Chapter 41Olivia
Olivia
“Ahhh!” I lunge across the gravel of Cade’s driveway, jumping into his arms.
His hoodie bunches against me as I hook my limbs like a koala bear. My shoulders hike, my palms cuddling his rugged jaw before his fresh musk seeps into my nose.
Goosebumps crawl over my skin when I register his scruff, a discomfort I’ve yearned for all week long. Our tongues tangle, his fingers slipping into my hair and tugging on a section of locks before I pull away.
“I promise I brought sexier outfits for the weekend,” I whisper against his mouth.
He bites his lip as he pulls back, cradling my ass cheeks through my black leggings. “If all else fails, you could just walk around naked all weekend. I really don’t give a shit.”
I cross my ankles at his lower back, tugging the hem of my crewneck sweatshirt. “It’s a bit breezy for twenty-four-seven nude activities.” My palms are glued to his coarse cheeks again. “I also hate to break it to you, but the lingerie scandal is not a routine one for me.”
A smirk sheds from his lips as he walks us to the front door. “Not even if I offered to spank you a little bit?”
“Oh.” I beam, brows shooting up. “Well, that just changes the whole game.”
We cross the threshold, Cade sliding me down until my sneakers touch the tile of the dusky lit foyer. “I started a fire out back. It’s practically sunset.”
“Well, let’s go,” I coo, taking his hand to lead us down the tiny hallway.
When we step through the sliding doors, the burning of the firewood sits under the deep teal sky. A burnt orange trims the peaks of the trees in the distance, signaling the end of the day as the gray ripples of the lake dance.
Complete serenity.
Cade chirps, “Don’t get it twisted. I do like dressing up and going to fancy places every now and then.
But uh …” Once we reach the Adirondack chairs, he turns to face me as his hands shove into his jeans pockets.
“I guess it’s no surprise I enjoy the simple things in life. You sort of get what’s at face value.”
I stretch a tender smile as he peeks down at his attire.
He’s apologizing.
Sure, I am the type of girl who likes being wined and dined. My face value is just as spot on as his.
“I could learn to love ‘simple’ just as much,” I say softly.
“Yeah, but ‘simple’ gets old after a while,” he assures me.
Our gazes linger on each other for an extra beat before my eyes drag to the Adirondack chairs.
There’s a red and navy plaid blanket folded on the armrest of one, and the smell of the fiery timber latches onto me.
“Next time, I’ll have to bring marshmallows for s’mores,” I say as I round the furniture.
“Alright, but the chocolate graham crackers are the only acceptable ones.”
We sink into our chairs, and I toe off my white sneakers. “Okay. I’ll be sure to bring those with a box of Cocoa Puffs. Just for you.”
I peer over at him with a smirk, hiking my knees up to my chest. He slumps back, legs spreading as two hands run through his hair. “Come on. You know they’re good.”
My stomach flips as he effortlessly manspreads. And the fact that he’s defending his love for Cocoa Puffs? Well, I’m just turned on even more.
The warmth of the tangerine flames glows on my face, the subtle wind whispering through my tousled locks as I drink in the landscape. “How long have you lived here?” I ask.
“Two years.”
My socks chafe against each other as my feet fidget. “It fits you, you know.”
“Does it fit you?”
“Depends.” I sigh, returning my eyes to him as my chin rests on my knees. “How does it look on me?”
His elbow is supported on the armrest, thumb absently grazing his jawline as he holds my stare. “Like it’s complete.”
A smile blossoms on my mouth, cheek dipping on my knees. My skin heats although the sky drops a shade darker, and the fire radiates over the side of Cade’s face. “What made you leave the bike shop and switch careers?” I ask.
“Sometimes, you just reach a limit on the rewards of a job. I needed something more fulfilling.” He redirects his gaze so that he’s viewing the lake.
“I wanted to contribute to people in another way. One where I could interact with them a little more while making more money. It was a win-win. I’m not the most social, but you go a little stir crazy when it’s just you and bike parts all day. ”
“I admire that about you.”
His chest bounces through a breathy chuckle. “Come on, just because I changed my job? You’re giving me too much credit.”
“You’re not afraid of change. To step outside your comfort zone,” I clarify. “I don’t know, maybe you make me believe I can do the same.”
“I know you can do the same.” His head turns to me before he leans it back. “It’s not a magical power, Olivia. I’m no different than anyone else.”
“That’s a colossally flawed theory,” I say. “I might be a little biased toward you though.”
