Chapter 8
EIGHT
OLIVIA
“You surprised me today.”
For someone who spent the last week feeling a bevy of emotions over my life choices and my most recent decision to walk out on my fiancé on the day we were set to get married, I thought I was in a great mindset now.
I didn’t care that I was supposed to have gotten married one week ago, and now I was having dinner with a man who was not my husband, fiancé, or boyfriend. It didn’t matter to me one bit.
Because I’d just had one of the best days of my whole life, and there wasn’t a thing I’d allow to ruin it.
Sitting across the table from Taj, I smiled and teased, “My snowboarding skills impressed you that much?”
His laughter filled the air around us. “It wasn’t necessarily your skills that impressed me.
I was shocked by your resilience and determination.
Despite how many times you fell, you still got up, kept going, and did it all with a smile on your face.
You were unbelievably happy for someone who didn’t quite master the skill.
And I’m still just as surprised by it now as I was earlier today. ”
“Well, even though it has been a couple of hours since I made my first attempt at the sport, I’m still riding that wave. I wasn’t joking earlier. I had such a wonderful time. It really was a lot of fun.”
With a smile on his face, he shook his head slightly and allowed his eyes to roam over me, like he was looking for answers to some unasked questions.
If there really were any, he didn’t probe.
Instead, he said, “A lot of people would have been frustrated if they’d fallen so much.
It’s a tough sport that requires a lot of practice and patience for most individuals, so I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed yourself. ”
I didn’t know what it was—maybe that Taj had given me something that nobody else had ever given me before, doing it almost effortlessly, too—but I felt compelled to be completely honest with him.
“I guess I can understand why you’re so shocked by my response, but I’ve never felt so free before in all my life. ”
Taj’s brow furrowed, his head tipping slightly to one side. He appeared to be utterly bewildered by my statement.
“I know that probably seems impossible, but it’s the truth,” I insisted, reaching for my glass.
I took a sip of my drink before I went on.
“I’ve been working ever since I was young.
It’s all I’ve ever known, and every time I wanted to do things like I did with you today, I was told I couldn’t.
It doesn’t bother me that I went out on that mountain today and didn’t become a professional snowboarder.
I am so incredibly grateful just to have had the experience. ”
Determination filled his expression, his eyes alight with resolve. Like he’d just been handed his greatest challenge in life and was fully prepared to execute a plan to accomplish some goal. Leaning in, he asked, “So, what else is there?”
“What else?”
Taj jerked his chin down, reaching for his own glass. “What other things have you wanted to do but been unable to?”
“Everything.”
His brows shot up. “Everything?”
“Remember when I told you that I’ve been working ever since I was little?
” After he gave me a nod, I explained, “For as long as I can remember, my days have always been planned by someone else. My wants and desires were never taken into consideration. And since I’m a bit impulsive and would do little things to feel like I had some sort of control, I’d occasionally wind up pacified with a special dinner or a spa day.
It helped, but none of it was anything like this last week has been. Especially today.”
Taj extended his arm and curled his fingers around my hand. Shivers ran down my spine at the touch, and after he offered a gentle squeeze, he said, “We’re going to have to rectify this for you. How long do you think you’ll be staying in town?”
If he continued to hold my hand while looking at me like that, I might never leave. There was something so comforting, even if casual, in the gesture.
I wondered how he’d react when I told him what I’d been thinking of doing. Too eager to find out, I didn’t delay any longer. “Well, I did quite a bit of thinking over the last week.”
“And?” I could have sworn I heard an edge of panic and desperation in that word.
Before I could respond, our server returned to our table with our salads. We remained silent while she was there, but I couldn’t miss the nerves written all over Taj’s expression. The moment she was gone, I put his mind at ease.
“I’ve been thinking about staying for a while.” Relief swept in, his features softening and his shoulders dropping. “I was planning to start looking for a place that would offer a month-to-month lease while I give myself the time I need to sort out where I want my life to go next.”
Taj smiled, his fingers twitching against mine. “That’s great news.”
“It is?” Obviously, I liked it for me, but I wondered what made Taj think it was such a good idea.
