But I heard a noise and had to look.” He turned toward the windows across the room. “Then I saw the moon and started asking myself . . . When was the last time I stopped to look at the moon?”
Olivia turned in her chair to see the last of the moon slip behind the horizon. “It is beautiful.”
Leo hummed, his eyes slid to hers.
Her chest warmed.
Yup . . . chemistry. A tiny snap of air.
She directed her attention to her plate, took one last bite, and then pushed it away.
“That’s better than I thought you’d do,” he said.
“Food is fuel. You don’t overfill a gas tank or you’ll just make a mess.”
“What about pizza? Everyone overeats pizza.”
She smiled. “A proper Italian pizza, maybe.” An image flashed in her head. A small outside table with an entire cheese, basil, and tomato pizza sitting in front of her. She closed her eyes, chased the scene.
Nothing.
“Are you okay?” Leo leaned forward and placed his hand on her arm. “You’re trembling.”
“For a second I thought I remembered something. But it’s gone.” And a pulsing in her temple threatened to blossom into a headache.
He ran his hand over her arm through her bathrobe. “It’s going to be okay.”
She covered his fingers, and that snap of air became physical energy at the simple touch. Even that . . . she knew what it was but couldn’t identify the last time it had happened. She squeezed his hand gently and broke the connection. “I appreciate your assurance.” Even if she knew it was speculation at best. There was no way he could predict that things would be okay.
She lifted her plate and started to get up.
“Let me.”
“I’m sure I can . . .”
“Next week. When laughing doesn’t cause you to wince and walking up the stairs is just as easy as walking down.”
She let him have the plate and watched his backside as he turned away with it and emptied what she didn’t eat into the trash.
Stop looking at his ass.
Olivia stood, pushed her chair in. Even that movement took effort. She needed to build some strength.
In the morning. She’d start tomorrow.
Leo turned the water on in the sink.
“Thank you for the company,” she said.
“Anytime.”
She took a few steps from the kitchen. “Try and get some sleep, Leo.”
He looked up. “Good night, Olivia.”
She huffed, the name sounding so odd to her ears. “Good night.”
CHAPTER TEN
Neil sat back in the desk chair, his arms folded over his chest.
Sasha stood beside him, eyes taking in the footage he’d brought up for her to view.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
A touch . . . a smile . . . and just enough ogling when the other one wasn’t looking to clear any doubt of what was going on. It was like watching one of those women’s movies Gwen insisted on dragging him to a couple of times a year.
“Should we stop it?” Sasha asked, her eyes glued to the footage that kept playing.
Lars had caught the interplay between Leo and Olivia from the night before and made sure to bring it to Neil’s attention first thing in the morning.
Neil shook his head. “I saw the look on Leo’s face . . . but now it’s clear it’s mutual. I say leave it. Maybe encourage it.”
Sasha turned her back to the monitors, leaned against the desk, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you turning into a matchmaker in your old age?”
He’d deny that to the grave. “Maybe this will give Olivia a reason to stay.”
Sasha nodded toward the screens. “This is sexual.”
Doesn’t all attraction start that way? “Tell me in a week if you feel differently.”
“There’s a reason she’s alone. You know it. I know it. Everyone here but Leo knows it.”
“I’m more concerned with Olivia losing her humanity than Leo ending up with a broken heart. He will survive. She might not.” Neil pushed back from the desk and stood.
Sasha didn’t argue, which told him she agreed.
“I won’t encourage it.”
That, he was okay with. “Then encourage the others to leave them be. Give them time . . . alone.”
“A wee bit manipulative, MacBain,” she accused.
“If there’s nothing there, nothing will happen.”
Sasha was a beautiful woman when she smiled. “When is your flight?” she asked.
He looked at the time. “Three hours. I’ll be back next week, give you and AJ a break.”
“We told you that wasn’t necessary.”
“You and Olivia are a lot alike. The more you’re around her, the more likely she’s going to notice similarities. Her questions