Chapter 7
OLIVIA
Iwoke up to the scent of fresh coffee and the soft light of dawn only just starting to filter into the room. Sitting bolt upright, I heard the heavy fall of boots descending the stairs and I smiled even as I sighed.
Charlie’s woodsy cologne lingered in the air, telling me he’d kept his promise of waking me up for the sunrise, but I was sorry that I’d missed him. I took in a deep breath, my smile growing. I reached for the cup of coffee he’d left on my nightstand.
What a guy.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and brought the coffee to my lips.
It was abundantly clear that I hadn’t dreamed anything that had happened last night.
Quite obviously, I really had slept over at the house of the hottest cowboy ever, and that meant he also really had kissed me before I’d gone to sleep.
I squealed quietly, my skin flushing all over again at the memory of that kiss. It had been transcendental.
Or maybe that was taking it a bit far, but right then, it sure didn’t feel that way. I felt like I’d gotten a glimpse into another world, a world where the sexy cowboy was a southern siren and his song had done me in.
I even giggled a little bit, which didn’t happen very often.
Then I climbed out of bed, looking properly around the room I’d slept in for the very first time.
It was as rustic as the rest of Charlie’s house, spacious but with large, stained wooden beams in the ceilings and a headboard made out of seemingly the same kind of stained wood.
Charming, vintage furniture adorned it, a wardrobe and a dresser with fresh flowers in a small vase. A crocheted runner ran across the top of the dresser and I smiled again, surprised to find these touches I wouldn’t have expected to see in a rugged man’s house at all.
Outside, rolling green fields stretched as far as I could see, dotted with clusters of trees in places and bales of hay in others.
Cows munched on grass, hundreds of them in black, white, and brown in different areas.
In the distance, I could see men on horses, but I had no way of knowing whether Charlie was one of them.
A quick glance at my watch told me he’d been up over two hours, which meant he’d come back here to wake me up for the sunrise. Why does that knowledge make me tingle?
I didn’t quite have an answer to that question, but I did know that I appreciated the effort he’d made, especially as I was treated to a view of the sun breaking past the horizon. It was breathtaking and completely unlike any other day I’d ever seen breaking.
As I sipped my coffee, I watched in enraptured awe as that great orange ball rose slowly higher, and by the time I was done with my drink, I’d decided that I needed a ranch. Even a small one would do, but as much as I loved my new house, I had to admit that I loved this more.
I would never miss another sunrise if I lived on a farm like this, and I suddenly understood completely why he’d said that all the hard work was worth even just seeing the sun come up once over the property. I sighed happily, more in love with Texas than I ever had been before.
On that note though, I also knew it was time to earn my keep here. I hadn’t come to Houston to line dance and watch the sunrise—or to hope that the sexy cowboy would come back to say good morning. I had to go wake up my sister and my friend. We had to get out of there.
Padding down the hall, I found the room they’d slept in and gently shook London’s shoulder. The drapes in there were still closed, the room bathed in darkness. I straightened up and yanked them aside to let some sunlight in.
London groaned and rolled over, plonking an arm over her eyes, but Lacey slowly pushed herself up into a seated position. She blinked sleepily at me, the scent of beer and whiskey so strong in their room that it was almost overpowering.
“Wha’s hapnin?” she croaked, blinking some more before her eyes suddenly widened as she looked around. “Oh, God. We really slept here.”
“We really did.” I grinned and motioned for her to join me. “Come on, ladies. Get your lazy asses out of bed and take a quick look out the window. Then it’s time for us to go.”
Lacey nodded sleepily before she rolled out of bed, but she’d always been a fast riser.
London, however, had never been a morning person and it took Lacey and I at least another fifteen minutes before my sister put her feet on the floor.
Thankfully, the view managed to rouse even her, once her eyes could focus enough to see it.
I drove them home just after dawn, leaving them each with strict instructions. “I’ll be back in thirty to pick you up. Shower, change into workout gear, and pack some clothes for the office. We’ll go straight from there.”
“Straight from where?” London grumbled.
Lacey just nodded, seemingly too hungover to argue or even really talk.
Chuckling, I was grateful that I’d volunteered to be the responsible one.
I headed to my house to do exactly the same things I’d just told them to do. Back behind the wheel and in charge of where we were going after I’d showered, changed, and packed a bag, I picked them up again and drove them to a hot yoga class I’d booked for us yesterday morning.
London nearly fainted when she realized what we were doing. Her cheeks genuinely went pale as she shook her head. “Are you crazy? I won’t survive that today.”
“Yes, you will,” I insisted. “Besides, it’ll help for the hangover. You’ll sweat out some of the alcohol and feel like a new person after.”
“Or I’ll be a dead person,” Lacey suggested but trudged into the studio behind me and joined London’s loud chorus of complaints throughout the class.
