Page 75 of The Strawberry Patch Pancake House

‘Okay. But Iris has to catch me,’ she said, coming to the edge of the pool and lining her toes up on the edge.

Iris came closer, her body rising out of the water in the waist-deep shallow end, and Archer was afraid he might have to excuse himself from the rest of the lesson. She was gorgeous. Of course she was. She always was. But she was in a bathing suit and his body was completely ignoring the fact that he should not be noticing that right now.

His gaze snagged on her bare arms, the curve of her breast in that utilitarian swimsuit that was sexy as hell, simply because she was the one wearing it. He lingered over the sight of her until she cleared her throat and his attention snapped back to Olive. Right. Not the time or the place for that. He tried to discreetly adjust his pants, but Iris caught him, a knowing smirk on her plush lips.

She shook her head at him and turned back to Olive. ‘Okay, Olive. One … two … three…’

The little girl launched herself in the air and Iris caught her, not letting her head dip below the water. Archer’s breath caught as she landed in the pool, but he trusted Iris, too. Completely. He knew she would keep Olive safe.

‘Did you see that?’ Olive called as she doggie-paddled back to the stairs.

‘I did. That was amazing!’

‘I’m gonna do it again.’

She jumped over and over, and each time Iris caught her and Archer cheered, and it felt like maybe Olive was going to be okay, maybe they’d mended something in her little heart.

‘Hey, Liv. I think you’re ready to put your face under,’ he said, crouching down at the edge of the pool.

She crinkled her nose. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘You can do it,’ Iris told her. ‘And I’m right here. I’ll scoop you right up if you need me.’

‘And I’ll scoop you both up if you need me,’ Archer said, catching the smile Iris tried to hide.

Olive looked between the two of them, and Archer could feel the shift, the moment Olive realized that maybe she trusted them too.

‘Okay,’ she said, slowly. ‘But you have to stay right there.’ She pointed to the edge of the pool.

‘I won’t move, even if you do a giant splash and get me all wet,’ Archer assured her.

‘Oh, that’s a good idea,’ Iris said. ‘Let’s see if you can splash your dad.’

Olive’s face lit up with mischief at that idea.

Forgoing the countdown, she launched herself into the water before Archer could stand back up and completely soaked him.

She burst out of the water with a triumphant smile on her face. ‘Did I get you?!’

Archer shook the water from his hair. ‘You sure did.’

‘Yay! I’m gonna do it again.’

‘Wonderful,’ Archer grumbled, but Iris caught his eye, a huge smile on her face to match Olive’s and the whole thing was totally worth the wet clothes.

After their lesson was done, the girls changed into dry clothes and met Archer in the lobby.

‘I’m really glad I came,’ he said, nudging Iris’s shoulder as they walked out to the car. ‘You’re a great teacher.’

‘Well, you provided great motivation,’ she said with a laugh.

‘Will you come next time, Dad?’ Olive asked, grabbing his hand as they walked out into the parking lot.

Dad.

She was holding his hand.

She wanted him to come to the next lesson.