Olli’s excitement would not be hindered by that. “How do I get there?”
“Easy,” Cayden said. “You go back down the road toward the highway, but make the first right. Go around the fields to the only house on the lane. You really can’t miss it.”
“Thank you,” Olli said with a big smile. She dashed back to her sedan and did what he said, arriving in the right place only a few minutes later. Spur was indeed there, because his monstrous truck sat in the driveway of a house with a perfectly manicured lawn.
She hurried up the sidewalk to the front porch, where she rang the doorbell. She bounced on the balls of her feet while she waited, and Spur’s mother opened the door several moments later.
“Olivia,” she said, pure surprise in her voice.
“Hello,” Olli said. “I heard Spur was here.”
“Yes, we’re eating on the upper verandah.”
“Could I join you for a few minutes? I just have some amazing news.”
“Ma,” Spur said. “Let her in.” He walked toward them, and his mother made room for him in the doorway. “Olli, what a great surprise.” He grinned at her and kissed her.
Olli giggled and said, “Spur, I got it. I got the gold standard, which means they’re going to put our cologne in their stores.”
“You got it,” he repeated, his voice somewhat awed. He laughed and grabbed onto her, lifting her up and spinning her around. “You got it!”
“I got it!” Olli said, laughing. He set her on her feet. “We got it, Spur. You’re going to be in over four hundred stores across the country.”
“Wait a second,” his mother said. “What is happening here?”
“I love you,” Spur said. “I knew you’d get it. You’re too smart and too amazing not to.” He touched his forehead to hers, completely ignoring his mother.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she said. “Thank you, Spur.”
“Julie?” a man called. “Spur? What are we doin’? Air conditioning all of Kentucky?”
Spur reached into his pocket and dropped to both knees, right there on his parents’ porch.
“Oh, Dear Lord,” his mother said, pressing one palm to her chest. “Jefferson, he’s proposing.”
Spur’s father appeared, his eyes wide.
“Olivia Hudson,” Spur said. “You make me so happy, and I’m in love with you. Will you marry me?” He held up a diamond ring that caught the sunlight even under the eaves of the roof, and nearly blinded Olli.
Her breath had caught in her chest about the time he’d dropped to those knees. “Spur,” she gasped. “Really?”
“Absolutely,” he said.
Olli felt the weight of three pairs of eyes on her, and she was actually surprised his mother didn’t have anything to add to the proposal. She looked at them, and his mom was actually weeping.
She focused on Spur again, her decision crystal clear. “Yes,” she said in a strong voice. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His father whooped, and his mom sobbed. Spur got to his feet laughing, and he swooped her into a tight hug. Olli wasn’t sure if she should laugh or cry. So much had happened in the space of thirty minutes, and she needed some time to just think.
He slid the diamond on her finger, where they both gazed down at it. “I love you,” Olli said quietly, finally looking up at him. “We’re going to have an amazing life together.”
“I know we will,” Spur said. “I love you, too, Olli.” He kissed her, and Olli got the time she wanted to think through how she’d gotten everything she’d ever wanted, all in the space of a few minutes, after many long years of hard work.
* * *