Page 48 of Blizzards and Brews
To my surprise all of them were working in tandem, Adam and Dustin were putting away groceries while Spencer and Ollie were making plates of eggs and toast.
“We put it in your room,” Ollie said. “Do you mind grabbing drinks for everyone while we finish cooking and putting up the delivery? I can show you after.”
“I need to get some real food in you and Ollie,” Spencer said, holding out a hand for me. “It's too close post heat and from not seeing you last night and the stress of this morning, I’m feeling a little out of sorts.”
Adam grunted. “What he said.”
My eyes widened. Dustin passed me a carton of pineapple orange banana juice with a wink and whisper. “Just think of what they can accomplish when they work toward a common goal.”
Yep, my mind went exactly to the gutter and there was no hiding the flush on my cheeks.
“Was that bath a little warm, Linds?”
“Oh shut it and take your cute, little lip ring out of here,” I said, gathering glasses and taking them to the table.
In no time at all we had fed our faces. It was the quietest we’d been in a long time but it was comfortable silence.
It was too easy being with them and Spencer fit right in with us. I had to hush that voice in my head saying this would be temporary and simply embraced the moment.
With my stomach full and the kitchen warm, I was having a hard time staying awake. Finally, Ollie took pity on me.
“Come on, let’s go see your room,” he said gently. Dustin helped me to my feet and I slid my hand in Ollie’s. He pulled me close and leaned in, brushing his nose over my neck. “You smell like me. And you’re in my clothes.”
He let out a little rumble of satisfaction and walked with a bit more enthusiasm as we headed upstairs. Instead of going to my usual room, he pushed open the empty room across the hall.
Only it wasn’t empty.
It was an oasis.
Not just any oasis, but one tailor-made for me.
“Ollie,” I breathed out as I stepped inside. One thing I appreciated about the triplets was that they always stuck with locally-made furniture and it was no different here. The unique deep, dark wood pieces accented all the green perfectly.
“Green has always been your favorite color,” he said in a quiet, happy tone. “Remember that one time we went to the botanical garden and they had that greenhouse pathway we kept walking around in? I used that as my muse.”
“I thought of that immediately,” I said, the memory replaying as I spun under the canopy of vines he’d draped across the four poster bed and over to the window.
The bed looked heavenly with soft, fluffy pillows and comforter. Everything in here was a mix of dark green, browns, and gray. It was the epitome of cozy comfort.
The wall of plants had me turning an amused look at him. He smiled sheepishly at me.
“I haven’t killed one since you taught me,” he said proudly.
“I love it, Ollie… this is,” I couldn’t find the words but he didn’t mind. He came over and put his arms around me, his chin resting on my shoulder as I studied the plants.
“It’s what you deserve,” he said before pointing at a plant. “I got this one after we threw that Halloween event at the bar.”
“Where is this one from?” I asked, warmth filling me at what he had done. Ollie never did things by halves. He had a memory associated with each one, memorializing them into something tangible that we could look back on. It was so uniquely Ollie.
“The succulent was from the summer we had that obsession with signature drinks.”
I barked out a laugh at the reminder.
“Remember ‘the hollow’? God that one was good,” I mused.
“But the one Dustin made, the green one? It was so sour we had everyone making faces all night,” he said, laughing along with me. “We should have taken pictures and done a picture wall.”
“We should. There’s always some new Holiday Hollow tradition rolling through, it won’t be the last crazy adventure we have as bar owners in an adorably psychotic town.”