Everything I Dreamed (Everhope Road #2)

19. Oliver

19

OLIVER

L iam stares back at me through the screen on my phone as I stand in the parking lot of the park outside of town. This is the worst possible time for him to video call, but I already let him go to voicemail earlier when I was in the grocery store buying a few items.

“You’re on your honeymoon. Why the hell are you calling me?” I’m slightly bewildered as he stands in kayaking gear and pines are the backdrop. “You should be MIA to anyone you know.”

He has a sheepish grin from that fact. “We only have a few days more before we drive back east. I was wondering if you could maybe tone down my sister.”

I flinch and crane my neck. “Oh? How so?”

“Judging by my call with her earlier and her peppy tone, I’m positive she’s going to decorate my house or some shit like that as our welcome home, but that’s just not us. A simple bouquet of flowers or fruit basket will do. Knowing Hailey, she will probably spread flower petals somewhere and that stuff is a pain in the ass to clean up. She already mentioned she is organizing a birthday party for you since I’m not around to do it. Again, she’s lost her marbles. Like is she on some drug I’m not aware of? Changed her coffee order? Anyhow, you probably know more than me since you see her a lot.”

My stomach sinks and I swallow, trying to figure out what he is implying. “See her a lot? Nah, no more than normal.”

“Really? I mean, you live on the same street.”

I scratch the back of my neck and play it cool, even though guilt cuts through me due to the complexity of the situation or the fact that every time he brings up Hailey my heart jumps. “Opposite ends. Plus, I’m normally at work until late.”

Then screw your sister senseless because she’s my wife.

“Oh, okay, cool.” He seems to buy it, and he looks over his shoulder. “Our instructor is telling us it’s time. I gotta go.”

“Yes! Please. You’re newlyweds and shouldn’t even have left your hotel room, but fine, go kayak.” I smirk. Their idea of a honeymoon is hiking and adventure sports.

I would say that I’m a hypocrite for roasting his ideas of what the newlywed phase should look like, but I now have my own.

Not exactly conventional, but on the calendar, the newlywed phase began a week ago when we said I do. No honeymoon for us, but I’ll give her the closest thing possible.

The sound of wheels on gravel brightens my smile as I lean against the car and wait for Hailey. Ideally, I would have picked her up, but I needed to be here to set up a few things.

When she parks her car next to mine, I open her door for her, and she slides out of her seat in good spirits, giving me a quick peck on the lips as I close the door. I told her to come casual, and she nailed it with jeans and a black tee, with her dark red sneakers.

“Sorry I’m late. We had a staff meeting and it went overtime due to the science teacher from hell, but apparently, he is moving next month, so that’s a win for us all.”

“It’s fine. I was occupied with your brother on the phone.”

Her face drops, color even slightly washing away. “What? I spoke to him earlier, but it was quick, and I didn’t even have time to process that I’m keeping a big secret from him. Maybe he found out. He was grilling you or tricking you or I don’t know…” She’s about to have a meltdown.

“Relax. As much as I had a few moments of internally cursing oh shit, we’re fine. Just wanted to check about the key and ensure that you don’t go overboard with decorating his house.”

She theatrically wipes a hand across her forehead. “Thank goodness. We’re really going to need to rehearse this until the time is right. But I don’t want to think about that now. They can enjoy their honeymoon, and I’m here.” She steps forward and her arms circle around my middle.

“You know…” I cock my head to the side and cluck my tongue. “Technically, we’re in the newlywed phase, and I know we are going backwards on the timeline with now actually having a date, but I think I have us in the middle.” I step back and hold my hand out to her. “This way, please.”

The moment her palm greets mine, I feel a sting near my heart. She almost appears shy with anticipation in her delicate smile. In truth, I’m the one who’s a little nervous. It’s been a long time since I’ve been romantic in this way. Okay, maybe I’ve never gone this far off the scale, but it’s for someone well deserving.

“We are walking toward the river,” she notes.

