His heart started to pound.If she wasn't mad — if she'd heard him say that he wanted to marry her someday and she wasn't mad at him — then maybe...maybe she was going to say that she loved him.He felt like she did.He could see it in her eyes when she smiled at him.
He wanted to jump in and tell her first, but he knew better than that.If she'd decided to say it, he wasn't about to steal her moment.
"What is it?"he asked, holding her a little closer.
"I told Delaney that she can do some test marketing on my work."
He laughed — mostly at himself for having gotten so carried away.
"That's awesome."
"But funny?"she asked, looking a little concerned.
He shook his head."No, not funny at all.I just thought you were about to say something else."
She looped her arms up around his neck, her green eyes seeming to shine even more than usual tonight.Maybe it was the dress that brought it out."What did you think I was going to say?"
He rested his forehead against hers and looked deep into her eyes."Something that I wanted to say first."
She snuggled closer."And what's that, Ollie?"
He pressed a kiss to her lips."That I love you, Lady Sunshine.Maybe it's too soon, maybe I'm going too fast, but it doesn't feel that way to me."He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze."You asked earlier if you were worth the wait, and I have to tell you — you were.I didn't know it until you came along, but I think I've been waiting my whole life for you.I love you.And even if you don't love me yet, I'm hoping that—"
"I do."
She pressed a kiss to his lips as they swayed to the music."I love you too, Ollie.And it doesn't even feel like it's too soon.I think we've been through a lot together in the time we've known each other.I feel like I know who you are."
He nodded."I feel like I know who you are, too.And we just...work."
"Yeah.We might not look like a logical match from the outside, but—" She tapped the middle of his chest, then tapped her own."On the inside, where it counts, I think we are."
He leaned in to kiss her.The wine bar, the music, and everything else faded away as he turned her slowly in a circle.
When he finally lifted his head, she reached up to touch his cheek."I feel like we're at the beginning of something special here, Ollie."
He held her a little closer."That's because we are."
Chapter Twenty-Three
Callie tidied up her workspace and picked up her phone to check if there was anything from Ollie.There wasn't, but she hadn't really expected him to text yet.He was flying today.
She stuck her phone in her pocket and closed up the cabin behind her, smiling at herself.She remembered the days — not so long ago — when she used to leave her phone outside.She still didn't want any interruptions to her work, but she didn't want to miss Ollie either.
She pulled up her hood and ran through the rain to the cottage, shrugging out of her jacket when she got there.She loved this place.The cottage was warm and dry even when the day was damp and gray.
But as she fired up the espresso machine to make herself a latte, she couldn't help wishing that Ollie were here.She missed him, and that was crazy.It had only been a few days since she'd left him in Napa to come back here.
She was driving down again this weekend — and finally taking the last four sunflower glazes to Charles.Ollie had promised he'd come up here the following week, but she didn't mind making the trip.She liked the drive, and she was looking forward to seeing Alara and Zia.
Once she had her latte, she settled down on the sofa and took out her phone, smiling as she scrolled through their text thread.It had only been a couple of days since she'd left on Sunday, but they'd exchanged a whole lot of messages.She sighed.It had been hard to say goodbye — hard to drive away — but she'd kept telling herself it wasn't a problem because she'd see him again in a week.There were still a few days to go, though, and she was really missing him already.She kept scrolling and laughed when she saw a photo of Peanut and Butter waving their paws at her.
She'd been working on new water bowls for them this morning and was thinking about making them to sell at the markets too.She frowned.She was going to have to do a market soon to give her funds a boost.She had plenty of savings, but she didn't like to rely on them.
She made a face.She hadn't heard a peep out of Delaney since Muse on Saturday night.Maybe the woman was all talk — who knew?Callie still felt a little disappointed.Willow and the others seemed so confident in Delaney's abilities.It was a bit of an anticlimax to have finally agreed to see what she could do, only to hear nothing.
She shrugged and looked back down at her phone, then sighed when she spotted Ollie's question in the middle of their text thread:Have you talked to your parents yet?
It wasn't as though she hadn't tried.She'd called when she got home on Sunday, just like she'd told him she would, but her mom had been full of news about what was going on at home, and her dad and brothers were watching the game in the background.After a few false starts, Callie had decided that her confession — about moving out here to do her pottery rather than for a job, as she'd told them — would be better left until a time when she had their full attention.And when she wouldn't ruin their enjoyment of the game if they were mad at her.
