“Oh, hey.” He lowered his hand, pure anxiety in those delicious eyes. “I remembered you said you made cookies on Sunday afternoon, and I was hoping I’d have beaten you to it.” He lifted his eyes over her head, his nose working. “But I can smell the fact that I’m too late. Again.”
Olli couldn’t believe he was standing there. He’d let her walk away yesterday afternoon, and he hadn’t insisted on coming over last night. He’d let her use her excuses and put distance between them. She looked at the plate of cookies, and they looked more like sad hockey pucks with a few bits of chocolate clinging to them.
“I hate to break it to you,” she said slowly. “But those are not cookies.”
Their eyes met, and he started chuckling. Olli couldn’t hold her laughter in either, and suddenly it didn’t matter that his father hadn’t believed for a moment that they were dating. It didn’t matter if he took all of his first dates to Six Stars. It didn’t matter that she’d embarrassed herself and Ian, even though he’d started it.
She stepped back, and Spur came inside. While she closed the door, he put the hockey pucks on the counter. She turned around, and he was there, ready and willing to take her into his arms.
She stepped into them, because she wanted to. She drew in a long, deep breath of him, and she really, really wanted to craft a candle that smelled like this amazing man.
Strength, she thought. Security. Sexy Cowboy.
It would have a subtle peppery note for strength, with the crisp, clean “blue” scent she loved about him as security.
Cotton, she thought, finally naming the crisp note she loved so much. And sky. Clouds. Cotton clouds. The final scent for Sexy Cowboy would be leather and horse. Something musky and masculine without being acidic.
It would be an instant bestseller, and women all over the world would be burning it to be reminded of the man of their dreams.
She’d name it Spur.
“I’m sorry about the picnic,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I should chase after you or sit down.”
“It’s okay,” Olli said, exhausted. “I don’t need to talk about it.”
“I do,” Spur said. “Is that okay? Can I just talk out loud for a minute?”
Olli slid her fingers along the back of his neck, feeling his hair there. “Sure,” she said. “Then you can tell me about your haircut.”
A smile graced his handsome face. “I did that for my mother and the picnic.”
“Mm.”
“Anyway,” Spur said, clearing his throat. His hands were heavy on her waist, and Olli sure did like them. “I’m sorry. My family can be a bit much sometimes, and I’ve had words with all of them.”
Olli let her eyes drift closed as she rested her cheek against his chest. “My parents claim to just be surprised that I’m dating again,” he said. “It didn’t have anything specifically to do with you.”
“Okay.” She ran her fingertip along the curve of his ear and listened to his heartbeat pick up the pace. She liked that too.
“Ian felt stupid for calling me out about Six Stars, but he’s right. I do take every woman there on a first date. It’s easy for me,” he said. “In a world where dating is not easy for me.”
“I don’t care about Six Stars,” Olli said. “I hope we can go again. I love the food there, and you can dance, cowboy.” She leaned back and smiled up at him.
He grinned down at her too. “I don’t care what my mother thinks,” he said. “All that matters to me is that we’re honest with each other.” He kneaded her closer to him again. “Me and you. Us.”
“I can agree to that,” she said, letting him wrap his strong arms around her and sway with her while she breathed in the scent of him.
“This is me being honest,” he said. “This is real for me. When I introduced you as my girlfriend, that’s what you are.”
Olli’s pulse crashed against her ribs. “Me too, Spur. This is real for me too.”
“Good,” he said. “Then nothing else matters.”
“Oh, something else matters,” Olli said, stepping away from him though she’d like to stay right next to him for a lot longer. “What do you think of these shorts?”
She watched his eyes slip down to her legs, and she saw the slow swallow as it moved through his throat. “They’re amazing,” he said, finally returning his gaze to hers.
Olli grinned at him as her hip cocked. “One more thing: These cookies. What did you do to these?”