Olivia looked at her scalded hand. How long had it been since someone had taken care of her?

She couldn’t remember.

She hadn’t dated in several years. Every now and then someone might hold a door for her or take her arm at a conference when there was ice on the steps. Other than that, she rarely received much consideration from anyone she wasn’t paying. Having her sister tend to her, if only for a few seconds, had made her feel . . . cared for.

Olivia took a sip of her tea, not liking the vulnerability she felt. “Chase and I are working the Mount Larsen Fall Festival next weekend. You might want to volunteer to help there, too. I mean, if you want. But if you do, we’ll have to shift some sleeping arrangements. Chase is helping one of the ladies get celebrities for the charity dunking booth, and at least one is staying here that weekend.”

“Celebrities?” Neve perked up, her eyes lighting with interest. “Like who?”

“Spencer Rome, for one,” Olivia said, ignoring the squiggles of . . . something in her stomach. So she’d had a crush on him when she was younger. Okay, and maybe a little bit in the present? Big deal. Everyone had celebrity crushes. He was just a guy . . . who looked amazingly gorgeous. But just a guy.

“Get out!” Neve’s mouth dropped open. “He’s staying here? With us?”

“Um.” Olivia looked around the kitchen, envisioning the Hammer fixing a ham sandwich at the counter. Seemed absurd to let a guy like Spencer stay in a ramshackle cabin that needed new carpet and paint. And those were the easy things to fix. “Yeah. Chase actually likes this place. I think she thinks it’s like summer camp. I told her we could put him up in Redmond, but she said he would love the vibe here.”

“I need to lose ten pounds, color my hair, paint my toenails, and get a bikini wax,” Neve said, looking a little freaked out.

“You think he’s going to see that you haven’t had a bikini wax?”

Neve grinned. “A girl should always be prepared. I mean, he could be into older gals who have, you know, experience. Yeah, I don’t have a job or a waxed hoo-ha, but I have plenty of wisdom in certain arenas, arenas that a man appreciates. Who knows, I might rock the Hammer’s world.”

“Oh Lord.” Olivia rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

This was the most intimacy she’d had in forever with her sister. Sure, back when they were teens, they had their issues, but it had been like this between them—jokes, teasing, something that felt like love. Olivia was almost scared to feel what she felt, but it was also addictive. A part of her had missed Neve, craved some closeness with her.