Chapter 12
CHARLIE
Dinner was served outside again, my mom’s casserole with salad this time and pie for dessert. She’d set an extra place at the table tonight, and that was how I found myself smack in the middle of that little fantasy I’d had a couple nights ago.
With her next to me at the dinner table out here with my family.
Of course, she wasn’t here as my girlfriend, but that hardly seemed to matter to the instincts racing through me as she walked across the lawn to join us.
My mom had met her at the front door, and they were chatting and laughing about something, their heads bent together as if they were the best of friends who had been waiting forever to catch up.
My brothers were watching her too. Wyatt and Cody looked like they were about to start drooling as they stared.
A violent urge to rip their eyes out for looking at her rose from deep within.
My muscles tensed as I tried to stop myself from taking a swing.
Instead, I chucked a napkin at Wyatt’s head.
“There. Wipe your mouth before she gets here.”
He laughed and passed the fabric square to Cody instead. “You’ve got a little something at the corner of your mouth.”
Cody flipped him off and Dad grunted, giving each of us a warning look. “Think of her as a sister. Now, I know that’s a novel concept to you boys, but while she’s here, that’s how you’re going to treat her.”
“Yes, sir,” Mason said, but not before tossing me a glance filled with knowledge and laughter.
I sighed, shaking my head, and turned back to the women. Olivia was dressed in the same clothes she’d had on earlier, a pair of faded, skin-tight Levi’s, her boots, and a pale pink button-down shirt rolled up to her elbows.
She’d plaited her hair into two low braids that hung over her shoulders and it didn’t look like she was wearing much makeup. Like this, she didn’t look like a big city girl here to invade our lives only to post about them on the internet.
In fact, she fit right in the with the family—and she looked fucking beautiful while she was doing it.
My gaze dropped to the hint of cleavage visible just above the last button she’d done up.
Suppressing a groan, I stood to get her chair for her.
She rolled her eyes at me but sat down, still chatting to my mom as if she’d known her forever while barely sparing a glance at me.
I could feel the frustration pouring off her over the fact that I’d pulled her chair out for her, though.
Little Miss Independent who can’t stand even the littlest of gestures.
“I’m so excited to be here with you guys,” she was saying. “My dad has told me so much about the ranch over the years.”
Mom smiled. “We’re happy to have you, darling. You’d better dish up before the boys start, though. There’s never much left by the time they’re done.”
Colt grinned at her. “That’s only because we don’t want to hurt your feelings, Mama. We know how sad it’d make you if we didn’t finish it all every night.”
“Oh, I’m sure that’s the only reason why you do it, honey.” She reached out and patted his hand. Chuckling, she motioned for Olivia to help herself.
As she picked up her plate and leaned a tiny bit closer to me to take the salad Mom was passing over, I caught a whiff of that faintly jasmine scent from her that I’d smelled the other night.
My olfactory sense triggered the memory of us kissing and my heart started pounding.
Biting back a moan, I resisted the urge to bring my nose to her hair and helped her get the salad instead.
She dished up first, but as soon as she was done, my brothers tucked in. Mason frowned as he looked at her plate.
“Is that all you’re going to eat?” he asked, sounding genuinely confused. “You don’t have to be shy around us. No one can survive on so little.”
“Give her a couple days of chores and she’ll be packing away at least double that amount,” Colt said with a teasing smile flashed at her.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “I do hot yoga. I’ve never done chores, but I’m willing to bet hot yoga is at least as much of an appetite stimulant.”
“What on God’s green earth is hot yoga?” Cody frowned deeply. “I’ve only just gotten used to people telling me they do regular yoga.”
“We don’t have hot yoga in Texas,” Colt declared confidently. “I have no idea what it is, but I do know we don’t have it.”
Olivia chuckled. “You do, actually. The classes are pretty good. You should try it sometime. Basically, it’s yoga in a studio that is heated to at least ninety-five degrees.”
Dad seemed perplexed, but he didn’t get involved in the conversation. Mom, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the interaction. She had a fond, happy smile on her lips as she listened while she ate.
Personally, I enjoyed Olivia giving it right back to them as they picked on her for her choices. Even though I honestly didn’t understand why something like hot yoga even existed.
