Chapter Twenty-Two #2
For a moment, when they were talking this morning, she'd thought that Ollie was about to say that he loved her. If he had, she would have told him that she loved him back. But he didn't say it. And so neither did she.
The thing was, though, she wasn't even worried. Despite all the bumps in the road, she’d been falling for him since the moment she met him, and he wasn’t hiding that he was falling for her, too.
It was coming. And maybe it was better to wait for the words to come out only after the feeling was fully formed.
~ ~ ~
Ollie stood at the bottom of the stairs in the hallway, waiting for Callie to come down. The dogs sat beside him, their tails sweeping the marble floor behind them, their ears straining forward in eager anticipation.
Peanut whined at his side.
"I know. I want her to come down now too, but we have to wait. I promise you it'll be worth it. No matter what she's wearing."
Butter let out a low woof at that.
Ollie checked his watch. They had plenty of time.
It didn't matter when they got to Muse anyway, but it was still earlier than they'd planned to go out.
That was one of the many things he loved about Callie.
She wasn't one of those women who was always running late, preferring instead to be a couple of minutes early.
Butter barked again when they heard movement upstairs.
"Are you ready?" Callie called.
"Ready and waiting," he called back.
She laughed. "I didn’t take that long. And besides, the best things in life are worth waiting for."
He grinned. "I'd have to agree with you there, but are you coming downstairs, or do we have to come up and get you?"
She laughed. "I'm coming. Don't come up.
Don't spoil it. Ever since I saw that fancy sweeping staircase of yours, I've had the secret urge to make a grand entrance.
To appear at the top and take your breath away.
" She laughed again. "But it's more likely I'll take my own breath away by tripping and falling. "
He shook his head with a smile. "Not gonna happen, Callie. Just come out so that we can see you. All three of us. The anticipation is killing us."
"Okay, close your eyes, then. You can open them when I tell you."
He chuckled and closed his eyes, then opened them again to tell the dogs, "Cover your eyes, guys."
He laughed out loud when they both lay down and covered their noses with their paws.
"We're ready," he called as he closed his eyes again.
He heard her heels click out onto the landing from the carpeted hallway upstairs, and then she called, "I'm going to give you a countdown. Don't open your eyes till I say. Three... two... Peanut! That's cheating! Okay, one. You can open your eyes."
Ollie laughed, not surprised that Peanut would be the one to sneak a look before she was supposed to. But the laughter caught in his chest when he saw Callie.
All he could do was stare.
She was gorgeous. She always was — but wow!
She might not be his usual type, but that was only because his taste had been pretty superficial in the past. Callie was more beautiful than any woman he'd ever known.
And now, standing there at the top of the stairs in a dress the color of her eyes, her light brown hair hanging loose around her shoulders, she was. ..
"Damn," he said. "Just... damn, Callie. You look amazing."
Butter barked, and he chuckled. "He says you are amazing. And he's right. Come on down."
He started toward the stairs, concerned that she might not have been joking about tripping. She waved a hand at him.
"No, don't come up. I want to make my entrance. You have to stand there and watch."
He took his phone out of his pocket. "Can I take a photo?"
She nodded happily. "Sure, but only if we get some more of the two of us once I'm down there."
Peanut whined, and she added, "Okay, okay. The four of us. Out by the pool, but no jumping in. We're going out."
Ollie laughed and snapped a couple of photos as she made her way down the stairs. When he went to take another, it was spoiled by his phone buzzing with an incoming text. The notification said it was another text from Dad, so he swiped it away.
He probably should call him back at some point. But not tonight. Tonight was a new beginning with Callie. He didn't want old ghosts casting shadows over it.
When she reached the bottom step, she stopped in front of him and smiled. "Worth the wait?"
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her softly. "You sure were."
~ ~ ~
"Damn, girl. Look at you." Callie grinned at Willow, who was nodding as she looked her over. "That dress looks as though it was made to fit you."
"Thanks. Isn't it great? I think you already know I'm not much of a dress wearer normally, but Becca took me to Laurel & Vine today, and—"
"Let me guess. Margot helped you." Willow made a face. "She's not my favorite person, but she definitely has an eye for what will suit you."
