25. Olivia

Chapter twenty-five

Olivia

A fter the heavy conversation, Victor shows me the rest of his property. He takes me to the horses last. “This is Sunshine, and this is Cinnamon.” Sunshine comes over immediately, living up to her name, while Cinnamon stands off watching. Sunshine butts her head against my chest, making me laugh as I rub her forehead.

“She wants something sweet, probably,” Victor says as he holds out a sandwich bag of sugar cubes.

“How many can I give her?” I ask.

Grabbing one and placing it in the palm of my hand to offer it to her. I stiffen slightly, not knowing if she’s going to bite me, but she sucks the sugar cube between her lips before chewing. Smiling at Victor, he returns my smile. His green eyes are bright making him even more handsome than he normally is.

“You can give her two more,” he answers. I grab another and feed it to her, watching Cinnamon as he edges closer.

“Are you jealous you’re not getting any sugar?”

“A little,” Victor says.

My mouth pops open as I snap my head towards him. “What?”

He smirks and winks at me. “It takes a few minutes for Cinnamon to warm up to people, but trust me, when he does, he’ll never leave you alone.”

Victor ignores my question. Folding my lips between my teeth, I try to hide my smile. I grab another sugar cube and put it in my other hand, holding it out to Cinnamon as Sunshine takes her second sugar cube from my hand.

Cinnamon inches forward as Sunshine takes the last sugar cube from my hand. Just as I’m about to give up on Cinnamon taking the sugar cube, his nose nudges my hand and he sucks it into his mouth. Holding in my excitement to avoid scaring him, I inwardly squeal. Once he finishes the sugar cube, he gets closer and nudges Sunshine out of the way, trying to get closer.

“Don’t get greedy, Cinnamon,” I chastise him. Sunshine huffs and walks away like she’s used to his antics. Giggling and grabbing another sugar cube to give him, Victor comes to stand next to me and shakes his head in amusement. After he’s had his three sugar cubes, he nudges my hand again. “Sorry, no more for today.” But he nudges me again, so I scratch his head. He neighs low, almost sounding like a purr.

“I told you. Now he’ll never leave you alone.”

I chuckle and continue rubbing his head and scratch behind his ears. “So, it only took a bit of sugar to get you to like me. Huh?” He nods his head like he’s answering me.

“That’s all it takes for the majority of the male species,” Victor says. I tilt my head at him and smile. He seems different. Maybe me opening up to him and asking to be his submissive opened up a connection between us. He walks over and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, the guys will be here soon for dinner.”

We walk back to the house hand in hand. This is the most peace I’ve felt since my mom was alive. “Are we going to finish our conversation?” I ask, not willing to let it go. Now that I’ve made up my mind, I need to talk about it and understand.

“We will. After dinner.” He’s using that tone again. In this situation, it irritates me. He chuckles. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but trust me, it will be better after dinner.”

He opens the door for me and we walk in. His house assistant is setting the table, and it takes a lot to not scowl at her. Why does she have to be so pretty? And why am I being so petty?

“You have nothing to be insecure about,” Victor whispers.

My head snaps up to look at him and the look in his eyes affirms he’s telling me the truth. I glance away and look down, ashamed of myself.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur.

Victor interlocks our fingers and guides me into the sitting room out of earshot of Crystal. He leans against the arm of the couch and pulls me between his legs. He grips my chin lightly with his thumb and forefinger, lifting my face until our eyes connect. I’ve had so many emotions today, but the thought of disappointing him affects me in a way I wasn’t expecting.

“You don’t have to apologize.” He sweeps his thumb along my cheekbone. “Crystal has worked for me for years and she’s been happily married longer than she’s worked for me. Okay?” Gazing up at him, I nod. Dealing with these new emotions is proving to be difficult. “And the reason I want to wait until after dinner to finish our discussion is because there are some things you need to know about me first.”

I take in a deep breath, expecting to feel the constant knot in my stomach. It still amazes me Victor is able to help me breathe again. “Okay,” I finally respond. “I was a little afraid you had changed your mind after everything I told you.”

He moves his hand to cup the back of my head, his fingers massaging my scalp. “I haven’t changed my mind, dolce ragazza .”

Closing my eyes at the endearment, I hope he understands how much he’s helped me already, especially after trying my best to express it earlier. I offer him a small smile.

“Okay,” I say again.

He kisses the top of my head, then leads me back to the kitchen. There’s an older woman standing over the stove stirring something. She’s a little taller than me, has gray hair that’s pulled back into a bun, and she’s wearing a navy blue dress with a white apron over it.

“Betsy, this is Olivia.” Betsy places her wooden spoon down and turns around with a bright smile. “Olivia, this is Betsy.”

“Hi, Olivia. It’s so good to meet you. Although I did meet you when you were much younger. I’m not sure if you remember me or not, though.”

I appreciate her not coming forward and hugging me. Did Victor say something after seeing my reaction when Crystal did it?

“No, I don’t remember.” I tell her.

She waves at me with a laugh. “Don’t worry about that, honey. I’m just glad I remember. My brain isn’t what it used to be.”

Victor snorts. “Betsy, there isn’t anything wrong with your brain.” She rolls her eyes good-naturedly and tsks.

“What would you know? You’re still a young whippersnapper.”

I chuckle at the banter between the two of them. She reminds me of Ruth a little. A pang of sadness hits me in my chest at the thought of her. Inhaling deeply the spicy aroma coming from the pot makes my mouth water.

“Are you making gumbo?” I ask her.

She cocks an eyebrow at me before looking at Victor and winking. “She’s a keeper.” My face heats up at her insinuation, but before either of us can respond, she turns back to me. “I am. It’s Victor’s favorite. He wanted to share it with you.” She sighs heavily. “Then I got a phone call from that Leo and he told me him, Arden, and Lane were coming, so I’m glad I made it because it might be enough to feed them.”

“Sorry, Betsy. That’s a new development, and I forgot to tell you,” Victor explains.

“Don’t worry about it, honey. I know you’re a busy man.” She turns back to the stove, dismissing us. Victor pulls me toward the dining room and greets Crystal.

“Crystal, can you set a place for Leo, Arden, and Lane?” he asks her.

“Of course, sir.” She offers me a small smile and I return it, still feeling a little guilty about earlier. “It’s nice to see you again, Olivia.”

“You, too,” I reply before she walks away to grab more place settings. Victor pulls a chair out for me and he sits next to me.

“About Leo, Arden, and Lane. I asked them to come over to meet you because I heard some news today.” When he doesn’t expand right away, the hairs on my neck stand up.

“What kind of news?”

Victor grasps my hand in his and begins running his index finger over the lines on the palm of my hand. He does this for several seconds like he’s trying to gather his thoughts. Finally, he looks up at me and the look in his green eyes fills me with apprehension.

“Donovan was in town today.”