I hold my palm upward between us, and he accepts the silent invitation. His palm ghosts mine, the pads of our fingers lingering against each other.
“Do you cook at all?” I ask.
“Omelets. Steak. That’s about it.”
“Mm,” I moan, closing my eyes. “I can make a mean Swiss and spinach omelet with egg whites.”
“You’re more than welcome to take over my kitchen tomorrow morning.”
I scoff teasingly, eyeing him with feign offense. “Just like a man to expect his woman to cook for him.”
“No, it’s not like that,” he murmurs, linking his fingers between mine.
“Fair warning, I’m far from the perfect housewife. I grab takeout more than I cook, and I hold babies like footballs.”
“I uh … I’m not entirely surprised by that,” he confesses.
My mouth drops open, and I jerk up in my seat. “What?! That’s terrible of you to be so judgmental!”
Cade’s crooked smile appears as he straightens. “Isn’t everyone judgmental?”
“Yes,” I affirm, “but no one actually admits what they think. Especially when it’s offensive.”
He leans toward me, reaching to cup my cheek in his hand. His earthy musk blends with the burning wood, the heat of the flames doing nothing to mellow the intensity of his touch. “Ah, I see. You’d rather salvage someone’s feelings than be honest.”
I angle my chin up in defense, but his thumb drags it down tauntingly. “You know what? I bet you’re lousy at babies too.” My eyes pop. “Hah! How does that feel?”
He smiles as he nudges his nose against mine. “It would take less than a minute for you to learn how to hold a baby. If all else fails, we’ll just need a stronger defense.”
We’ll.
The implication of his last sentence renders me speechless as I pull an inch away. His eyes sparkle from the fire pit, an everlasting promise woven into them.
My throat rolls as I lay a couple blush-tipped fingers on his prickly chin.
“I do want babies,” I state, my voice hushed.
“It’s just, sometimes I feel like I’m never going to be ready.
” Then my head nods, my eyes skating over every crevice of his face to make sure he doesn’t miss a beat of my speech. “But I do want them.”
He nods, the crook of his mouth tipping higher. “That’s good to know,” he sighs, relief flooding his tone. “ Really good .”
I grin, my shoulders bouncing before I even crack the joke. “I could just picture it. Little leather jackets and boots. Boy or girl, it wouldn’t matter.”
His thumb slides up to stroke my cheekbone as he cocks a brow. “Are you down?” he teases.
We’re joking through the subtext. Our guards are raised but gradually descending as we realize that maybe we will be parents someday. Together.
“As long as I can dress her in those huge, obnoxious bows. Mostly because they’re so fucking adorable, but partly because I know they’ll piss you off.”
He squints. “Why do you think they’d piss me off?”
“Everything pisses you off. You have like a five-second rebound rate.”
“I used to have many reasons to be,” he admits.
“And now?”
His lips lean dangerously close to mine. “I have every reason to smile.”
My fingers at his chin pull his mouth to me, our tongues crushing the tension we just stirred between us. As much as I’ve been determined to steal Cade’s affection, the entertainment of the adventure is fading.
Replaced by this foreign intensity.
This is real.
I always expected my infatuation to remain solid, but knowing him like I do now, I think I’m even more drunk on him.
Our mouths break away, his hand dropping to mine before he leans back in his chair again. “Come here.”
My bottom lip folds between my teeth, and I’m standing to join him. When I sink onto his thigh, he scoops an arm under my legs to turn my body sideways into his. I burrow into the cotton of his hoodie, and his torso shifts to pluck the plaid blanket to drape over me.
His left elbow stands on the armrest while his right hand frames the side of my face. The metal ring tickles my cheek, a shudder rocking through me as his eyes slice through the indigo sky.
“You always make me feel so warm,” I whisper.
He plants his left hand on his chest. “Even when you aren’t with me, I feel it right here. Ever since the day I received your letter.”
The crackle of the fire bursts through the silence, golden sparks reflecting in his eyes. “You didn’t want to know me. Why?” I ask softly.
He shakes his head, tilting it empathetically. “That’s not true, Olivia.”
“Yes, it is,” I say before shrugging. “I just want to know. Please .”
Our gazes stroll along each other over a spell. The memory of that night ravels around us like rope, tying us closer.
My hero finally has a face.
His damsel finally has a face.
“I didn’t want to complicate your life by reminding you,” he explains. “Knowing what I know now, it’s the only wish I’m grateful was never granted.”
“Me too,” I breathe.
His Adam’s apple bobs, eyes stationing on mine. “Olivia, do you see me ?”
