His steps quickened, eating up the ground in long, sure strides. A thousand thoughts collided together in her mind. She knew that purposeful walk, that handsome face, that wind-tousled hair the color of sandy, Florida beaches.
Connor Mitchell. Dressed in cargo shorts and a faded blue T-shirt.
What was her brother’s partner in their family medical practice doing here, in the middle of a workday?
Olivia’s gaze met Connor’s across the lawn, and she immediately recognized the similarity with the two girls standing beside her, especially around the eyes. Even with his worried gaze, that was one good-looking man heading her way, as athletic and self-assured as she remembered.
Connor had been her brother’s best friend since before she could remember. He’d always been confident, kind and so blissfully unaware of his masculine appeal. During high school, Olivia had found herself weaving secret teenage dreams, with him playing the starring role.
That had been a very long time ago.
Yet memories took hold of her. Stupid, girlish hopes and dreams for a boy far too old for her—a full five years—who hadn’t noticed she was alive. He’d been too stuck on his childhood sweetheart, a woman he’d married right out of college. Shelly, Sheila, something like that. She’d died several years ago, leaving Connor a widower. And—as evidenced by the two girls standing beside her with those same striking Mitchell eyes—a single dad.
* * *
Relieved to find his daughters safe and the puppy no longer running loose, Connor let out an audible whoosh of air. The girls had darted away so fast he’d lost sight of them for a few terrifying minutes. Anything could have happened in that amount of time. The possibilities made him shudder.
Thankfully, nothing bad had occurred.
No doubt the woman standing beside the twins had played a large part in that. Gratitude nearly had him stumbling over his own feet.
He locked his gaze with hers and felt the blow of shocked recognition like a punch to his gut. His feet ground to a halt far too close to her. He took a step back. “Olivia?”
“Hello, Connor.” She gave him a slow, tentative smile that was a little shaky around the edges and yet devastatingly pretty. Ethan’s baby sister was all grown up.
“Hello, Olivia.” His voice sounded rusty and slightly stunned.
Who could blame him for his reaction? He had no way of knowing the shy, awkward teenager would become a woman of extraordinary beauty. How could he have known?
Olivia hadn’t come home since taking a job in... Connor couldn’t remember where. Somewhere in the South, he thought, but the specific location escaped him. It was possible Ethan had never told him. His medical partner was a man of few words.
Therein lay the problem. If Ethan had told Connor more about his sister, he would have been better prepared. Instead, he was stuck staring, struggling to reconcile his memory of the girl Olivia had been and the woman she’d become.
Little Olivia Scott had become a very attractive woman. The doll-like features had matured considerably. Her thick, mahogany hair hung in loose waves past her shoulders now.
A snarl of multilayered, complicated emotions surfaced, urging Connor to turn around and forget he ever ran into her today.
“Daddy?” Megan moved to him, tugged on his hand. “You know this lady?”
Connor shook himself free of Olivia’s gaze and focused on his daughter. Sometimes it hurt to look at either of the twins. Both girls resembled Sheila. They had her same small build, delicate features and light blond hair.
Their eyes, however, were all his. Mitchell eyes, a trait that had been passed down through several generations. Or so his mother always said.
That wasn’t the point.
What was the point?
“This is Olivia,” he said at last, glancing back at her. “Miss Olivia Scott.”
“Scott?” Molly’s forehead creased in puzzlement. “Like Dr. Ethan?”
“That’s right.” Olivia answered his daughter before Connor could. “I’m Dr. Ethan’s little sister.”
Not so little anymore, he thought. Not only had the round, girlish features matured, but her voice had deepened since he’d last seen her. It was husky now, somehow softer, an appealing alto that made him think...
What?
Feeling slightly ambushed, Connor took another step back. Away from the sweet kid who was no longer his best friend’s off-limits little sister, but a grown woman.
It felt wrong even noticing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Megan bobble the squirming puppy. Welcoming the distraction, Connor reached out, catching the reckless mutt midair before tucking him under his arm like a football.
“Olivia. These are my daughters.” He angled his head to the right, “Molly, and—” he hitched his chin to his left “—Megan.”
“We’re twins,” Molly told her with no small amount of pride.
Olivia nodded. “I noticed.”
She gave the girls a warm smile, but Connor noted she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. Her breath was coming a little too quickly. She seemed nervous.
Because of him?
He cleared his throat.
“And this scoundrel—” he jiggled the puppy, earning him a happy yip “—is Samson, the newest member of the Mitchell household. He slipped out of his collar, which, as you can see, is still attached to this.” Connor lifted the leash in his other hand. “Apparently, I failed to cinch the buckle tight enough.”
“Ah.” Olivia reached out and scratched the puppy behind his ears. “I’ve never seen an animal this short and...um...round move quite so fast.”
“He’s fat but has lots of hidden moves.” Most of which Connor could live without.
The puppy had been his daughters’ idea and an added responsibility to his already full life, especially now that he and Ethan had discussed expanding their practice to include Saturday hours and two evenings a week.
Even without the added workload, as much as the girls tried to take care of their new dog, and they did try, they simply had no experience with pets. The bulk of the responsibility fell on Connor.
Dropping her hand, Olivia studied the puppy with laughing eyes. “I can only imagine what this little guy is capable of when you turn your back.”
Connor could give her a dissertation on the topic. “You have no idea.”
They shared a smile solely between them. For a brief moment, Connor felt the tension drain from his shoulders and the ache in his heart loosen just a bit. The sensation left him oddly shaken, as had this entire meeting.
He cleared his throat again.
Although the shyer of his two daughters, Megan moved in close to Olivia and tugged on her arm. “You’re very pretty.”
“Well, thank you. So are you.”
“What about me?” Molly asked, squirming in next to her sister.
Eyes crinkling at the edges, Olivia pretended to consider the question carefully. “You are easily as pretty as your sister.”
Both girls laughed.
Connor did, too. For the first time in days—months—he wasn’t worried about tight schedules, or running late, or forgetting something important. The girls were safe. The puppy found. And Olivia Scott was back in town.
Chapter Two
Standing