“Someone is observant.” We walk through the woods with no path. It’s only a three-minute walk from the car, but still, it feels like we may get lost.

“Mosquitos might be a pain. The sun will set soon, and those little pesky things come out in full swing,” she notes.

The corner of my mouth lifts because she isn’t complaining, she’s joking around with me. “Don’t worry, I’ll rub aloe vera on every little bite when I take you back to my place.”

“What an offer.”

In the corner of my eye, she searches around us for clues of what our date entails. It’s only a minute more and our steps slow until she completely freezes, and her mouth hangs so far open that those mosquitos may just fly in.

I patiently wait for her to say something, and when she side-eyes me, her slack mouth flows into an angelic smile.

“Oliver, I-I,” she stammers. “What the hell?” She shoves me playfully. “This is beyond expectations. This is beyond, well… you might be doing all the talking because I’ll be too quiet from shock.” She continues to soak in the setting.

In front of us along the river, in a private spot, there’s a small table and chairs, with a jar of flowers and a candle. Plates and wine glasses are already set, too. I bought the whole shelf of solar lights at the store, which are now hanging between the trees, along with a few tiny wind chimes and those plastic pinwheels that move in the wind. I also threw pillows on the chairs and ground to give us options. Quickly, I pull out my phone and swipe my thumb to turn on the Bluetooth with my mix of soft indie and country music.

“Don’t worry, the candle is citronella. As much as I would love to kiss every tiny mosquito bite, I’m not a monster and don’t want to end up spreading ointment because you itch.”

She sputters out a laugh. “You really have thought of everything.”

I extend my arm to indicate for her to go to the table. She looks up at me as I tuck her chair under the table, and I grab a bottle of wine from the cooler.

“We needed a private spot.” The pop of the cork on cue makes me feel like a magician, and it causes her smile to grow.

“The walk back might scare the hell out of me when it’s dark.”

I pour the white wine into her goblet. “I’m smart, remember? I have flashlights.”

“And all of this stuff?” She looks at her surroundings.

I chuckle because again, I think I might have nailed this. “There is actually a chef who has the night off from the River Bell who delivered the food, and he will take care of the cleanup later.”

Her jaw drops again. “What?” she nearly shrieks.

I set the bottle on the table and pick up a covered plate by the cooler and deliver it to the table and sit down across from her.

“Relax. Everything is thought out,” I promise her and lift the cover at the same time.

Her eyes bug out and again her entire face lights up. I’m 90% positive that she might just cry, but that just means that my grand gesture has touched her within.

“Bagels,” she says. There are spreads too, but the bagels are more significant.

“Dinner rolls are not for us, baby, and I’ve taken the knife away from you too,” I tease her then hold out my glass to her for a toast.

She meets me in the middle. “To Oliver, for throwing on the charm and setting unrealistic expectations for every date going forward.”

I chuckle and then we toast. Sipping my wine, I revel in the view. She nearly blushes, even when her fingers play with the stem of the glass that she looks into, and a beat of silence stretches.

“You okay there?”

Her eyes flick up to lock with mine. “It’s just… nobody has done something like this for me. I’m wondering if I need to pinch myself to see if it’s real.”

Resting my forearms on the table, I’m conflicted because I wish someone had treated her like a gift, but then I’m happy they didn’t because I want to be the first and set the standard. One that will never be as special as this.

My stomach dips because I’m well aware that I’m so infatuated with her now that I have her in some way.

“It’s real.”

She cracks a smile and her head lolls to the side. “Well, some of it.” Her eyes narrow on my finger. “You’re wearing the ring.”

“And if I were to tuck my fingers into your shirt then I would find yours too.” My voice is steady because this isn’t us volleying back and forth. She silently gasps a breath because she knows it too.

“Look at us going on our first real date and already married.”

Now we both have ridiculous grins on our faces.

I give us a few more moments then break us from our daze. “Hungry?”

She shifts on her chair and takes another sip. “I nearly forgot about the food, but I’m absolutely starving.”

