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fifteen

Olive

Nerves wash over me the moment I step onto the elevator of Lane’s building. The long ascent means I have all the time in the world to overthink things and freak myself out.

When the elevator doors open right into his penthouse, though, I breathe a sigh of relief. Lane and Sage are dancing in the living room to Taylor Swift, seemingly having the time of their lives.

I sit my bag down by the door and quietly walk out to join them. I watch from the wall as they dance wildly to The Very First Night , but the song is only half over when Lane sees me.

“Ballerina!”

Sage looks up now, eyes lighting up in excitement. “Owive!” She immediately runs over to me and hugs my leg.

“Hey, sweet girl. I hear we’re having a slumber party tonight.”

“Yes!”

Lane leans against the wall next to me. “What better way to start than by having a dance party to the queen of pop?”

A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. “Are you a Swiftie, Hotshot?”

“Heck yeah,” he laughs. “I’m not ashamed of that.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

He throws his arms out and gestures to himself. “Because I’m the best girl dad ever, duh.”

“Cockiest girl dad ever,” I smirk, and he laughs. “Which song is your favorite, Sage?”

“Sifteen avnoo!”

I look to Lane for a translation. “She’s saying Sixteenth Avenue,” he chuckles. “She loves I Think He Knows.”

“Oh! That’s a good one, Sage!” I bend down and take her hands in mine. “Why don’t you tell Daddy to play it?”

Sage looks up at him, hands on her hips. This girl is all sass. “Pway it, Daddy!”

Lane briefly grumbles about being bossed around by a toddler, but he does as she requests. When the song starts playing, I take Sage by the hand and lead her to the open living room floor.

We jump and sing and dance around, laughing and having a great time. Lane doesn’t join us; he watches us intently from his perch against the wall.

I can’t deny how my body heats up whenever our eyes meet. His gaze is both blazing and soft. His eyes darken as he watches me move, but they’re gentle as he sees me with his daughter.

The butterflies I feel around him are stronger right now than they’ve ever been. So I decide I should be a little more bold than I usually am.

I look right at Lane, hooking my finger and coaxing him my way. “Get over here, Hotshot.”

His eyebrows raise in surprise, but he’s quickly moving forward, thumb running over his bottom lip while he does.

“Miss me, Livvy?” he rasps, eyes raking over me.

“You were just staring at us across the room,” I tease. “I’m just trying to get you to stop being creepy.”

Lane places a hand on my hip, looking down at me as time stands still. I get lost in the flecks of green sprinkled through his irises.

When his tongue darts out and he licks his bottom lip, I can’t help but wonder what it might be like to kiss him. To feel how soft his lips are when they press against mine.

My breathing is heavy as he replies to my teasing. “Didn’t realize it was creepy to watch you dance, Livvy.”

“More so the way you couldn’t take your eyes off me.”

He chuckles lightly. “Have you seen yourself? You’re a goddamn dream,” he says lowly, ensuring Sage can’t hear.

“D-dream?” I stammer.

He can’t mean that. My life is more like a fucking nightmare.

“Yeah. You’re a fucking dream. And the more I get to know you, the more I like what I see.”

“I’ve been through a lot, Lane,” I breathe. “I’m not someone you’d want to get involved with.”

“Why don’t you let me determine that, Ballerina?”

He thinks that now, but when he learns all about me, he’s going to run for the goddamn hills.

Our trance isn’t broken until Sage pipes up. “I hungwy, Daddy,” she says, pulling at the hem of his T-shirt.

Lane shakes his head and snaps himself out of… whatever that was. “Then I think it’s time for some dinner, Lovebug!” He looks back at me now. “How do you feel about pizza, Olive?”

After the three of us are full of pizza—Lane thinks the fact that I eat olives on my pizza is hilarious—and we have a tea party, complete with boas and hats just like the picture I have saved as his contact in my phone, Sage is exhausted and ready for sleep.

I decide to wait for him on the sofa so I don’t interrupt their bedtime routine.

Once Sage is out like a light, Lane comes back out and sits directly beside me, wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.

I know what gray sweatpants are supposed to do, and I can say with confidence that Lane can really pull them off.