My brows mildly cave. “What?”
“Or do you only see my wings?”
The pop of the timber injects the quiet air, the meaning of his question casting over me like a sudden ominous cloud.
He goes on, “I see you for all that you are. You’ve lit a candle in each dark space of my heart. The flame has grown brighter with every conversation with you. Every single touch from you.”
I exhale a shaky breath, our fate devastatingly perfect as it is crushing. He’s worried my love for him came too early, but does love have a timeline? Does love know boundaries when it’s true ?
“I see you,” I whisper. “My feelings for you shouldn’t be measured in length, but in their power.”
He combs a curtain bang back, a shiver skipping down my spine. “You bared your soul to me, and it looked like…” His voice tapers, brows gently pinching as his throat bobs past a tight gulp. “Like the other half of mine.”
I puff out the tiniest breath, warm and blinding destiny on his lips just as the pads of my fingers land there.
“When I died inside, you brought the stars,” he rasps. “And if there is anything I ever promise to do, it’s to keep the stars suspended above us.”
My heart soars, ascending somewhere above the moon, only to be replanted beneath my chest. But it’s sturdier this time.
Invincible.
The flames of the fire glow on our skin—a spotlight on this exquisite moment of fate. Two people brought together and torn apart by chaos, only to be rebuilt in serenity.
In our story, the storm came before the calm. The thunder forced us to listen, and the lightning forced us to look. We look into each other’s eyes, and we see the two people who ached for so long.
Just to be found .
The sky has morphed into a stark black of scattered stars, and a smile creeps on my lips when I begin to slip the wool off me. “Join me?” I whisper.
He grins as he straightens in the chair. I flip the blanket from me, rising to my feet before strolling along the grass. My hands meet the hem of my sweatshirt, stripping it off my chest as I inch closer to the dusky lake.
I peek over my shoulder, but the tips of the flames distort the scene. When I spin forward, I toss my crewneck before hooking my fingers in the waistline of my leggings. The night breeze slaps my skin, but Cade’s presence alone is enough to balance the bite.
My hands wrench my socks and leggings off, flinging the garments mindlessly before I tousle my long locks. I pad along the thick grass until my feet flex over the slick pebbles, and the odor of the fresh water mixes with the soil. “Cade, get your as—”
I yelp when my body sweeps off the ground, his hard chest glued to my back with one arm caging my stomach. Splashes of frigid water erupt around our legs as Cade jogs us in, icy droplets pelting our flesh.
He plants me on my feet, the coarse sand squishing between my toes before he hoists me up. My trembling arms and legs hug his torso, my sharpened nipples scratching his naked chest through the red lace of my bra.
“You’re madness, you know that?” he rasps through quivering lips.
“At least I’m not ordinary,” I shake out.
“ Fuck , this is cold.” He travels us deeper into the water, submerging us until I’m waist deep.
Our lips shudder against one another as the chilly water smacks our skin. Then he flicks his head before a tattooed hand scrubs through his hair.
My hands slide up from the back of his neck, tugging on his short waves. “Take me under and bring us back to life,” I whisper. “Beneath the stars I wished upon for you.”
He smirks deviously, his pearly whites shining against the dark before he dips himself below the surface. The water whirls as he swivels around me, and I cry out as two strong hands clutch my waist.
The pressure of the water caves around my ears, the cold shock of the temperature floating us right to the surface.
“Holy shit!”
“Holy fuck!”
We’re shouting expletives through laughter, his hand tugging mine to surf me to where I can stand up. Water slaps against us, specks of the lake sparking high as we find our footing and sprint to the grass.
Our groans and laughs filter all the way to the fire pit. The hot air caresses my skin, massaging the chills out before Cade’s throwing the plaid blanket over my shoulders.
I cross my arms, snuggling into the wool as he tightens the swaddle. I’m practically a human-sized burrito when his body wraps around me, his steel arms and chest barricading any possible draft.
The tip of my nose presses against his slippery torso, and his palms rub my back in circles as he burrows his lips into my wet hair.
“I was always going to fly back to you, Olivia,” he whispers. “Maybe my mind wasn’t sure about that, but dammit, my heart fucking was. It wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
My heart scurries to break free from my chest, starved to finally unite with his. Two hearts that were connected before any other part of us.
I swallow thickly, angling my chin up as he combs his fingers through his wet hair. “Make love to me, Cade,” I breathe. His hand slows its journey, the flames of the fire bouncing off his gaze. “But ruin me while you do it.”