“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. Youdolook 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.”
“Thankyou.”
“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 knowyou 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.
