The Perfect Life (16 page)

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head at her, mouthing back,
You’re gonna pay
.

But that only provoked her more.

When Miss Betty finally loosened her grip on my waist and I managed to discreetly step off to the side, Monroe smirked as she announced, “Dr. Saxon thinks the name Oliver sounds too uptight, so he prefers for everyone just to call him Ollie.”

Oh, she’s so going to get it later.

Miss Betty beamed up at me. “Ollie . . . I love that. I’m thrilled you’re here and that my girl Monroe has someone to show her the ropes. We’re all so proud of her.”

With a smile I didn’t have to fake, I nodded in agreement but didn’t get a chance to say anything else before another female spoke up. “What’s with all the ruckus out here? Is there a party I wasn’t invited to? And who is this visitor we have?”

We all spun around in the direction the voice came from, and the introductions began all over again, this time with a little less talk about my looks and a little more on my experience and qualifications.

But still as Ollie.

Over an hour later, I’d personally met the entire staff of the DCF as we went around desk-by-desk so Monroe could introduce me to each of them, all of who were women except for one forty-something guy with his workspace tucked in the back corner of the office. I couldn’t figure out if I should feel sorry for or be envious of him for always being surrounded by nothing but women.

Much like at the gala the first night I met Monroe, everyone clearly adored, respected, and appreciated her. It was obvious she had spent a substantial amount of time building meaningful relationships with those she’d be working with on a daily basis. In my first few months at the Chicago house, I’d learned very quickly that the people at the DCFS—which it was called in Illinois—could either be my best ally or my worst enemy. They not only controlled what kids were placed in my home, but they also had a voice in the local judges’ ears, which went a long way in the few court placement battles I’d been involved in. I was extremely pleased to see that Monroe had everyone in her corner, though I really expected nothing else. We were all helpless against her magical charisma, drawn to her like moths to a flame.

By the time we’d made our way around and were leaving the office, it was almost noon, and the instant we stepped onto the elevator, my stomach growled loudly. Monroe snickered as her eyes cut over to me. “Are you always hungry, Ollie? I bet Miss Betty would love to feed you some of her home-cooking.”

Luckily for her, the car stopped on the seventh floor and three other people—who were obviously leaving for lunch—joined us on our ride to the ground floor, preventing me from tugging on her ponytail until she begged for mercy like I wanted her to. I shot her a warning look as she giggled to herself in the back corner, and as soon as the other people exited the elevator, Monroe took off like a bat out of hell toward the doors, knowing damn well I was hot on her sexy heels.

I didn’t catch up with her until we reached her car, and I’m not sure what came over me, but just as she went to extend her arm toward the door handle, I grabbed her wrist and twirled her around to face me, using my weight to loosely pin her up against the driver’s side door. “You think you’re so cute, don’t you, my peachy little Rizzo?” I goaded her. “Purposely trying to ruffle my feathers . . .”

“What? You don’t think I’m cute?” Exhilaration flickered in her green eyes, and when she pressed her lips together and rubbed them back and forth, a guttural growl rumbled in my chest.

“No, I don’t,” I rasped as I reached up with my free hand and used my thumb on her bottom lip to part it from the top one. She hissed in a swift stream of air as her pupils dilated, prompting my cock to spring to life. “I think you’re fucking beautiful . . . more on the inside than the out, though I have no idea how that’s even possible. You’re so goddamn perfect it scares me.”

“I’m far from perfect, Oliver,” she answered softly, holding my intense gaze.

Leaning forward to rest my forehead on hers, I whispered, “Monroe, when God made perfect, he made you.” Then, I did what I’d been dying to do since the moment I laid eyes on her.

I kissed her.

“We know

so perfectly

how to give birth

to the monsters

inside us,

but for reasons I

will never figure out,

we have not the slightest

clue of what to do

with all the

love.”

–Christopher Poindexter

Monroe

HIS MOUTH CRASHED
down onto mine and my world shattered around me. Everything I thought to be true was suddenly in question as his strong fingers skimmed along my jawline, slipping around to the back of my neck and anchoring my head as they tangled in the loose tendrils at my nape, all as he pressed his tender yet demanding lips against mine. My mouth opened for him instinctively and our tongues effortlessly stroked and curled around each other’s with unbridled desire. It was passionate, reckless, and just plain stupid. But I never wanted him to stop. Not ever.

From the moment he’d kick-ball-changed into my life, I’d known there was something different about Oliver. My draw to him was undeniable, an electric charge that whirred through my body each time we touched. He made me want things I’d never before wanted. Physical things, like kisses and caresses and intimacy that used to make my skin crawl. Before him, Colin was the only person that I was okay with touching me, and even then, the affection I received from my husband never triggered a response in my body the way it did with Oliver. It petrified me, but at the same time, filled me with something I hadn’t had in a long time . . . hope. Hope that I wasn’t broken. Hope that there was more.

Drawing my lower lip between his teeth, he sucked and nipped at it like he couldn’t get enough of me, and I was unable to resist the urge to rock my body against his. I whimpered into his mouth, and when I felt his hardening length press into me, the last ounce of sanity I was clinging onto dissipated. I needed this man more than I needed my next breath. He . . . me . . .
we
—it was inevitable.

