“Then have Stewart send them up. If they’re here to see the city, I’ll give them my driver for the afternoon and they can go to all the sites.”
Though that was nice of him, risking one meeting was bad enough. Risking a second when they returned the limo was insanity. They’d ask questions about his background. Want to know his intentions. Read between the lines of everything he said, making sure he wasn’t a closet pervert bent on hurting their little girl. Embarrassment and humiliation collided and turned her stomach. She could not let that happen.
“That’s way too kind.”
He brushed her concern off with a wave of her hand and headed back into his office. “Call Stewart. Send them up.”
With no choice but to obey, Olivia did as she was told.
Fortifying herself for the worst, she stood in front of her desk waiting for the elevator ping. As the doors opened, she didn’t see just her mom and dad. Her brother, Billy, and her sister, Cindy, stood beside them. Even before she was off the elevator, her mother reached out for a hug.
As her mother’s arms wrapped around her, she closed her eyes. It was really hard to be mad at somebody who loved you so much.
“Hey, guys.”
Her mother squeezed her even more tightly.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
As her mother released her, her dad caught her up in a bigger hug. “It’s just so good to see you.”
She laughed. “I’ve only been gone a month.”
As she said the words, Tucker Engle came out of his office. Her brother and sister froze. Her mom spun to face him. Her dad blatantly gave him a once-over.
* * *
Tucker smiled. He had this. If there was one thing he was good at, it was people. Let her dad narrow his eyes. He would still win him over.
Tucker held out his hand to shake her dad’s. “I’m Tucker Engle. Olivia’s boss.”
Tall and bald, Olivia’s dad looked like a man who labored for a living. His calloused hand confirmed that.
“Mr. Engle, these are my parents, Loraina and Jim Prentiss and my sister, Cindy, and brother, Billy.”
Billy also shook his hand. A boy of about sixteen, who appeared to be trying to be a man, he wore jeans and a T-shirt like his dad.
Her sister Cindy looked a year or so younger than Olivia and was nearly as pretty. Both Prentiss daughters had their mom’s strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. Cindy shyly said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
But her mom didn’t say anything. She caught his gaze and held it as if trying to see into his soul.
He’d never had anyone look at him that way before.
Her pretty blue eyes narrowed, her mouth thinned.
Okay. So her mother didn’t like him. He could fix that, too. “I’ve called my limo driver and instructed him to take you anywhere you want to go this afternoon. It’ll be much easier to see everything with a driver who knows the city.”
Cindy gasped and Billy said, “All right!”
Jim said, “That’s very nice of you.” He produced some bags with the logo of a popular Chinese restaurant on them. “But we were just about to have lunch. We brought enough for an army and we’d love to have you join us.”
Tucker smiled. “Thank you, but I was planning to work through lunch today. I have a meeting across the street at one. I thought I’d pick up something when that’s over.”
Loraina surprised him by hooking her arm through his. “Oh, now, you can’t skip lunch. And we can’t eat in front of you! Besides, if you really are giving us your limo for the afternoon, we owe you.”
He sought Olivia’s gaze and she shrugged, though her red face was the picture of apology.
He’d never had a family, so he could only imagine how embarrassing this was for her. Especially since her mother was already on the way into his office.
“This is perfect.” She pointed at the sofa grouping. “We can sit around the coffee table.”
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d eaten Chinese food at that coffee table. He did some of his best business deals in that quiet, comfortable atmosphere. He’d never, however, eaten breakfast, lunch or dinner with the family of an employee.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t figure out a way to refuse them without sounding like he was kicking them out of his office.
Her dad put the Chinese food on the coffee table. Her brother and sister sat on the sofa and began opening the bags, looking for chopsticks.
Olivia caught his arm and pulled him back, away from her family. “I’m sorry. They’re just very comfortable people. They think everybody is a new friend.”
He drew in a breath. “That’s actually a nice philosophy.”
“I swear. In twenty minutes they’ll be gone.”
Okay. He could deal with that. Hell, he could deal with anything for twenty minutes. “No need to be so embarrassed or so hard on them. I love the food from the restaurant they chose and as your mom said, everybody needs to eat.”
She visibly relaxed and nodded, and his instincts jumped again. All along he’d thought there was something about her. Her family reminded him she was new to the city. Maybe even here alone. And if he got comfortable with her family, maybe she would become more comfortable with him?
He took the big chair at the head of things, reached for a carton of sweet-and-sour pork and dished some onto one of the throw-away plates Olivia’s mom had handed out.
“So what do you do for a living, Jim?”
“I’m in construction.”
“That’s wonderful.”
Loraina beamed. “He paid for Olivia’s schooling by flipping houses.”
“Wow.” That took hard work and brains, the ability to find a good house and spend only enough on remodeling that you could still make a profit when you sold it. He could see where Olivia got her talent with numbers.
“He’ll do the same for Cindy now.”
Cindy faced Olivia. “Are we going to get to see your apartment?”
“I don’t know. How long are you guys staying?”
Billy said, “Two days. We have to fly back tomorrow night.”
Tucker said, “That’s a short stay for such a long trip.”
All five Prentisses grew quiet. Olivia’s face reddened again. And again the sense that there was something he was missing nagged at him.
But Loraina brightened. “Hotels are expensive in this city. We’re just happy for the time we get.”
Olivia suddenly said, “Who wants an egg roll?”
Her dad and brother immediately shoved their plates at her, but Tucker suspected she’d craftily changed the subject.
When she faced Cindy, and asked, “Are you ready for school?” he was certain of it.
“I may never be totally ready.” Cindy grabbed a different carton of the food and dished herself a serving. “Billy made the football team.”
Olivia spun to face him. “Oh, my gosh! Shouldn’t you be at practice?”
Billy scowled.
Loraina said, “You can miss a practice or two. It’s not every day you get to see New York City.”
Ignoring Billy’s plight, Cindy said,