I, for one, enjoyed it, but I’d also had hardly any alcohol to drink last night.
The instructor kept shooting annoyed glances our way though, which finally prompted me to turn to look at them.
“Oh, stop your griping. You’ll thank me later when you notice the benefits and have a clear head for the rest of the day. ”
“The only thing I’m going to have for the rest of the day is a sore everything,” London grumbled but dropped into a downward dog and managed to hold it without collapsing.
After we’d showered again, we headed into the office. As much as Charlie was still on my mind, I did my best to focus on doing my actual work. I had a busy day ahead of me, meeting with all the different teams in the office, learning processes, and being officially provided with client profiles.
I listened patiently to how we currently did things, but in every meeting, I took the opportunity to pitch a few small changes to the teams. It was nothing drastic—yet—but it was enough to let my people know that I was here to usher in a new age for Walker Advertising.
“Why don’t we automate that?” I asked in one meeting, to the obvious approval of the team responsible for creating content for a rather large client. In the next meeting, it was, “I know an influencer who might be interested in this. Let me reach out and see what he says.”
I even got a few rounds of applause as the day went on, and it made me even more confident that I was suggesting the right things. Clearly, the staff at the Houston branch liked me and the changes I wanted to make right off the bat. It was making feel like I could really thrive here.
Back in New York, I had done well. I’d started making a bit of a name for myself and I’d closed the deal on more than a few big accounts, but I hadn’t felt like I was making any real contributions.
I missed parts of being over there, but so far, so good on Houston.
Here, it felt like I might just be able to make a difference.
And have a ton of fun while I was doing it.
Life was slower. The yoga class had been intense, which was just the way I liked it. The office coffee was strong, my new colleagues seemed cool and happy to take my lead, and I really felt like I was in control.
Overall, by the time I walked out of my last meeting of the day, there was a definite pep in my step and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. London groaned when she saw me.
She had her handbag over her shoulder, but as much as her eyes weren’t red and she seemed to have shaken the hangover, she certainly didn’t seem to have had as good a day. “God, you really are too much. How are you so happy all the time?”
I shrugged. “Being here suits me. Has something crawled up your behind, or are you just tired?”
“A little bit of both.” She shot a pointed glare in the direction of Liam’s office. “He’s going to be the death of me, I swear. I’m going to kill him before he kills me, though. Have my bail ready.”
I chuckled. “How about a girls’ night at my place? We’ll order in, talk, and go to sleep early.”
She narrowed her eyes for a moment before she nodded. “That actually sounds like fun. Count me in.”
I extended the invitation to Lacey as well, and since they’d gotten a ride here with me this morning, we all piled into my car once more and ordered Mexican food on the way to my house.
Sprawled out on my couches while we waited for it to arrive, we drank some wine and literally kicked our shoes off and our feet up.
Lacey pointed at me with a big smile on her face. “Right, so now that we’re awake and not sweating our asses off, care to share what happened between you and Cowboy Charlie last night?”
“We had fun, is all,” I said, cradling my glass in my hand. I shook my head at them when they raised their eyebrows at me. “Nothing happened, I promise. We might’ve kissed a little bit, but then he said good night, and that was that.”
“That was that?” London sniffed, disbelief in her eyes as she stared me down. “You had him wrapped around your finger, sister dear. Don’t tell me he ended it at a kiss.”
“He did.” I crossed my heart and took a sip of my wine. “We had a good time together, but nothing is going to happen.”
“Why not?” Lacey asked, a confused frown furrowing her brow. “You seemed to be hitting it off.”
“Hitting a brick wall, more like,” I said drolly. “Seriously, he’s in his late thirties and he’s a full-blown country boy. I’m in my twenties and a born and raised city girl. We couldn’t be more different. Trust me, we wouldn’t be good together.”
“Why not?” London asked.
At the same time, Lacey scoffed. “It might be a good thing that you’re so different, Liv. Haven’t you ever heard the saying that opposites attract?”
“I have heard it, but there is such a thing as being too opposite.” No matter how much I would have liked another night with him.
“Besides, I’d rather hear your stories about last night.
You and Dallas seemed pretty freaking cozy yourselves.
What do you think? Do we need to start picking out bridesmaids’ dresses just yet? ”
Lacey blanched and immediately passed the buck to London, which was where, as usual, it stopped. “Uh, no, but what about her? She and Liam are constantly about thirty seconds away from boinking each other’s brains out and having approximately thirty-six babies together.”
London sniffed and stared down her nose at my friend.
“If he and I were the last people on earth, I’d let the human race go extinct and I’d dance in its ashes before I’d let that man impregnate me.
Let me make this crystal clear to you, girls.
Liam Jones and I are never going to happen.
I’d rather spend the rest of my days sober and celibate than to ever get in bed him, and yes. You can absolutely quote me on that.”