“Monroe,” he whispered as our mouths broke apart ever so slightly, “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Not like this . . . not with Colin.”

Reality slapped me square in the face at the sound of my husband’s name, leaving a sting full of shame. Gasping, I shoved Oliver away and covered my guilty mouth as tears pooled in my eyes.
What in the hell am I doing? I just jeopardized everything I’ve worked so hard for over the last decade . . . all for a kiss with someone I barely know!

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” I chanted over and over into my palm, failing miserably to keep my composure as the waterworks began. “What have I done? I didn’t mean . . . I can’t . . . what’s happening to me?”

“I’m so sorry. I never should’ve done that. Never should’ve put you in that position. Please don’t cry. I swear it won’t happen again. I’m not that kind of guy. It’s just . . . when I’m with you, I do things that I wouldn’t normally do.” He moved back toward me, reaching out with his comforting arms to pull me into an embrace, but I sidestepped him and shook my head adamantly, afraid of what would happen if he touched me again.

“I know, Oliver. I get it, but you’re right—we can’t.” I sniffled as I peered into his troubled eyes through my blurred vision, understanding exactly how he felt. “It’s not all your fault. I wanted it to happen just as much as you did, if not more. I know we need to talk.” Cutting my gaze over to the building and street, I shook my head. “But not here . . . or now.”

Nervously running his fingers through his hair, he took several steps backward. “Yeah, you’re right. I wasn’t thinking. I keep fucking this all up. God, I’m so sorry.”

I awkwardly diverted my gaze to the ground and kicked my pointed toe at a random pebble as I dried the tears from my cheeks. “Yeah, me too.”

“Why don’t we continue this conversation later, somewhere more private, after we’ve both had a chance to think about things?” he offered hesitantly. “I could use some food, and we had plans to go over to the children’s home. I’m really looking forward to meeting the kiddos.”

Nodding, I relaxed a little bit, his pacifying words exactly what I needed to hear. “That sounds good. I think I need a big, greasy cheeseburger to help calm me down.”

He smiled cautiously, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Lead the way.”

Temporarily putting the kiss behind us, we ventured out on foot to find a place where we could grab a bite to eat, careful to keep a substantial distance between us, and the conversation professional. Throughout the meal, Oliver went over the different employment positions we would need to fill to staff the house, including counselors, tutors, and an office manager, while I made lists. Hesitant to give up much control, I questioned the need for an actual office manager or assistant, thinking I could use a third-party company to handle most of the payroll and general administrative items. But, he insisted I would need someone who I could trust to handle a wide-range of tasks for when I’d struggle to find time to get everything taken care of. My mind immediately went to Effie as a prospect, but thought it was best to wait until I wasn’t an emotional basket case to make any kind of decisions. Plus, I wanted to get Colin’s opinion on it first before mentioning her.

I’m going to have a lot to talk to him about. Should make for an interesting night.

The tension between us dissolved a little bit with each passing minute, but a couple of times when I caught a glimpse of his mouth, or noticed him focused on mine, the swell of emotions from the kiss would flood through me, and I’d stare at my plate until the internal battle would subside. I was a fucking wreck.

After we finished eating and made our way toward the Suffolk County home, I eagerly filled him in with a bit of background on a few of the kids that would be transferred to the MH home, but hesitated before continuing on about the oldest of them, thirteen-year-old JoJo.

“So, that’s Aaron, Alex, and Heather.” He cocked his head and threw me an inquisitive look. “Didn’t you say there were four definite transfers?”

“Yeah, JoJo is a tough case. She went from a bad home to a worse foster home,” I explained, careful not to offer specifics, “and she’s got a lot of anger and resentment toward the world built up inside her. I’ve managed to knock down a few bricks in the wall she’s constructed around herself, but it takes a lot of persistence and a lot of weeding through her bitterness to get to the core. All of the kids in the county’s house are homeschooled, but as you know with Mending Hearts, one of our main goals is getting them adapted to as normal of a life as possible, which means enrolling them in public school. She’s at such an influential age right now that I’m really worried about her getting mixed up with the wrong people, or getting in so much trouble that she gets suspended or expelled. Any more rejection for her right now would be devastating.”

Thankfully, we reached the building just before he could ask any more questions, and the minute we stepped inside, we were swallowed up by a group of rowdy kids excited to stop their schoolwork for a few minutes to greet us. It took a combination of me, Oliver, and their homeschool teacher, Ms. Lovell, to get the twenty of them settled back into their chairs, but once they were all seated and somewhat quiet, I was able to introduce Oliver to them.

“Guys and gals, this is Dr. Saxon, who is visiting us from Chicago. He’s gonna be helping me set up the Mending Hearts house over the next few months, so I’m sure you’ll be seeing quite a bit of him while he’s in town,” I announced with a bright smile, my personal worries no longer seeming important when I stared into the faces of those children who had much more serious issues to face.

As soon as I stopped speaking, the entire room broke out into chatter, several of the younger boys unable to stay in their seats. Everyone wanted to be the first to introduce themselves and talk to Oliver, but he knew exactly how to handle them all. Lifting his arms in the air, he held a one dollar bill and a five-dollar bill up in his hands and motioned for them all to pipe down as he wore the most adorable grin I’d ever seen on him, and wondrously, the entire room fell silent as everyone’s eyes were glued to him.