“They are garlic and onion bagels, with butter and hummus options. We have a salad with figs and goat cheese on a bed of some vegetable that I have no clue the name.”

Her fingers are already ripping off a piece of bagel, and she shakes her head. “I’m not going to be able to focus tomorrow. This whole set-up is out of this world.”

“Mind-blowing probably when I tell you that we also have chocolate mousse and strawberries.”

Hailey points her bagel at me, still unable to contain her smile. “Now that’s just a little cheesy.”

I spread some hummus on my bagel and finally relax now that my date idea seems to be a success.

“I have to say that you are a wild card. I never would have guessed this is on your romance list. It’s interesting seeing you in this light.”

“How so?”

She rolls a shoulder back. “I’ve had ideas in my head of what you might be like when you are with a woman. I just couldn’t figure out what way you would be.” She bites her bottom lip for a second. “Or rather, I don’t think I wanted to know. It kind of stung that it wasn’t me who would be sitting on the opposite side of the table as you.”

My eyes widen. “Whoa, we are not doing the whole past relationship convo this evening.”

She cracks a laugh. “No, that’s not what I mean. It’s more like it was safer for me to block out the options of what you could be.”

“And? Now that you know?”

“I’m happy I didn’t know. It would have made life a little miserable every time I ran into you.”

I wasn’t expecting her to explain it like that, but it makes sense, and it just confirms that I was in her head as much as she occupied my own.

“We’re totally doing everything the wrong way.” I make the statement in a monotone.

She giggles and throws a tiny piece of food at me. “No, really? I’m having my first dinner date with my husband.”

My lips purse, and I bite the inside of my cheek to hide my grin of satisfaction about that, but she must notice.

“So, tell me, young Oliver, what is it that you’ve always wanted in your future?” She crosses her arms and rests against the back of her chair.

Hailey wants to pick at my brain, and in all honesty, other than being consumed by the woman sitting across from me, I haven’t taken a moment to think about what I want in life. I’m beginning to think that I’ve thrown this upon us in order to figure it out.

“Success.”

Her lips press together and her eyes squint. “You’re not happy with your job, are you?”

“I am. Really, I am. It’s never the same. Like I said a few times, I’ve been asked to work for the hockey league at their office in New York. That’s gotta mean that I’m doing something right.”

“I remember when we were younger and you would hang around Liam how you always wanted to be a lawyer. I think you had even already looked up questions for the bar and you weren’t even seventeen. Therefore, I believe you. What else?”

My hand swipes across my face as I think about it. “At some point, I want to settle down. Everyone around me is.”

“Doesn’t mean you need to,” she challenges.

“Or it just reminds me that I want those things.”

Her mouth slants to the side. “Ah, you’re using me so you can get a dog and then have me babysit when you have a business trip.”

I grin at her banter again. “You figured it out.”

“You had that adorable Saint Bernard growing up.”

My face screws up. “You remember that?”

“Well, yeah. We remember the little things about the people we want in our life.” She slays me every single fucking time. “Just like you don’t want to admit how much you love the backyard of your parents’ ridiculous-sized house, but you just like to say the opposite of whatever they say.”

“Don’t be too clever on me now.” I’m enjoying this light conversation.

“Truthfully, that back patio with the river view is stunning and worthy of elegant festivities. I might endure one of your mother’s gossip sessions just so I can sit outside there.”

My brows furrow at her seriousness in that. “I didn’t realize. Otherwise, I would have done all of this there.”

“This is better. It’s original. Plus, no prying eyes.”

We talk a little more until I grab the main course from the warm bag. Then I place the plates in front of us, with chicken and rosemary potato roulade.

“Thank you so much. It looks delicious.” Hailey skates her sight between the plate and me.

“Smells good too. We can eat slow, so no rush for dessert.”

Hailey gives me a pointed look as she seems to be impressed. “Any other plans?”

I bob my head side to side. “Maybe.”

