on his shoulder. “When Aaron walked out, his parents stepped up. We have a beautiful little family now. It may seem unconventional from the outside looking in, but we’re happy. They truly are Olive’s grandparents in every way that matters.”

“That’s what families are,” he says, kissing my temple. “They’re people who love each other through thick and thin. Martha and Bruce sound like good people.”

“They’re the best.” I smile even though he can’t see it. “Their son was the worst.”

“Their son is an asshole.”

I sigh. “Aaron didn’t want to be a dad at that time. I had to be a mom. I wanted to be Olive’s mom, so I didn’t fight him on the divorce.”

“Does he visit his parents often?”

I fight the urge to ask him if we can talk about Aaron later, but he’s curious, and my answer won’t change whether I address this now or a month from now.

“He moved out of state shortly after our divorce was finalized.” I take a breath to gather my thoughts. “He showed up on my doorstep about a year ago asking to see his parents.”

“Did that surprise you?” He runs his hand over my shoulder, soothing me.

“A little,” I answer honestly. “He wanted to talk about us. I told him there would never be an ‘ us ’ again. He has moved away again since, but did come back a few times to take his parents out for dinner. They always met him at a restaurant. Aaron knows that I want nothing to do with him. I never will again.”

He kisses my head again before motioning for me to shift slightly so I can see his expression. “You’re an unbelievably strong woman, Greer. I’m in awe of you.”

That touches me deeply. I’ve always strived to be a source of strength for those around me, especially my daughter.

“I know it’s soon, but I’d love for you to meet Olive,” I say without giving it a lot of thought. “Only if you’d like to meet her.”

“Are you kidding?” He laughs. “I’d love to meet her.”

“You can come over for dinner one night,” I suggest. “Martha and Bruce do date nights twice a month, so we can plan for one of those nights. That way you won’t be thrust into meeting everyone at once.”

“You name the night and I’ll be there,” he says as he stares into my eyes. “Meeting your daughter will be an honor.”

I tilt my chin up in a silent offering. He obliges, lowering his mouth to mine.

An hour later, I roll onto my back, laughter falling from between my lips. “That was something else, Joe.”

Holden chuckles as he swipes a hand over his brow. “Why am I sweating so much? You’re the one who rode me.”

“You did plenty of the work.” I look over his nude body, noting that he’s semi-hard even though he just came. “It looks like you could go again.”

“Give me a minute to catch my breath.” He pats his rock hard stomach. “I need to get rid of the condom and grab something to drink. You wore me out.”

“You wore me out,” I whisper. “You always do.”

His head snaps toward me so our eyes lock. “I love fucking you, Greer.”

“I love fucking you, too.”

His gaze lingers on mine, and his lips part as if he needs or wants to say something else, but nothing escapes him but a heavy exhale. “I want to eat you. That was my intention when I dragged you in here.”

“You didn’t drag me in here,” I correct him with a slap on his chest. “You took my hand and brought me in here.”

“True,” he agrees with a brisk nod. “Then I tore your clothes off, dropped mine on the floor, and told you to get on top of me.”

That pretty much sums it up, other than the fact that he took a slight detour to slip on a condom.

“Fair warning that my mouth is going to be on your pussy exactly five minutes from now.” He glides his tongue over his bottom lip. “I’ll need at least an hour to savor that.”

“An hour?” I purse my lips together.

“Two it is.”

Shaking my head, laughter bubbles out of me. “I’ll come in the first two minutes, Holden. I won’t need an hour or two. You’re an expert at oral.”

He kisses me softly. “I love the taste of you. Only you, Greer. You’ll grant me an hour to enjoy myself. Promise me you will.”

I’m not going to argue that point with him. Why would I?

“When I’m done eating you, I’ll order something in for us to eat.” He slides away from me to swing his long legs over the side of the bed. “You can stay for a while, can’t you?”

I watch him stand, marveling at how cut and defined his body is. “I need to be home before Olive wakes up in the morning.”

“I’ll make sure you are.” As he turns back around, I notice the tissue in his hand. The condom is gone, so it makes sense.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” he asks, squinting slightly. “For wanting to have as much time with you as I can? You have to know by now that I’ll take whatever you can give me. I’m falling for you, Greer.”

It feels like my heart is ricocheting inside my chest. I’m scared to admit how I’m feeling, but he’s worth the leap of faith, so I nod. “I’m falling for you, too.”

He holds my gaze for a few seconds before he smiles. “I’ll be right back. Promise me you won’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t,” I tell him. “I’m yours for the entire night.”