Chapter 38
CHARLIE
Olivia in that dress had literally made my jaw drop—and other parts of my anatomy want to rise. Thankfully, I’d managed to control the latter. The former? She’d definitely seen that.
I hadn’t been able to help it, though.
When I knocked on her door, I’d fully expected her to answer it wearing her jeans and tee. She’d looked beautiful in that the other morning as well, but that was what I expected. Since it was a first date, maybe a sundress. Maybe.
What I’d gotten was not either of those things.
Instead, she had on an elegant, cream-colored dress that even I could tell had been expensive as hell.
It had a deep, plunging neckline, the straps holding it up tapering off at her shoulders to bits of lace that crisscrossed once over her back.
The thick, shiny fabric tumbled smoothly from her waist to just above mid-thigh, showing off those legs that looked about a mile long between the dress and the sky-high heels.
Her dirty blonde hair was loose and had been styled slightly more to one side than the other, but it still seemed soft. Like it didn’t have a lot of product in it. I liked that too.
She peered up at me from those poison-green eyes and smiled coyly. “You look pretty good yourself, Cowboy. Do you want me to do a little twirl for you, or are you just about ready to go?”
If she did a twirl for me, little or otherwise, I wouldn’t be liable for my actions, and since I was desperately trying to be a gentleman here, I wanted to feed her before I dragged her off to the nearest bed. I held out my arm, offering her my elbow, as I smoothly stepped aside.
“Let’s go, City. I’m taking you to one of my favorite steakhouses in Houston and I think you’re going to like it. I’m ready if you are.”
After ducking back inside to grab her purse and locking up behind her, she took my arm, wrapping her delicate fingers around it and getting a little closer than necessary.
Not that I was complaining. I led her to my truck.
The faint, feminine scent of her drove me wild on every inhale, but I kept myself in check, opening the door for her and, much to surprise, she even let me close it.
I climbed in behind the wheel, turning over the engine and backing out of her drive. She glanced at me. “You’re back to calling me City, huh? What happened to Cowgirl?”
“You’re no cowgirl dressed like that, darlin’.”
“Pity.” She let out a soft sigh, but when I glanced over at her, she was fighting a smile. “I kind of liked my cowgirl era.”
“I like all your eras,” I said, then frowned. “Uh, care to tell me exactly what that means?”
“Does it matter?”
I thought it over for a beat before I shook my head. “No, I guess not. I don’t really care what you’re wearing. You’re breathtaking either way.”
I saw her cheeks pinken before she suddenly turned her head to look out the window. Soft music flowing through my speakers was the only sound in the truck for a minute. It surprised the heck out of me when she started singing along to an old country classic.
“You know this song?” I asked, wishing I could look at her properly instead of just stealing glances every now and then, but I wasn’t risking her safety just so I could stare. I had precious cargo in this truck, but once we got out, all bets were off.
She laughed, presumably at the shock in my voice, and tucked her hair behind her ear before she shrugged. “What? I do know some country music. I sang along the other night at the rodeo too, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” I tightened my grip on the wheel, then let out a slow, purposeful exhale. This might be our first official date, but Liv and I had hung out a bunch before. I was determined not to let this get awkward. “What’s your favorite country song, then?”
“You’re Still the One by Shania Twain,” she replied without hesitating for even a second.
Laughter vibrated through me as my head shook. “Of course it is.”
“What’s wrong with that?” she asked, playfully defensive. “It’s a good song.”
“It sure is.” I flipped the mode on my radio to Bluetooth instead of a local station, navigating to my Most Replayed playlist and finding the song.
Cranking the volume up high, I grinned at her before I started belting it out. We sang along like goofs all the way to the restaurant, shattering whatever ice there might’ve been and laughing as we launched from that song into the next.
When we got to the steakhouse, Olivia opened her own door and I gave her a teasing scowl. “This is a date. You could let me do it for you.”
“You already have,” she said sweetly, but at least took the arm I offered her once more. “I have made a mental note of your gentlemanly behavior, Charlie. You can check opening my door off the list and move on.”
“I won’t ever move on from that.” I winked at her. “If I do, the only place I’ll be moving is my own grave because my mama would kill me.”
She laughed, but the sound cut off as we walked into the steakhouse. It was a little fancier than the usual places I frequented with Dallas and my brothers, but they made a mean rib-eye here. It was a classy joint, with warm tone lighting and a live jazz band.
Liv looked around as we entered. “Charlie Anderson, color me impressed. I didn’t know you liked places like this.”
I held her arm a little tighter to my side.
“I wanted to take you to something a little more your speed. Plus, it really is one of my favorite steakhouses in the city. If I’m going to be paying for someone else to cook my steak, you better believe they’re going to have to do it right or they’d never see me again. ”
She smiled up at me, and my heart and my junk had the same reaction. Both swelled in response to that expression on her face aimed exclusively at me. “There’s more to you than I gave you credit for, Cowboy.”
“A lot more.” I gave the hostess my name and we were taken to a table beside the window overlooking the sidewalk and the wide, sweeping street outside with the grand old oaks lining it.
We drank fine wine and ate amazing steak, without a single awkward moment throughout our entire meal.
“You’re the oldest of three sisters, right? ”
She nodded, her very bright orange nails a strange but welcome and constant reminder that despite the fancy, expensive dress, she was still just Liv. “Being the oldest of five brothers, who do you think has it easier between the two of us?”
“You,” I said immediately. “Neither of your sisters have hit on me. The same cannot be said for my brothers with you.”