“So it’s like regular yoga in the summer?” Mason asked. “Why, though?”
I shook my head when he glanced at me. “Hell if I know.”
“It has plenty of benefits for your mind and your body,” she said after swallowing a bite of her casserole.
“Studies have shown that it boosts bone density and is great for cardiovascular fitness. It burns a lot of calories and it can ease stress and depression. It also greatly improves flexibility.”
“Flexibility?” Wyatt asked with a devilish grin. “Is that so?”
I had the sudden urge to punch him in the face but I was too distracted by my own thoughts to follow through. At least half a dozen images of her bent into different positions flashed through my mind—and none of those positions were yoga poses.
Dad saved all our minds from the gutter when he cleared his throat and gave her a friendly smile. “We’re so happy you’re here, Olivia. Thank you for agreeing to do this. I know you haven’t been in town long. It can’t have been easy for you to pack a bag again so soon.”
“You’re so welcome, sir. No thanks necessary. I’m excited about this opportunity.” She glanced at the sun sinking low in the cloudless sky. The buzzing of the cicadas suddenly seemed even louder. “I’ve always valued authenticity in marketing.”
“You do?” Mason absolutely didn’t seem convinced.
Obviously, they all knew about Dad’s plan for the next quarter, but I wasn’t the only one who was skeptical about it.
“No offense, Liv. You seem great, but doesn’t your industry exist for the sole purpose of making things seem like something they’re not? How is that authentic?”
Dad’s eyes flew wide open and I could tell he was about to rip my brother a new one for being rude to our guest, but once again, Olivia gave it right back without skipping a beat.
“I suppose some people in my industry do strive to make things seem like something they’re not, but I don’t see the point.
What does it matter if you can convince someone to buy a product once, only to be disappointed and never purchase it again?
I can assure you I don’t operate that way. ”
He still seemed doubtful. “You don’t?”
“I don’t.” She smiled, leaning back in her chair and dabbing her mouth with a napkin. “Part of my job, however, is showing every product in the best light possible.”
“Exactly,” he said smugly. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
The smile never faltered from her lips. “There’s a difference between that and making it seem like something it’s not.
For example, if we had a photographer here taking some pictures of this dinner, we’d have them making sure to show the sun setting, but the camera wouldn’t be aimed straight into it.
See what I mean? We frame things to bring out the best, the beautiful, instead of turning them into something they’re not. ”
Colt blanched. “We’re not doing that, are we? Bringing photographers here to take pictures of us eating would be weird.”
Olivia turned to him. “We might, but only if everyone agrees. I think that’s something that’s really important for all of you to know. I’m not just going to barge in here with cameras and take over. We’re a team, and if there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, all you need to do is tell me.”
“A team,” Colt repeated after her. “Alright, but I still don’t really understand the authenticity aspect of it. It’s not like you’re going to show everything here exactly like it is. You’re going to have us dressing up and shaving every day, right?”
She chuckled. “No, I’m not. Showing it exactly like it is was why I agreed to come here to experience it for myself.
I’ve found that when a brand is transparent, honest, and genuine in its marketing messages, they build trust and loyalty with their audience.
That’s what I mean by authenticity and that’s what we’re going to do. ”
Dad beamed at her. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. For the next three days, Olivia is going to be part of our family. She’s going to be working the ranch, having meals with us, and really getting to know who we are and what we do.”
“She’s working the ranch?” I asked, desperately trying not to sound as surprised or as uncertain as I was that it was a good idea. “With us?”
“Yes, son.” Dad frowned at me. “With us. I thought I told you that.”
“No, but okay.”
Olivia seemed just about as uncomfortable with it as I was, but she nodded along with my dad. “I’m looking forward to learning what it takes to make a place like this run for as long as you have.”
Cody widened his eyes at her. “You’re going to regret saying that.”
Dad scoffed. “No, she’s not. Because you all are going to be there to help her. Olivia, we’re honored to have you at our table and we appreciate you being here. Your father is one of my favorite people and he only has good things to say about you.”
“Thank you for having me,” she said politely, picking her fork back up to finish her food.