He gave my hand one last squeeze before releasing it to grab his fork. “Of course. That means there’s plenty of time.”
Now, it was my turn to feel puzzled. “Time for what?”
“To show you that you made the best decision of your life when you came to this town,” he answered.
I arched a brow. “Oh? And you’re the one that’s going to do that?”
Taj wore a victorious smile. “If you’ll allow me, absolutely.”
I was tempted to tell him that simply meeting him had already made me confident that landing in this town was the best decision I’d made.
But since I was too curious to see what else I might have been missing out on, and since he seemed eager to convince me, I decided it was worth giving him the chance.
“Alright. Considering you’ve already impressed me with the snowboarding lessons, I can admit I’m interested to see what else you’ve got up your sleeve. ”
His lips twitched, his eyes shining. “What are your plans for tomorrow?”
“Nothing yet.”
“Would you like to join me?”
Taj had to know what he was doing. Instead of simply coming right out with it, he was building the excitement for me.
I figured it’d be more fun to play with him.
So, I sighed and took a bite of my salad.
Only after I swallowed that bite did I respond.
“I guess that depends on what the planned activity is.”
“You’ll need to dress warm for it because we’ll be outside. And you might want to wear those snowboard boots I gave you earlier today, because we’ll be trudging through some snow.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Are we doing more snowboarding?”
He shook his head, driving his fork into a cucumber. “I’m happy to do that again with you anytime you’d like, but I want you to have some adventure, if there’s so much you haven’t done.”
It was like he knew precisely what I wanted, what I desperately needed, without me ever needing to say it. “Well, I don’t have the slightest clue. Is it snowshoeing or snowtubing?”
“No. We’ll be outside, and there’s snow on the ground, but the activity itself does not require snow.”
The anticipation was too much. “Okay, okay. Do I need to beg you, or will you just put me out of my misery and tell me what the plan is?”
His eyes darkened, and he hesitated for just a moment. “I was hoping to go pick out my Christmas tree tomorrow. I’d love it if you’d join me in selecting a suitable one.”
Tears instantly filled my eyes as warmth flooded me. Gone was any desire to be playful and tease him. This man couldn’t be real. “Are you serious?”
Taj grew alarmed. “Why are you upset?”
I dabbed the napkin at my eyes, unwilling to let the tears spill down my cheeks. “I’m not upset. I promise. I’m just… I’ve always wanted to go shopping for a real Christmas tree.”
He sent a sympathetic look my way. “You’ve never had a Christmas tree?”
“A fake one.” I rolled my eyes. “The only time I got a real tree—which I didn’t even get to choose on my own—was when I used the one opportunity that I had to make my own choice and select the time of year I wanted to get married.
I live in New York, but I chose December and wanted to be out here, so I’d be able to have the trees as part of the décor.
And I didn’t even get to see them before I bolted out of there. ”
Taj studied me, his expression offering no hints at what was going through his mind. For a long while, he said nothing and simply focused his efforts on his dinner salad. I felt so awkward, I’d done the same.
Until he finally asked, “Do you regret it? Do you regret walking away and not seeing it?”
I hadn’t been very forthcoming with Taj about what exactly had happened a week ago.
Obviously, he knew about my walking out of my wedding, but I wasn’t sure what details he knew beyond that.
It was no secret that Conrad and I had been engaged.
My former fiancé hadn’t hidden that information from the moment I’d foolishly accepted his proposal.
And while Taj knew who I was, I wasn’t sure if he knew that many details about my life.
If he hadn’t, was it possible he’d done some investigating since we met?
If he had, I wondered what he would have found.
I’d been too much of a chicken to see if there’d been any public fallout.
If word had gotten out—I didn’t think Conrad could take the blow to his ego by sharing the news that he’d been left at the altar—it hadn’t made its way to me in some unavoidable way just yet.
I wanted to consider myself lucky for now, but I suspected it was only a matter of time before things changed. For now, after what he’d given me today, I believed Taj deserved to know how I felt. He’d easily earned at least that much from me.