Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Rhett
“Seriously, Ol, I’m so proud of you. You surpassed your goal. That’s huge! And five dogs are already pending adoption. I guarantee you there’s more to come.” Mandi gives her daughter one last squeeze before she steps out the door to join Lauren, Callie, and me on the Parkers’ front porch.
“Thanks for dinner, Mom.”
“Any time. We should do this more often. It sounds like we might be able to with your two job offers on the table.”
“They’re not offers. They’re just invites to talk and see if it would even be worthwhile to offer me a job.”
“There’s no way they could talk with you and not want you to work for them, honey.”
“Your mom has a point,” I say as Olivia blushes, looking flustered.
“We will just have to see. I don’t want to count on anything. Please don’t tell Dad. I still need to talk to him about our conversation the other day.”
“My lips are sealed, but please hurry and tell him. I hate keeping secrets.”
Sensing the emotions building up inside Olivia, I wrap an arm around her waist and spin her toward my truck. “Should we head home?”
She gives a nod, her eyes glazed over as the wheels in her head start turning round and round. I can practically see the steam streaming out of her ears.
Callie pulls her in for a hug. “We’re getting lunch together soon, right?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I can wait anymore to hear about your antics with Lauren.”
Callie rolls her eyes, and Lauren goes pale. “They were hardly antics, but fine.”
As she and Lauren each slip into their cars, I go around to the passenger side to open Olivia’s door for her. I close it gently behind her and once I’m in the truck with my door closed and my seatbelt buckled, I turn to her. “How are you doing?”
“I’m a bit overwhelmed.”
“You’ve had a big day. I hope you’re proud of yourself though. The event is over. You can breathe easy knowing it was a success.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” After a beat, she quickly turns to me. “I just can’t stop thinking about the next event. This one was great, don’t get me wrong, but I think I could do something that would bring in even more money, get the dogs more involved, and spur on some adoptions.”
She’s positively glowing as she speaks. Each word rolls off her tongue as she radiates more light. This is what she is meant to do. I don’t even need to know Olivia to see it. It’s just evident in the way she’s talking right now.
“Do you think Morgan or Chance would support you if you wanted to plan another event for Resilient Paws?”
“I don’t know, but I guess that should be something I ask them when we meet.” She pulls her phone from her back pocket and immediately begins typing out a note.
I let her continue tapping out ideas as we drive the rest of the way home in silence. She’s clearly on a roll, and I’m not about to interrupt.
When we pull into the driveway, I once again rush to open the door for her. She steps out, and I grab her, swinging her up over my shoulder as she squeals with glee. “Rhett! What are you doing? Put me down!”
“I’m taking you hostage. It’s been too long since I’ve had you all to myself. I need to be a little selfish tonight if you’ll let me. Please spend the evening with me. I’ll bake you whatever you want.”
“Even lava cakes?”
“Even lava cakes.”
“Okay, then I’ll hang out with you, but only for the cake.”
“I’d expect nothing less.”
* * *
Two and a half hours later, Olivia drills her spoon into the spongey, chocolatey goodness and moans. “This was so worth the wait! I forgot how good these are.”
I chuckle as I spoon my own bite. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Uh oh.” She worries her lower lip.
“It’s nothing bad.”
“I can’t think of a time that someone started a sentence with ‘I’ve been thinking’ and ended it in a good way.”
“Give me a chance to be the first.”
“Go ahead.” She points her spoon at me before scooping into the cake again and pulling up a melty morsel. I get a little distracted as I watch her delicately take a bite and swipe her tongue across her upper lip. I remember the first time we had these cakes together and how badly I wanted to touch her, how unsettled that made me feel. Now, I get to touch her and taste her and call her mine… I think. That’s what I’m trying to do at least.
“I’ve been thinking that I’d like to call you my girlfriend and take you out on a real date, not just kiss you and hang out with you. I want the real thing.”
She tries to hide her smile, but it shines through instantly, her excitement and giddiness making me feel the same. “I guess you just proved me wrong. There is a good way to end that sentence.”
“Is that a ‘yes?’”
“Of course! I want that too.” She leans in to nuzzle me before giving me a gentle kiss. “So, what kind of moves can I expect Rhett Lawson to break out on a first date?
“I can’t tell you! Then they won’t work.”
“I didn’t realize you needed the element of surprise on your side to successfully get the girl.”
“I don’t, but it doesn’t hurt either.”
She purses her lips. “Fair. Can you at least tell me what we are going to do?”
“I want that to be a surprise too.”
“You’re killing me!” she groans, her mouth full.
“I’d hardly say I’m killing you. I did just bake you cake.”
“And I’m very grateful, but you got me all excited now. I want to know what we are going to do. When are we going to do it?”
“I have to work the next two days, and you’re busy this weekend with your movie night, right? So maybe we could do something Monday evening. You don’t have to work at the café on Tuesday, do you?”
She glances at her phone. “I don’t, but I was going to pop over to Resilient Paws in the afternoon to help Carol put together some new crates that are supposed to come in that day.”
