Chapter 35 Olena
OLENA
“These stairs are gonna be killer to walk back up.” I turn to look up at Jude and squint in the bright light.
He tromps down the steep wooden steps close behind me, descending the stairs that zig-zag down the hillside near where his home is perched.
My hand slides along the wooden railing as I look out across the river.
The day is overcast, but it’s warmer than it’s been in a while.
Below us, the river burbles along the rocky shore.
Birch and arbutus trees with peeling bark shoot up along the bank between the mix of boulders and smaller, smooth stones.
“You get used to it.” He exhales the words with a smile as we descend at last to a small cement landing surrounded by rocks.
I step off and climb over them, balancing with my hands as I teeter on precarious footing. I grab the low branch of an arbutus and pivot to the next boulder. Jude clambers after me, following my lead.
“God, it’s beautiful here. I didn’t know this spot existed,” I say, stopping to admire the view.
The breeze loosens strands from my messy bun and they whip around my face and neck; with effort, I pull them away from my mouth with my fingers.
I turn and grin at Jude, who squints back at me, a half-smile on his lips.
“What?” I ask, seeing his amused expression.
“I was just remembering that day I saw you beside Lyons Park in Nat’s car.”
I roll my eyes and throw my head back, cringing. “No! Erase it! Erase it from your memory! That was so embarrassing; I could’ve crawled into a hole.”
He laughs as my cheeks flush and I shake my arms, trying to shrug off the memory of how foolish I must have looked.
He moves toward me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Sorry to say, but that one’s already burned into long-term memory,” he says with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to my head.
I wrinkle my nose.
“Come on.” He pulls away and offers his hand.
He leads me over several more rocks and around a corner to a small floating dock.
We sit down at the end, hanging our feet over the edge.
The river laps at the posts not far below us.
Jude puts his arm around me and squeezes my shoulder, kissing my cheek.
“I can’t believe we’re almost done with the Faulkner property,” I say, twisting to look at him as I wrap my arms loosely around his waist.
“Yeah,” he agrees with raised eyebrows, his gaze resting on the river in front of us. “It’s gone by fast.”
I pause. “What happens next?”
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“Like, are we supposed to just go on to other projects?”
“I think so, yeah,” he chuckles, glancing at me with a hint of confusion. “Why? What did you imagine?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh, looking out across the river, watching as a few tiny white boats slowly float along with the current near the distant shore. “I mean…” I look down at my hands. “I like working with you.” My eyes lift to meet his.
“I should hope so!” He arches an eyebrow at me and I smile.
“We’ve made a pretty good team, I think.”
He smiles. “Yeah, Charles and Carol seem pretty happy so far.”
I sigh. “I’m so glad. And I really needed this job. They did me a huge favor, hiring me.”
“Agh, you’re killing me with that,” he says, pulling his arm away and shifting back a bit to look at me.
My arms drop from his waist. “What?”
“You never give yourself any credit.” He looks exasperated. “They hired you because you’re good. Full stop.”
“I dunno,” I say, shrugging. “They only hired me because they’re Wyatt’s aunt and uncle…”
I trail off as he pushes himself to a stand. “Where are you going?” I ask, my brow creasing. I twist around as he walks back to the other end of the small dock, toward the rocks.
He runs a hand over his beard and turns to me. “Repeat after me.” He looks serious.
“What?” I shift my eyes with a nervous laugh.
“Repeat after me,” he says impatiently, his voice louder.
I tilt my head, my expression flat. Is he kidding me with this?
“I am a brilliant and capable landscape designer.” He looks at me expectantly, eyebrows raised.
I roll my eyes and turn back to the river.
“Olena!” he calls out.
I say nothing.
After a beat, his footsteps shake the dock behind me as he approaches. I turn to look up at him towering over me.
“Get up,” he says.
Again, rolling my eyes, I reluctantly push up to standing, brushing the fly-away hairs away from my face.
“I am a brilliant and capable landscape designer,” he repeats with total seriousness.
“Jude, this is silly.” I frown as I look around us, checking for onlookers.
“Say it.” He ducks his head to get in front of my face, making me look at him.
I roll my eyes again. “I am a brilliant and capable landscape designer,” I mumble quietly, looking away from his intense gaze.
“Yes, you fucking are.”
I look up, meeting his eyes, a small smile tugging at my mouth.
He smiles encouragingly at me. “Now say… I deserve to be successful and happy.”
“Ugh, Jude…” I frown at him. I hate this.
“Say it!” He lifts his eyebrows, not backing off.
I blow out a breath. “I deserve to be successful and happy,” I say quietly.
He backs up a few feet. “Louder for the people in the cheap seats!” He’s grinning at me, gesturing for me to try again.
I chuckle, feeling ridiculous, although his enthusiasm is starting to work its magic.
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I deserve to be successful and happy!” I call out, then wrinkle my nose. The words feel so phony.
“Sorry! Still can’t hear you!” Jude calls back to me, cupping his ear with one hand as he walks backward toward the far end of the dock.
I ball my hands into fists at my sides, narrowing my eyes at him, then take a deep breath. “I deserve to be successful and happy!” I shout loudly, throwing my head back, my voice bouncing off the rocky hillside. I laugh and cover my face with my hands.
Jude whoops from across the dock, cupping his hands over his mouth. He drops them to his sides and walks back to me with a grin, his eyes gleaming.
“Well, that was fucking painful,” I say, laughing softly. I fall into his chest and wrap my arms around him.
His hands rub gently between my shoulder blades. “The truth hurts—or so I hear,” he replies dryly, squeezing me.
I close my eyes as I nuzzle into him, still feeling like a cheeseball. “That was really corny, you know,” I say against his chest.
The deep sound of his laugh rumbles against my ear. “I know. Brutal. But I had to take one for the team.”
I smile to myself. We do make a good team.
My eyes widen as an idea occurs to me. “What are you doing tomorrow night?” I look up at him.
“After work?” He rubs my shoulders.
“Yeah.”
“Uh… You?” He grins down at me with a devilish expression, chuckling.
I smack his ass hard and he flinches, still smiling. “No, come on, for real.” I give him a rueful smile.
“Nothing planned. Why?” He’s still smirking at me.
“Would you like to meet my parents?”
His expression gets more serious for a moment.
When he doesn’t answer right away, I continue.
“They have this big dinner every year on March 25th. We call it Marchmas.” I look down.
“It’s silly, but we’ve been doing it since I was a kid.
Wyatt and Sam and Nat and Graham all come and it’s a lot of fun; I just thought if you wanted to come, too, it could—”
He lifts my chin with a finger. His kiss is soft and slow, his arms around my shoulders. Our lips part and he kisses the tip of my nose, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
“Is that a yes or…?” I pull back, looking up at him with a hopeful expression.
“That’s an absolutely, yes.” He holds my face in his hands and kisses me again.