“Sage asleep now?” I ask, turning on the seat and crossing my legs in front of me. He mimics my position.

“Didn’t take her long to fall asleep at all,” he chuckles. “I think you wore her out, Liv.”

“A Taylor Swift dance party will do that for you,” I laugh.

He smiles at me sweetly. “You know my daughter adores you, right?”

“Yeah,” I grin. “I adore her, too. She’s the sweetest little girl.”

“She’s the best. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but I love her to bits.”

“They do say parenting is hard.”

“Yeah,” he sighs. “It’s tougher when you don’t have any family left.”

“You don’t have family around?” I ask gently.

“No,” Lane replies, looking down. “My parents died when I was five. Car wreck. I was raised by my grandparents. They both passed a few months before I found out I was going to be a dad.”

“I’m so sorry, Lane. Your grandparents passed at the same time, too?”

“Almost,” he says, words slightly choked. “They were in their late seventies, so they already both had health issues. Pap passed in early February from a stroke. He and Gran had been together since they were sixteen, so she was devastated. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy took her a couple days later.”

“What’s that?”

“Broken heart syndrome. A sudden weakening of the heart that impacts the way it pumps blood. It can be caused by physical stress, but emotional stress can cause it, too, such as losing a loved one after spending more than three-quarters of your life together. Gran literally died of a broken heart after Pap was gone. She just couldn’t carry on without him. ”

I place my hand on top of his. “I can’t imagine how difficult that was for you. And then to find out a few months later that you were having a child.”

Lane lets out a breath. “I was in a really dark place when I found out, but Sage is exactly what I needed. I got myself put back together so I could be there for her. I don’t know where I would be right now if I didn’t have her.”

“I’m glad she’s here, too,” I smile softly. “You’re an incredible person, Lane, and I’m glad I get to know you now.”

“The darkness still comes sometimes, but it’s far less frequent than it used to be.”

I lower my voice. “I know exactly what that’s like.”

“You’ve gone through something, haven’t you?”

I force myself to meet his eyes. “When I was seventeen. Something happened, and my life spiraled. I dropped out of high school. I shut myself out from the outside world. I didn’t speak to anyone but my family, and I hardly even spoke to them.

It’s been a slow process, and I’m still healing, but the darkness isn’t constant like it used to be. ”

Lane rubs his thumb over the top of my hand to comfort me. “I can’t imagine seeing you without a light in your eyes.”

“Do I have a light in my eyes?”

“You do around me, at least.”

I still. “Oh.”

“You don’t have to read into that, Liv. I can’t speak to how you are around everyone, but I can see happiness in you when we’re together. Whether or not I have any part in that, I don’t know.”

“I think you might,” I whisper. “I was getting better before I met you, but I feel pieces of the old Olive coming back with the way you are to me. I feel… adored.”

He cups my jaw in his hand and turns my face to meet his. “Because you are, Olive. I haven’t known you long, and I don’t know what it is about you, but I fucking adore you. My daughter loves spending time with you. I love spending time with you. I want to get to know the deepest parts of you.”

I swallow uneasily. “What does that mean?”

Lane lets out a breath and looks up at the ceiling before turning back to me. “I want to know everything about you… but I want more than that, too. I won’t deny it. It’s more than just physical desires, but I do have those as well.”

My voice is shaky. “Lane, I have a confession. I’m a… virgin.”

I loathe that word. I can’t help but feel like it doesn’t belong to me, but it’s the easiest thing to go with when I don’t want to just unload all of my trauma.

“A… virgin?”

I bring my hands up and cover my face. “Yes. I know that’s weird, and I don’t know what you think about that, and I—”

“Olive.” His voice is stern but gentle, and his eyes radiate nothing but warmth. “It’s not weird to be a virgin. I’m not going to pressure you to do anything , okay? I promise. All I want right now is to keep getting to know you. Is that okay?”

“Y-yes. I’d like that.”

Just like that, my nerves have dissipated. I know the girls told me earlier that Lane wouldn’t be bothered by that, but hearing it from him solidifies it.

But what will he think when he learns how much more there is behind that word?