Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
Rhett
“Oh my god! This was so good. I didn’t think you ate things like this in Texas.” Olivia dabs her smirking lips with a napkin and tosses it on her empty plate.
“What’re you talking about? It’s buffalo chicken. That’s Texas.”
“It’s on a baked sweet potato. I didn’t think you ate vegetables unless they were fried.”
“I had to make it a little more city for you.”
“Hey! I’m turning into a true Texas girl now. I even own a pair of boots.” She lifts her foot for me to see.
“You’re right. You’re a Texas gal through and through now.” I laugh. “I might’ve also remembered you telling me you love sweet potatoes.”
“I do. This was perfect.”
“I hope you’re not ready for the date to be over already. I’m not done yet.”
A cautiously optimistic smile crosses her lips. “There’s more?”
“Of course.”
I get up from the blanket I’ve spread across the wild grass and move toward the truck, unlocking it and pulling my guitar from the back seat.
When I come back and sit down on the blanket across from Olivia, she’s arching her brow at me.
“I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks. I think I’m finally ready to share with you.”
Fighting back a smile, she sits cross-legged with her hands securely in her lap. She looks like a perfect angel as she watches me expectantly. Just like that, a wave of nerves washes over me. I take in a deep breath that does little to release the tension in my chest.
“Are you okay?” Olivia’s hand on my knee grounds me again.
“Uh yeah, just a little nervous. I want you to like this.”
“Whatever it is, I’m going to love it because it’s coming from you.”
“I just want to make sure it’s as good as you.”
“Rhett Lawson! I’ve already told you you’re worthy. I’ve told you I love you. Stop getting in your head and play me the damn song before the curiosity kills me.” Her stern tone is immediately offset by her gentle laughter.
“I just want to point out the irony of you telling me that right now.”
“Yes, I know, but at least I acknowledge I need to work on it, and I’m getting help.”
“Touché.” I let out one more deep breath and begin the first couple of chords of the song. After about five to ten seconds, I glance up at her, trying to see if recognition is crossing her face yet.
Instead of seeing her beaming like I expected, tears are filling her eyes. I instantly pause, setting the guitar aside to tug her into my lap. “Hey, what’s wrong? What did I do?”
Brushing a stray tear with the back of her hand, she shakes her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Keep going. I just can’t believe you learned ‘The Best Day’ for me. You remembered me telling you about that song?” Her voice cracks as she finishes the question.
“I thought you knew by now that I hang onto every single word you say. I cherish every little detail you share with me.”
“I knew you listened to me, but I still didn’t think you’d care all that much about a story I told you from my childhood.”
“I could tell this song, and the memory it brings with it, was important to you, so it’s important to me. Don’t you get it by now? The things that you care about are the things that I care about. The things that you love are the things I love, even if that thing is a damn Taylor Swift song.” I smirk.
Her jaw drops open, but she quickly clamps it shut, biting her lip to hide a smile. “You take that back!”
I plant a soft kiss on her cheek and work my way down to her neck, just barely dusting it with my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She returns my affection with kisses of her own. Desire overtakes me, but she cuts me off when she innocently asks, “Will you finish the song, please? I promise I won’t cry anymore.”
A puff of air escapes my nostrils. “You can cry if you want to as long as they’re happy tears.”
“Okay, I promise. Just play it, please.”
She draws away from where she was leaning against my chest, and I selfishly want to pull her back to me. Feeling her peel away from me feels like losing a limb. She’s a part of me now. I’m not whole without her. But instead of being selfish, I let her sit across from me and pull my guitar back into my lap, starting the song over from the beginning again.
She sits there, watching me with a soft look in her eyes for the entire four minutes that I play the song. When it’s done, she claps for me, making my cheeks flush. “Oh, jeez. Don’t clap for me.”
“But it was so good. I’m tempted to ask you to play it again.”
“I can if you want me to, but I have one more song to play you first.”
Her brows knit together. “Okay. Is it another one I’ll recognize?”
“I don’t think so. It’s kind of a Rhett original.”
“I get my own Rhett song?”
“You’ll probably end up with several, the way you’ve been inspiring me lately. I’ve always wanted to write music, but I’ve never really had much inspiration. The pain of losing Isabel inspired me enough for one song, but once I was done, I couldn’t get anything else right again. But now, with you, the ideas won’t stop coming. You’ve opened the floodgates.”
“Rhett, that’s amazing!”
“You’re the one who’s inspiring me.”
“But you’re the one writing the songs.”
“And I wouldn’t be writing them without you.”
“Just take the credit while I’m giving it to you.”
I scrunch my face up at her. “Fine.”
“Is it just the guitar or do I get to hear you sing again too?”
“You don’t want to hear me sing. I sound like a dying whale when I sing.”
“You do not! I’m such a sucker for that raspy voice you have. And I’m not just saying that because I love you. You genuinely have an incredible voice. I can’t believe you’ve never tried to pursue a career in music.”
I just shrug. “I love music, but I also love working on the ranch. I think this is a gift I’d like to keep private, just as a hobby. I don’t need to ruin it by turning it into something for money. I just want to write songs for my beautiful girlfriend.”
“I think I can live with that.”
I let out a sharp exhale. “Here goes nothing, I guess.”
I strum the first few chords, and watch as she becomes instantly entranced, unable to take her eyes off me. That feeling is more than mutual. I look deep into those beautiful amber eyes that drive me absolutely wild as I strum a song about how she opened up my whole world.