Chapter Twenty-Two #3
Her scowl deepened when Margot said, "I don't blame her for not wanting to work. I mean, why would she need to? She's with Ollie Stratton."
Becca's eyes grew wide, and she grabbed Callie's hand and dragged her away.
"They're just stupid people talking, Callie. It doesn't make any difference what they say."
Callie took a few deep breaths. "You know what? You're right. It doesn't. But where's Delaney?"
Becca looked around. "She's over there with Hannah now. Why?"
"Because I want to talk to her. I'm going to tell her yes."
Delaney grinned when she saw them approaching, and Hannah chuckled and said, "Uh-oh. This looks like business. I'll catch up with you guys in a little while."
"Have you thought about it?" Delaney asked.
"I have," said Callie. "What would it take to just test the water?"
Delaney grinned. "Easy. That's all I was going to suggest. If you agree, I’ll make a few posts about your work.
" She smiled at Becca. "Even you could do it, if you wanted to.
People know who you are now. There's a lot of interest at the moment since you and Jacob just got married.
My gut says that if you post a photo with one of Callie's mugs or something, people will go crazy for it. "
"You really think so?" Callie asked.
Delaney nodded firmly. "I do. And if Becca doesn't want to do it, I can post from my own account, and I'd be happy to. But you might get more exposure than you're ready for that way."
Callie raised her eyebrows.
"Yes, I am tooting my own horn," said Delaney with a laugh. "But are you ready for it?"
Callie glanced over to where Ollie was talking with Reaves, Bentley, and Jacob. He caught her gaze and winked.
She wanted to be with him. And she wanted to feel like a bit more of an equal. If she had more buyers for her work, it would make life easier — and mean more money coming in.
"Yeah," she said. "Let's give it a test run. We're not committing to anything yet, are we?"
"The only thing I'm asking is that you commit to having an open mind when we see the results."
"Sure. I can do that."
~ ~ ~
Jacob smiled at Ollie and inclined his head slightly toward where Callie and Becca were talking to Delaney. "Sounds like things are going well for you two."
Ollie nodded happily. "They are. Callie's awesome."
Jacob chuckled. "I'd have to agree, from everything I've heard about her — which is a lot, from Becca," he added with a smile.
"And she was great at the wedding. She helped so much and made my life easier in the run-up and afterward.
She's... capable." He frowned. "That sounds wrong, but hopefully you know what I mean. "
Ollie chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. She's amazing. She's a strong, independent woman. She knows her own mind." He shrugged when he realized that the others were all smiling at him. "And yeah, I've got it bad."
"Are you going to be the next one to join the ranks of the old married men around here, then?" Jacob asked, glancing down at the heavy wedding band on his finger with a smile.
Reaves grinned when Ollie nodded slowly.
"I don't know about the next one. A lot of the guys are already engaged."
Bentley nodded. "And finally working on making wedding arrangements."
Ollie glanced back over to where Callie had been standing, but she was no longer there. "But yeah, I'm hoping that Callie and I are going to need to make wedding arrangements of our own some day."
Reaves grasped his shoulder and gave it a shake. Even though he didn't say a thing, Ollie knew he had his best friend's support. He always did.
Bentley gave him a worried look and jerked his chin over Ollie's shoulder. Ollie turned and was surprised to see that Callie and Becca had come to join them. His heart thundered as he wondered whether she'd heard what he said.
He hadn't even found the right moment to tell her that he loved her yet. How would she feel if she heard him telling the guys that he was hopeful she might marry him someday?
The way she smiled made him hope that she hadn't heard, but it seemed the others were as wary as he was about what her reaction might be. Jacob took Becca's hand and headed for the dance floor, and Reaves and Bentley slipped away.
He cleared his throat. "How are you? Did you...?"
The way she smiled made him relax. It seemed that even if she had heard, she didn't have a problem with it.
She reached for his hand. "Want to dance with me?"
"I'd love to."
They went out onto the open-air terrace, and he curled an arm around her waist, pulling her to him until her soft curves pressed against his chest.
"I have something to tell you," she said.
His heart started to pound. If she wasn't mad — if she'd heard him say that he wanted to marry her someday and she wasn't mad at him — then maybe... maybe she was going to say that she loved him. He felt like she did. He could see it in her eyes when she smiled at him.
He wanted to jump in and tell her first, but he knew better than that. If she'd decided to say it, he wasn't about to steal her moment.
"What is it?" he asked, holding her a little closer.
"I told Delaney that she can do some test marketing on my work."
He laughed — mostly at himself for having gotten so carried away.
"That's awesome."
"But funny?" she asked, looking a little concerned.
He shook his head. "No, not funny at all. I just thought you were about to say something else."
She looped her arms up around his neck, her green eyes seeming to shine even more than usual tonight. Maybe it was the dress that brought it out. "What did you think I was going to say?"
He rested his forehead against hers and looked deep into her eyes. "Something that I wanted to say first."
She snuggled closer. "And what's that, Ollie?"
He pressed a kiss to her lips. "That I love you, Lady Sunshine.
Maybe it's too soon, maybe I'm going too fast, but it doesn't feel that way to me.
" He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze.
"You asked earlier if you were worth the wait, and I have to tell you — you were.
I didn't know it until you came along, but I think I've been waiting my whole life for you.
I love you. And even if you don't love me yet, I'm hoping that—"
"I do."
She pressed a kiss to his lips as they swayed to the music. "I love you too, Ollie. And it doesn't even feel like it's too soon. I think we've been through a lot together in the time we've known each other. I feel like I know who you are."
He nodded. "I feel like I know who you are, too. And we just... work."
"Yeah. We might not look like a logical match from the outside, but—" She tapped the middle of his chest, then tapped her own. "On the inside, where it counts, I think we are."
He leaned in to kiss her. The wine bar, the music, and everything else faded away as he turned her slowly in a circle.
When he finally lifted his head, she reached up to touch his cheek. "I feel like we're at the beginning of something special here, Ollie."
He held her a little closer. "That's because we are."