Olivia and mouthed, thank you .
She smiled.
Gracie squirmed her way out of his arms and headed for the door. âAre you coming, Livvie?â
âYup, right behind you.â
Gracieâs squeal of delight pulled his attention from Olivia. She ran toward Oliviaâs desk and picked up the picture Garrett had noticed earlier. âWhoâs this?â She traced her finger around the outline of the large dog.
âThat . . . is Barney.â
âIs he yours?â
She smiled, joy lighting her eyes. âHe sure is.â
âCan I meet him one day?â
âSure. Maybe you can come over and play with him sometime, if youâd like.â She glanced at Garrett, and he shrugged. That was a really big dog.
Gracie bounced up and down on the chair. âI want to. I want to. Thatâs the biggest dog I ever saw. And heâs so cute.â
Olivia laughed. âAnd heâs a real sweetheart, too. Come on, letâs go trick-or-treating.â
âListen.â Garrett stopped her before she reached the door. âWhy donât I pick you up for the party tonight?â
âSure.â Olivia blushed. âWill Gracie be with you?â
âNo.â Garrett clenched his teeth. The fact that the Harrises expected everyone to attend their holiday parties but didnât allow them to bring their families was a sore subject with him. âThe Harrises donât allow children to attend their parties.â
Shock, then indignation, crossed Oliviaâs face. âHmmm . . . well . . . thatâll be changing at the next Harris event,â she said, her eyes sparking fire. She followed Gracie out into the hall.
His gaze lingered, the sway of her hips enticing. Heat flared in his cheeks, and he turned back to the phone call heâd been about to make. It only took him a minute or so to remember whom heâd been about to call.
FIVE
âW HAT DO YOU STILL have left to do before we can get out of here?â Olivia rolled her shoulders to relieve some of the stiffness. Sheâd enjoyed working with Garrett these past few weeks, but the hours theyâd been putting in lately were exhausting.
Garrett lifted his head and massaged the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. âI donât even know at this point.â He raked his hand through his hair and sorted through the folders spread out across the desk.
âWell . . .â Olivia stacked the folders neatly. âI donât think thereâs anything here that canât wait. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I doubt anyone will expectââ
âDamn!â Garrett glanced at his watch. âI canât believe this.â He pulled a plastic bag from the bottom drawer of his desk and tossed it onto the desk as he stood.
âWhatâs wrong?â
âI forgot to drop my shirt at the cleaners. I wanted to sort through this all once more and make sure there was nothing pressing before I left for the holiday, but Iâll never make it if I donât leave now.â He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and pressed the intercom. âJill, has anyone dropped off the file for the Carter divorce yet?â
âNot yet. Carol just ran over to Ms. Harrisâ office to pick it up. It should only take a few minutes.â
âAll right. Please send her in as soon as she gets back.â
âCanât you drop the shirt off on Friday?â Olivia studied him as he tried to organize the chaos scattered over the desk.
âI need it for tomorrow. The dry cleaner over on Third Avenue is open for a couple hours in the morning, and the owner said heâd get it done if I got there before they closed today.â
She grabbed her cell phone and checked the time. âItâs four thirty now.â
âI know what time it is.â He reached to press the intercom button again, and Olivia placed her hand over his. He