The early-evening sun turns to the night sky that covers us. Our discussion was about various things, mostly what her preschool will be like. At some point we navigated away from the table to the blanket closer to the water. I’m lying propped against the pillows while her head rests on my stomach and she lies sideways with the sound of the chimes gently blowing.

“Of course I see my house as a home,” I refute her challenge, as she said I live in only a house.

“It doesn’t look loved inside. It’s very… plain.”

I begin to stroke her hair as the hue of the candlelight glows on her face. “Sorry it’s not up to your standards,” I say, sarcastic. “I guess it’s because I’m not always home or I just work.”

“You need the house to feel as though people actually cook there, relax with a movie, or even better, have little things that show your personality. It should feel warm and welcoming.”

“Uh, it is.” But I think she means that someone should be waiting when I open the door. A place where one day if I ever have kids, we pencil their growth on the wall, and right now, I’m stuck because in that thought, it’s with her.

“I mean, I guess. I just can’t help feeling that it could use a little something to complete the puzzle.”

I’ve been formulating theories in my head the whole night. Mostly, that I’ve been living life, following the grind of the world. The times when it hadn’t felt like a routine were when I was around Hailey. Every time she made everyone laugh, every moment when we would shamelessly flirt or the way we clicked without thought. Maybe that’s why I’ve been a little mute every time she steers conversations to being about me.

She snuggles closer to me, as the temperature has fallen a few degrees, and her peaceful sigh has me worried that we won’t leave this place tonight, and we need to.

“Want to go swimming?” she suggests, and there is no humor in her tone.

“Nope.” My P is sharp. “I can’t see what the hell is in the water this time of night, nor during the day, either.”

Her fingers crawl up my arm. “But you always talk about going tubing on a river in Texas.”

Creases break out on my forehead. “You remember that?”

“Sure. Like I said, it’s the little things.”

I guess it is, and it’s not a one-way street between us.

“Plus, the moon is out.” She pouts.

I chuckle and hold her closer. “Perfect for snakes.”

“Eww, then no naked swimming.”

“How about you come back to my house, though? Tomorrow is Saturday, so we get a few extra hours in bed.”

She plants a kiss on my arm that’s across her chest. “I mean, I guess. My neighbor down the street is kind of legally married to me, so I might as well hop into bed with him.”

“That you shall.”

We both shuffle in our spots and sit up. “Hey, Oliver.” Her voice is soft, and her eyes shimmer in the candlelight. The sound of locusts are the background noise to our brief silence.

“Hey, Hailey.”

She places her hand against my cheek. “Thanks for making this a special night. I never would have imagined this, and it was perfect.” Her thumb strokes my skin once before she gives me a decent kiss that is worthy of a moan into one another’s mouth.

“It’s easy when the person it’s for is already perfect.” I’m not sure if it’s me trying to be cheesy or if it’s the reality, but her mouth twitches from my reply.

We scurry up, and I grab the flashlights near the cooler and offer her one. “Come on, before the deer or beavers attack us. I heard they get hungry this time of night.”

After cleaning up as much as we can, she follows closely behind me, gripping my arm for dear life. “Seriously, if some animal appears that isn’t cute and fuzzy then this date’s rating drops.”

I halt us and kneel down. “Get on my back.”

“What?”

“On my back,” I order. “I’ll ensure nothing attacks you, including snakes and opossums. Now get on my back.”

She listens and jumps on for her piggyback ride. “You’re crazy.”

I boost her up on my back as I stand. “Someone is speaking from experience,” I rebuke.

She laughs and tightens her hold around my neck. “What a match we are then. I guess there will be a second date.”

Hailey can’t see, but I roll my eyes and half-grin. “Our date isn’t finished yet. We have part two when I take you on the stairs after I rip your clothes off as soon as I close the front door.”

And because I need to get inside of her and not for just physical gratification.

It’s because we are in a confusing situation, and when I don’t want to think, I would rather be lost in the woman who probably has more power over me then she realizes.

The woman wearing the chain with a ring around her neck.