She laughed. “To be fair, you haven’t met Abi yet.”
“I guess, but what are the odds of her hitting on me?” I asked. “We’ll be in New York next week. I’ve been wanting to ask you what to expect from her anyway.”
Olivia’s green eyes twinkled in the warm light.
The flickering of the flame from the candle on our table reflected from them as she stared at me.
“I don’t think you have to worry about her.
She knows we’re on a date tonight, which means that she’ll look at you as a brother more than anything else for the rest of her natural life. ”
“A brother, huh?” Why do I like the sound of that so much? “So she’s what, loyal?”
“To a tee,” Liv said emphatically, smiling. “Abi is the best person you’ll ever meet, even if she can come across like a bit of a prude sometimes. It’s more just that she has a really good head on her shoulders and she uses it. Maybe a bit too much.”
I chuckled. “She sounds a little like Mason.”
Liv’s head cocked. She let out a soft laugh and nodded. “Oh, my gosh. You’re so right. She is a little like him. She’s also a little bit like me, though. We both tend to feel really responsible for everything. The firm. London. Our mom.”
“London’s not the responsible type then, huh?”
Her eyes widened. “Is Cody?”
“Hell no.”
She made a finger gun and pretended to fire it at me. I laughed, showing her my palms as a sign of surrender. “A very good point. Excellently made. Although don’t let Cody fool you. He’s smarter than people think.”
“So is London,” she agreed. “I think that sometimes, they’re the ones who have it easier. It’s not really either of us, is it?”
We chatted about our siblings and how our relationships with each other differed for a little longer, and I loved how funny and down to earth the girl was. She was also too easy to talk to and had so much depth to her.
At the same time, I could also tell that she felt like she had to be strong and successful, but being the man I was, I wanted her to relax a little more. I leaned forward, folding my arms on the table now that our plates had been cleared.
“Okay, so removing all the serious stuff from the table. No family. No ranch. No firm. Nothing like that. If you could’ve done anything with your life, what would it have been?”
She looked right into my eyes. “Exactly what I am now. I would’ve been in marketing. You?”
I chuckled. “Same.”
“I’ll play this game with you, though.” The corners of her lips twitched up into a teasing smile. “Considering that you said no firm or no ranch, what would you have done otherwise? What was your dream when you were little?”
“Not rancher?”
“Not rancher,” she confirmed, then took a sip of her wine. Then she straightened her spine a little, like she’d just had an epiphany. “For me, it would’ve been a social worker.”
“A social worker?”
“Yep.”
“Why?” My eyebrows pinched together. “Not that it’s not a noble profession. Obviously, it is, but why would you have chosen that above everything else?”
“Oh, that’s easy. It would’ve meant being able to enhance the quality of life of people who are vulnerable.
Protecting them. Giving them a voice. I like people.
I would like to help them more than I do right now.
In ways I can’t right now because I either don’t have the time or the knowledge of how to make it happen. ”
If I’d thought I couldn’t get any more into this girl, I’d been wrong. “Just when you think you know New Yorkers, one goes and gives an answer like that.”
“I’ve already told you, you don’t know me like you think you do, Cowboy.” She folded her arms loosely across her chest and inclined her chin at me. “Your turn. What would you have been?”
“A farmer.”
She pursed her lips. “Nope. That’s not an acceptable answer. Try again.”
“Does astronaut count?”
“Depends.” She brought those flame-warmed eyes back to my own. “Is it true?”
“No,” I admitted, realizing that I wasn’t going to get her to relax a little more if I didn’t do it myself. “I would’ve liked to have become a law enforcement officer or a lawyer, but not the fancy, corporate type. My motivations would’ve been very similar to yours.”
A slow smile spread on her lips. “Look us at, discovering more things we’ve got in common. Alright, Cowboy. Next question.”
“Let’s make this one a little less serious. I didn’t see the previous one go down quite like it did, but here we go.” I grinned at her, leaning across the table like I wanted to share a secret with her. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Purple. And teal. And black.” She leaned forward too, keeping her voice low, as if she was trying to help me keep that secret. “I’m multi-faceted. I have more than one favorite.”
I laughed. “I knew there was a reason why I liked you.”
After we’d finished up at the restaurant, the waiter brought me the bill while Olivia was in the powder room. I quickly paid it and slid my card back into my wallet. She returned to the table. At the same moment, the waiter came back too, a little flustered as he blinked at me.
“On behalf of the whole staff, we’d like to say thank you, Mr. Anderson.”
“No problem.” Shit, I didn’t want her to hear that.
As soon as he left us alone again, she cocked an eyebrow and I sighed, but she didn’t let it go.
“Why did he thank you like that?” she asked. “Are you secretly famous or something?”
“No. I just left a good tip.” I pushed my chair back and stood, bummed when she did the same thing before I could get to her.
She was still looking at me with questions in her eyes. “I leave good tips all the time. I’ve never been thanked that way. On behalf of the whole staff?”
I groaned. “They all worked here tonight, right? That means they all deserved some money, not just the guy who served us.”
Her jaw worked as her eyes widened. “You left a tip for every single staff member?”
I grimaced. “If you must know, yes.”
She nodded slowly, facing forward again. We walked out of the restaurant and into the crisp night air. “You know, I forgot you were a billionaire.”
“Good,” I said a little more forcefully than I’d intended. “That’s exactly how I want it. Now forget it again so we can keep having a good time tonight.”