Olivia’s eyes traveled over me, making me suddenly self-conscious about the way my sweat-damp t-shirt clung to my chest. I dropped the post-hole digger at my feet and pinched the fabric, pulling it away from my skin.
“Hi,” she said simply. Her keys dangled from her hand, and the driver-side door of her car was open.
I fought the urge to scream my feelings, to shout that I loved her loud enough for all of Stonebrook to hear. Now that I realized it myself, it felt wrong not to say it.
“Hey,” I finally said.
I love you.
Come back to me.
Please don’t push me away.
“Good day?” I asked.
She lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. “Okay, I guess.” She cleared her throat and looked around awkwardly, as if she wanted to look at anything but me. “I saw Penelope. She looks good.”
I nodded. “Good. I haven’t seen her yet today.” I’d missed spending time with her while I was out digging holes, but Kelly had insisted Mrs. Hawthorne would cover the feedings I’d missed.
“I’m sure she misses you,” Olivia said. She finally met my gaze, and the longing in her eyes nearly had me crossing the ground between us and pulling her into my arms. To hell with time and space. I could kiss away her resistance then go force her father to give her brilliance the consideration it deserved.
She held up her keys. “I shouldgo.” She hesitated a moment, like she might say something else, but then she climbed into her car without saying another word.
I watched on as she cranked the engine and pulled away.
Days passed and though I stayed busy with work and the project I was working on for Olivia, all I really noticed was that Ididn’tsee Olivia herself. Still, she stayed in my every thought. Early one morning, before the rest of the farm staff had awoken, I jolted awake in a cold sweat, my sheets tangled around my legs. Scenes from my dream, as vivid as a movie playing on a big screen in front of me, flashed through my mind. Olivia lounging beside me on a bed, her head propped on my shoulder, her hand resting gently against my bare chest while her fingers traced faint circles on my skin.
In the dream, she smiled at me and kissed the underside of my jaw before grabbing my hand and moving it to her noticeably pregnant belly.
I threw my legs over the side of my bed and pressed my head into my hands, forcing a few slow, deep breaths. The image of my fingers splayed across her glowing, rounded skin was enough to make my heart pound with longing.
If the goal was to give Olivia time to figure things out, dreams likethatwere not going to help.
I padded softly to the bathroom and shut the door before turning on the light. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, the harsh yellow light doing little to flatter my features. Though it probably wasn’t just the light. I hadn’t shaved in a week, and I hadn’t had a haircut since before I’d left Charleston. I gripped the edge of the sink, immediately noticing the traces of dirt that lined each of my nailbeds. I’d given up on trying to scrub it all away. I had literalfarm hands.
I sighed heavily, my grip tightening on the chipped porcelain.
What was Itrulydoing here?
Running? Hiding? Clinging to the possibility of a future I couldn’t have?
I wanted to believe Olivia would come around, but every day that passed without her reaching out made a future with her seem less and less likely. If the summer ended and nothing had changed, where would I go?
I turned on the tap and splashed cold water on my face.
Was it worth waiting it out, spending ten hours a day on a job that wouldn’t, actually, do anything to further my career, just for Olivia to decide we weren’t right for each other after all?
Ididlove her. But I also had my own future to consider.
Suddenly, I wasn’t certain how much longer I could keep this up.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Olivia
The finishing touches on the carriage house loft remodel were completed just in time. Not everyone would appreciate dormitory-style accommodations, but the room was perfect for a group of bridesmaids or groomsmen. Or oneenormousfamily.
The inaugural wedding to break in the space was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with the bulk of the wedding party arriving Friday morning. Most of them came in from Charlotte and wanted time to explore and hike before their rehearsal dinner—which we hosted—on Friday evening.