"As a matter of fact," said Becca, "Callie picked this one out herself. Margot picked out some different ones, and they were nice, but nothing compared to this."
"That's even better," said Willow, looking around Muse. The bar was already crowded, everyone scattered and catching up with each other. "Margot's here tonight, and if I know her, she'll take credit for having picked your dress out for you, too."
Becca chuckled. "I'm glad you said that, Willow. I'm never sure if it's just me. She's always super nice when I go in there, but I don't know..."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, she's a bit of a schemer.
" She met Callie's gaze. "If she's found out that you've snagged one of Napa's most eligible bachelors.
.. In fact, come to think of it, he may have been the last one — or at least the most eligible — since Becca just put a ring on Jacob, and Bentley's engaged to Alyssa. "
Callie shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable, but Willow reached out to touch her arm.
"Hey, I don't mean anything by it. I'm thrilled. You have no idea how many women have set their sights on Ollie just because of his name and his money." She grinned. "I love that they were things he had to get past before you'd give him a real chance."
Callie shrugged again. "Yeah, I may have been a bit of an asshole about that. But he didn't give up on me, and I'm glad."
Willow laughed. "Well, don't forget I'm still keeping Becca's bouquet for you. What do you think? Any chance you might need it?"
Callie wasn't sure how the bouquet thing worked. She knew that whoever caught it was supposed to be the next to get married, but … She dropped her gaze. Marriage wasn't something that had been on her priority list. In fact, it was something she'd been trying to avoid when she moved out here.
"Hey, leave her alone."
They all turned to see Delaney had come to join them. Callie appreciated the diversion, but she wasn't sure she was thrilled to see Delaney.
"I thought you were going to give me a call," Delaney said.
"Yeah, sorry. Things have just been kind of busy."
Delaney gave her a knowing smile. "So I hear.
I have to say, I'm happy for you. Ollie's a good guy, and you two seem like you'd be a good match.
But have you given any thought to what we talked about?
I'd love to market your work, you know. We could rebrand you, and you'd make a fortune.
" She laughed. "I don't know that you could ever make a fortune that would match Ollie's.
I don't know that any of us would ever be able to do that.
But you could go big-time. I know that much. "
Callie was starting to feel uncomfortable.
Delaney had that effect on her anyway, but she didn't like talking about Ollie's money.
It didn't seem right. She wanted to just come out and say no — she wasn't interested.
But for one thing, it was good of Delaney to offer, and for another, it might not be the worst idea in the world.
If she and Ollie were going to get together for real, she'd like to feel as though she had money of her own.
"Can I think about it and call you?"
"Sure. If you really are going to call me this time."
Callie gave her a wry smile. "I will. I promise."
"Okay, then. But I'll check in with you again before I leave tonight, okay?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "You'll get used to her, you know. Most people think she's pushy, and she's an acquired taste, but she has a heart of gold once you get through the tough shell."
Callie was a little more inclined to like Delaney when she saw the smile that she and Willow exchanged. Willow herself could be described as pushy and having a hard outer shell, but Callie was already familiar with her heart of gold.
She was grateful when Becca caught her arm and said, "If you ladies would excuse us, Callie and I have a tradition we need to follow through on."
Callie laughed as Becca dragged her away toward the bathroom. "Do you need to go, or is this just...?"
Becca smiled. "Tradition, as usual. And I thought I should get you out of there."
"Thanks, Becs. But I can hold my own with them, you know."
"Oh, I know," said Becca. "I just thought if Delaney pushed any more, you might get sick of it and say no, and I don't think you should. I really think you should think it over. Not that I'm pushing," she added hurriedly.
"I know. And I think maybe you're right."
As they made their way toward the bathrooms, she spotted Margot from Laurel & Vine talking to another couple of women.
When they came back out, she steered Becca over in that direction.
She wanted to thank her for her help earlier — and to show her how great the dress looked — despite Margot having pushed her toward the other, far more expensive one.
But she slowed down as they approached, hearing Margot's friend say, "I heard Delaney Morgan offer to market her pottery, and she said no."
Callie scowled at Becca. They couldn't be talking about anyone other than her.