Page 98 of Charm

“You’re nervous, Holden. Aren’t you?”

His right hand drags a slow path over the front of the light blue sweater he’s wearing. He’s paired it with dark gray pants. It’s a casual look but still put together enough to impress anyone. “You can tell?”

I lean forward to kiss him softly. “She’ll like you. I told her all about you.”

His eyes widen. “What did you say?”

“That you’re becoming a good friend to me,” I start with that before leading into the more mundane stuff. “That you also run a candy business, and you have a brother.”

“Good. I sound boring.”

I toss my head back in laughter. “You are anything but boring.”

“Greatest compliment ever.” He smiles.

Part of me wishes we were spending the night together, but that won’t be happening. I plan on saying goodnight to him on my stoop before sending him on his way.

I’ve never introduced a man I’ve been seeing to Olive before. It makes sense since I’ve only dated a couple of men since she was born. Neither of those relationships lasted beyond a few weeks.

Thundering steps interrupt the moment as Olive scoots down the back staircase.

I’ve memorized the sound of every creak of the floorboards and each rattle of the railing as she holds tight to it.

She’ll come into view in mere seconds.

I glance in the direction of the staircase just as her feet appear. I shift my gaze to Holden’s face as he stares intently at the staircase until Olive is at the bottom of it.

She marches over on bare feet and presents her right hand to Holden. “Hello, sir. My name is Olive Irwin. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Her small hand disappears as he closes his hand around it. He shakes it gently. It’s barely even a movement, but his gaze stays locked on her face. “Hi, Olive. Please call me Holden.”

She looks up at him. “I really like those glasses. Are they real?”

I laugh hard enough that I can’t step into the conversation to tell her that it’s an impolite question. One of her teachers at school last year always matched her eyeglasses to her outfit. On the last day of school, she accidentally dropped them on the floor. One of the students stepped on them in his haste to help, and that’s when the secret was revealed.

She told him not to worry about the damage because they weren’t helping her see at all.

“They are.” Holden slides them off his face and hands them to her. “Take a look for yourself.”

Instead of holding them a few inches in front of her, she perches them on her nose, being careful to keep a finger pressed against the center of them. “Wow. Everything looks silly to me.”

Holden chuckles. “Everything looks perfect to me when I look through them.”

She snaps her head to the right to look at me. “Mommy, you look funny.”

I tap her shoulder. “I hope you mean I only look that way when you have those glasses on.”

She slides them off, handing them back to Holden as she does. Once he has them firmly in his grasp, she turnsher attention back to me. “You’re beautiful, Mom. Isn’t she beautiful, Holden?”

With the eyeglasses back in place, he looks right at me. “She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

Olive’s gaze drifts from me to Holden. “I think so, too.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE

Greer

I wishI had my phone nearby so I could capture the look on Olive’s face as Holden hands the smaller rose bouquet to her. I’ve seen my daughter smile broadly at many things, but this may top the list.