Page 63 of Blizzards and Brews
Okay, so I had already bitten him, yes. He was mine. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to domore.
Ollie had loved me and waited for me to be ready for years. His letter had absolutely gutted me and made me feel loved all at the same time.
I wanted to make him feel special. Feel loved.
He’d been pretty adamant that he didn’t want to be courted, that he had just wanted to be together, but I had also seen the way he admired his new watch this morning at breakfast. His nose was pressed to it or his eyes were looking at it fondly every chance he got.
Adam and I were going on our second date tonight, while Ollie and Dustin covered the bar. I needed to start getting ready soon, but first I wanted to make sure to talk to Ollie.
I went searching for him, only to find him in his nest cuddled in the oversized papasan chair he kept in the corner.
“Have room for one more?”
His head perked up at the sound of my voice. “For you? Always.”
I joined him in the chair, loving how we sank together. He immediately put his arm around me and pulled me into him, burying his nose in my hair. Soft music played in the background blending in with the sound of the small, meditative water element that sat on the end table.
“Do you usually hang out in here?” I asked, curious.
I’d only been in here once or twice before, and it was the first time I’d seen him use his nest since we’d gotten snowed in.
“I’ve never been able to have a heat here, so I mostly just use it whenever I want to chill out or destress. It’s my happy place.”
“Are you stressed?” I questioned, reaching out to take his hand.
“No, just a lot on my mind and I’m processing it all. Though it's become very apparent since I came in here that it doesn’t smell right. I’m going to need you and Spencer to spend some time in here with me.”
“And where is our flirty bear?” I questioned.
“Downstairs in the office working,” he said, his fingers started to comb through my hair. “You’re going out with Adam tonight, right?”
“Yep,” I said, shifting so that my head was in his lap and my legs were hanging over the side of the chair. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“About your date with my brother?” he questioned, quirking an eyebrow.
“No, about your date with me,” I said, reaching up to cup his face. “I want to take you out on a real date. Just you and me.”
The smile that lit his face was absolutely blinding. His blue eyes shined with so much damned love in that moment.
“Is that a yes?”
“I’ve only been looking forward to it pretty much my entire life,” he said, holding me closer.
I laughed. “I think Spencer’s sass is rubbing off on you.”
“I could definitely make a joke about how that's not the only thing he’s rubbing on me,” Ollie said, heat filling his expression.
“If you keep looking at me like that then I’m going to be late, and I really want to try to do things the right way with you all.”
“Who’s to say what the right way is, Linds? Everyone’s journey is different. We have a lot of memories and history between us, but you know what the most important thing to me now is? Our future. As long as that future is us together, than it doesn’t matter what the road to get there looks like.”
My heart swelled at his words. “When did you get so smart?”
“I’ll tell you what I told Spencer, I don’t need or want courting. I’m not going through the Holiday Hollow courting tradition before we bond, end of sentence. No matter what my mom says. I’m self-aware enough to admit I’m too impatient for that.”
“I get not wanting to go through the whole courting scavenger hunt, but you have to know that we still want to spoil you,” I said. “And before you say something about not needing it, it’s for us as much as you. You deserve it Roly Poly Olly.”
He groaned. “You should go before I take you in here and my brother kills me.”