“That’s perfectly fine. I just want to make sure I don’t have to rush my time with you. I want to savor every single moment.”
I pull her chair toward me, tugging her until she’s between my legs. I brush a strand of hair from her face and note the chocolate on the corner of her mouth. Instead of handing her a napkin like I’m afraid her touch will electrocute me, I swipe my thumb across my tongue and rub the chocolate spot off before licking it clean and tugging her chin to me to give her a long, slow kiss. When I finally pull away, I look her straight in the eyes and ask, “Will you please go on a date with me Monday night?”
“Fine,” she groans, but her eyes shine with excitement.
“Oh, come on now. Don’t sound so excited! I’m a good time.”
“Yeah? Prove it.” She quirks an eyebrow.
I immediately push out of my chair and pull her out of hers. The second she’s on her feet, I twirl her around once as I lean in to turn the music up. Cody Johnson’s “Give a Cowboy a Kiss” flows through the speakers.
“This isn’t George Strait.”
“Despite what you believe, I don’t exclusively listen to his music.”
“I’ve lived with you for two months, so I can honestly say I don’t believe you.”
“Just get over here.” I tug her toward me and then shimmy to the upbeat tempo.
A fit of giggles pours out of her as she takes in the sight of me. “You’re so ridiculous!”
“Yeah, but you’re still here with me anyway.”
“Because I’m ridiculous too,” she says as she does her own little jig.
“You’re right. You do look ridiculous.”
In one swift step, I grab her hand and pull her onto the couch. Maverick immediately gets riled up by the excitement in the room, and I can’t blame him for getting swept up in all of this. There’s so much love and joy in this room right now. I have no clue what I’m doing standing on the couch with Olivia busting out the most absurd moves I’ve ever seen, but I want to do this for the rest of my life. That’s just what being around Olivia does to me. She makes me happy and crazy and impulsive but caring and considerate and so very much in love.
* * *
Lying in bed with just the moonlight as her makeup, Olivia looks stunning. I watch her breathe deeply and try to memorize every sun-dusted freckle on her face and across her shoulders.
Maverick readjusts himself at the foot of the bed, and I find myself wincing, terrified he will wake her. Sure enough, she stirs and opens her beautiful eyes, peering sleepily at me. “What are you doing?”
“Just trying to make this memory permanent in my mind.”
She smiles softly. “Tonight was pretty great. Thank you.”
“Thank you. ”
“For what?”
“For being so incredible. For not letting me keep you at a distance and for being persistent enough to get me to open up my heart to you. For being so easy to fall in love with.”
She gasps.
“Shit. Sorry. I know it’s way too early to be saying things like that. It’s just that I’ve been burying my feelings for you for months now, and I guess now that I can finally act on them, I can’t get myself to stop.”
“I know what you mean. It scares the hell out of me.”
“Why? I never want to be a source of stress for you.” I wrap my arms around her and pull her so that her back is flush with my front.
“You’re not. It’s just that we don’t have anything figured out. It’s scary to take this leap without knowing that everything is going to work out. I still need to figure out how I’m going to stay in Roots. Yes, I have those potential jobs from today, but I still have a job in San Francisco I’d have to leave and parents to appease. I don’t want to leave my current job for just anything, and I don’t mean to throw this in your face, but I’m just scared you’re going to change your mind. You were so adamant that love wasn’t meant for you, and now you’re willing to try. How do I know you won’t change your mind again? My mind has been swirling, to say the least.”
“We will figure it out together. You don’t have to be in this alone anymore. I don’t know how to get that through to you, but I’m going to find a way to do it. You’re… the way you make me feel… there are no words to describe it. I know you don’t see it, but you have this radiance about you that’s enough to make the sun jealous. I just want to be around you all the time. Being apart from you drives me wild and makes me do irrational things. Without even trying, you’ve made me into a better man. Each and every second I spend with you, I’m convinced I just get better because you make me want to be better. When you feel this way about someone, you want to move mountains, and big leaps feel less scary. I’m just asking you for the chance to prove to you that I’ll be there for you.”
I watch her bite her lower lip as she tries to hide her cautious smile. I can feel the pounding of her heart as she’s pressed against me. It’s grown much quicker in the last thirty seconds. She rolls toward me and looks up at me through her beautiful lashes, and those amber eyes staring up at me melt me like an ice cream cone in the Texas heat.
Instead of speaking, she grabs my face gently in her two hands, pulling me in for a kiss that says so much more than words ever could.
She pulls away first, but it’s only to ask, “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Before I have the chance to respond, she is diving back in to press her soft lips to mine again. I can feel the warmth of her touch everywhere on my body. It warms me from the outside in, making me feel in love. Oh my god! I haven’t felt this way in so long.
This should make me feel uncomfortable. A couple of weeks ago, this feeling would make me want to run for the hills, but now that I’ve had a taste of what it feels like to love Olivia, I never want to quit.