1
Olivia Hudson smoothed down the dress she wore, though it would never lay completely flat against her stomach. She carried about twenty-five extra pounds, and no matter how much she tried to lose the barrel around her waistline, it wouldn’t go.
Perhaps she didn’t try that hard. She did spend a lot of time on her feet, looking for new herbs, plants, and fruits to make into oils and fragrances for her handmade, deluxe perfumes. She distilled everything in her very own perfumery, and every bottle got a fancy gold and pink sticker that Olli had designed herself. She even peeled and stuck the stickers onto the bottles herself.
Virginia helped, of course. Olli’s best friend helped with everything, including getting her this invitation to a wedding in Chestnut Springs, Texas.
Olli didn’t know Theo Lange or Sorrell Adams, but Theo was Virginia’s half-brother. Olli could still remember when Ginny had found out and how upset she’d been. To Olli’s knowledge, Ginny hadn’t spent much time with Theo at all; they never spoke; no attempt had been made to welcome him into the Winters family.
Olli knew how hard it was to break into the Winters inner circle, that was for sure. She’d been friends with Ginny for three years before she’d even been invited over to the sprawling mansion surrounded by huge barley, rye, wheat, and corn fields.
The Winters owned an old and reputable whiskey distillery in Kentucky, and Olli had a lot of respect for their family even if Ginny’s father had been extremely difficult to deal with.
Theo was apparently one of his illegitimate children, and yet Ginny and her mother had chosen to attend his wedding. Olli threw a look to Wendy Winters, and the woman was poised and proper, as always.
Olli often wanted to be more like her, but she simply couldn’t do it. She loved to laugh, and she liked to drive around horse country with the top down on her old Mustang, breathing in the scent of fresh grass, pure sunshine, and the distinct scent of horses, hay, and dirt.
Today, though, there was no hay or dirt. Plenty of sunshine here in Texas in May, and lots of horses on this patch of land where they’d gathered for the wedding. But no dirt, as Theo had apparently inherited his father’s good business sense and had a lot of money.
Ginny came into the room and scanned Olli. “You look beautiful.” She linked her arm through Olli’s with a smile. “Let’s go sit down.”
Ginny was the one with pure beauty radiating from her high cheekbones, long limbs, and deep, nearly navy blue eyes. Olli giggled with her as they left the house and headed to the chairs that had been set up in the back garden.
The flowers and plants and grass bloomed earlier here in Texas than they did in Kentucky, and Olli’s nose went into overdrive. “I want some of those flowers,” she said, indicating a tall stalk with beautiful blooms protruding from each side of it every few inches. “Don’t they smell amazing?”
“I thought you were working on masculine scents,” Ginny said, steering Olli away from the flowers. She’d get a picture of them later, because she could then take that to her contact at the nursery, and he’d tell her what kind of flower it was.
“I am,” Olli said. “I’ve got to break out of musk and pine.” She glanced at a couple of cowboys who watched her and Ginny pass. She smiled at them, but she wasn’t looking for a long-distance relationship. Olli wasn’t looking for a relationship at all, unless one with a new investor for her perfumery counted.
She’d written and submitted four grants this year alone, and the waiting process could test even the most patient person. Heck, the Dalai Lama would probably find the process exhausting.
She sat, though, and she enjoyed the fans that blew from above in an attempt to keep the guests cool. Ginny’s mother joined them, and a few moments later, the ceremony started to come together.
Theo, a tall, dark cowboy Olli might have found attractive once-upon-a-time took his place at the altar, a wide, hopeful smile on his face.
She’d felt like that once. Hopeful and happy about her romantic prospects. She’d dated plenty of men in her twenties and thirties. She’d even worn a diamond ring once.
She’d vowed she never would again, though. Not after she’d made it all the way through the wedding preparations, the engagement pictures, the save-the-dates, the food sampling, and the formal pictures in the fields that surrounded her family farm.
She hadn’t quite been stood up at the altar, but almost. Her fiancé had called the morning before the wedding, mere hours before the final rehearsal dinner. She’d invited her whole family to that. His too.
I can’t do this, he’d said. It has nothing to do with you, Olli. I swear.
She almost scoffed right out loud at this wedding, five years later. She’d been in enough relationships to know that when one ended, it had something to do with her, even if her contribution was small.
She put her ex out of her mind as the wedding march started to play. Olli stood with the rest of the crowd, and she turned to watch the most beautiful woman walk down the aisle, one slow step at a time. She wasn’t hanging on the arm of her father, obviously, as the man escorting her appeared to be about her same age.
Olli’s curiosity lifted, as she loved getting to know people and learning their stories. Did she speak to her father? Was he alive? Too sick to walk her down the aisle? What was the story there?
Olli loved stories, and the more personal, the better. She could take those ideas and transform them into scents for her perfumes and candles, and she’d always found the best inspiration from real life.
She sighed as the bride moved past her, and she enjoyed watching Theo and Sorrell get married right there in their own back garden. She’d been resistant to coming to this wedding with Ginny, but Ginny had pulled the best friend card, and Olli had been helpless at that point.
She’d bought a new dress, packed a bag, and come to Texas, a state she’d never visited before.
“Sorrell,” Theo said. “I’ve loved you for seven long years. Eight maybe.” He ducked his head, and Olli sighed again, this time pressing her hand over her pulse. She’d always had a weakness for soft-yet-tough cowboys, and Theo seemed like exactly that type.
“I promise to love you and take care of you for the rest of my life.” He looked up at her, the joy on his face something Olli wished she could bottle and sell.