“Of course.”
I get up from the blanket I’ve spread across the wild grass and move toward the truck, unlocking it and pulling my guitar from the back seat.
When I come back and sit down on the blanket across from Olivia, she’s arching her brow at me.
“I’ve been working on this for a couple of weeks. I think I’m finally ready to share with you.”
Fighting back a smile, she sits cross-legged with her hands securely in her lap. She looks like a perfect angel as she watches me expectantly. Just like that, a wave of nerves washes over me. I take in a deep breath that does little to release the tension in my chest.
“Are you okay?” Olivia’s hand on my knee grounds me again.
“Uh yeah, just a little nervous. I want you to like this.”
“Whatever it is, I’m going to love it because it’s coming from you.”
“I just want to make sure it’s as good as you.”
“Rhett Lawson! I’ve already told you you’re worthy. I’ve told you I love you. Stop getting in your head and play me the damn song before the curiosity kills me.” Her stern tone is immediately offset by her gentle laughter.
“I just want to point out the irony ofyoutellingmethat right now.”
“Yes, I know, but at least I acknowledge I need to work on it, and I’m getting help.”
“Touché.” I let out one more deep breath and begin the first couple of chords of the song. After about five to ten seconds, I glance up at her, trying to see if recognition is crossing her face yet.
Instead of seeing her beaming like I expected, tears are filling her eyes. I instantly pause, setting the guitar aside to tug her into my lap. “Hey, what’s wrong? What did I do?”
Brushing a stray tear with the back of her hand, she shakes her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Keep going. I just can’t believe you learned ‘The Best Day’ for me. You remembered me telling you about that song?” Her voice cracks as she finishes the question.
“I thought you knew by now that I hang onto every single word you say. I cherish every little detail you share with me.”
“I knew you listened to me, but I still didn’t think you’d care all that much about a story I told you from my childhood.”
“I could tell this song, and the memory it brings with it, was important to you, so it’s important to me. Don’t you get it by now? The things that you care about are the things that I care about. The things that you love are the things I love, even if that thing is a damn Taylor Swift song.” I smirk.
Her jaw drops open, but she quickly clamps it shut, biting her lip to hide a smile. “You take that back!”
I plant a soft kiss on her cheek and work my way down to her neck, just barely dusting it with my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She returns my affection with kisses of her own. Desire overtakes me, but she cuts me off when she innocently asks, “Will you finish the song, please? I promise I won’t cry anymore.”
A puff of air escapes my nostrils. “You can cry if you want to as long as they’re happy tears.”
“Okay, I promise. Just play it, please.”
She draws away from where she was leaning against my chest, and I selfishly want to pull her back to me. Feeling her peel away from me feels like losing a limb. She’s a part of me now. I’m not whole without her. But instead of being selfish, I let her sit across from me and pull my guitar back into my lap, starting the song over from the beginning again.
She sits there, watching me with a soft look in her eyes for the entire four minutes that I play the song. When it’s done, she claps for me, making my cheeks flush. “Oh, jeez. Don’t clap for me.”
“But it was so good. I’m tempted to ask you to play it again.”
“I can if you want me to, but I have one more song to play you first.”
Her brows knit together. “Okay. Is it another one I’ll recognize?”
“I don’t think so. It’s kind of a Rhett original.”
“I get my own Rhett song?”
