She was quiet on the drive home, then disappeared upstairs to take a shower. I took Dixie out on her leash, which she seems to hate, before bringing her back inside and using the baby gates we bought to barricade her in the kitchen. I set up her bed and some puppy pads, which the store associate who could not have been a day over sixteen assured us worked like a charm. With Dixie sleeping soundly in her big comfy bed, I check to make sure the door is locked, turn out the lights, and head upstairs. If I’m lucky, Olivia will still be in the shower and I can join her.
“Damn,” I say when I see her walking out of the bathroom into our room. She’s already wearing one of my T-shirts. “I was hoping to shower with you.”
“Yeah? You want me to go back in?” She smirks, pointing over her shoulder.
“This works too.” I take a few large steps to reach her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her into me. “You okay?”
“Of course,” she says way too quickly.
“Livy.” I wait for her to raise her head and look at me. “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
She heaves a heavy sigh as she pulls away and takes a seat on the bed. “I always knew I loved you. That was never a question. I knew you loved me, and I wanted all the plans we talked about. I’m mad at myself,” she confesses.
I have a feeling I know where this is going and hate that she’s still beating herself up over this. It’s done, and we’re moving forward. That’s all that matters. I open my mouth to tell her that, but she beats me to it.
“I hate it, Dave. I hate that I put us through that. That I made us wait. We should be married by now, maybe thinking about a baby, if not already having one on the way. Instead, here we are, me just now moving in and we’re not even engaged.”
“Hey.” I smile, letting her know I’m teasing, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ve asked multiple times.” I grin.
Her face falls. “I know.” Her voice is thick with emotion.
“Baby, listen to me. I’ve never asked you on one knee. I knew you weren’t ready for that, and honestly, I couldn’t stand the thought of you telling me no in that situation. That doesn’t mean that every time I asked you wasn’t coming from deep in here.” I place my hand over my chest, covering my heart. In just a few more strides, I’m grabbing her hands and tugging her to the edge of the bed. Her legs open automatically, allowing me to step between her thighs. “I’m only doing it once, Liv. There will be one time that I get on bended knee and ask the love of my life to marry me. There is only one love of my life, and that’s you,” I say, kissing the corner of her pouty lips. “It’s always been you. You told me you were ready, and to surprise you. Is that still what you want?”
“Of course it is,” she says, trying to fight against the tears that are welling in her eyes.
“That’s what I’m going to do. I want it to be special for both of us. I’m only ever going to do it once in my life, so I have to get it just right.”
“You don’t know that,” she counters. “What if something happens to me and you get remarried?”
I place my index finger over her lips to stop her from saying more. “Don’t think like that. We have to live for today, and today all I see is you. I can’t even imagine a day of my life without you in it. We can’t let the what-ifs and the fears of the world guide us. Just this,” I say, this time placing my hand over her heart. “This heart of yours is mine, Olivia Wallace. You gave it to me, and I intend to keep it.”
She looks up at me with those sparkling green eyes, and I’m tempted to rush to the safe in the office and get her ring, but I don’t. Instead, I hold her stare, willing her to trust in this and our love for one another.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too.” I can’t wait another minute to kiss her, so that’s exactly what I do. Pressing my lips to hers, I take my time tasting as she mimics the motion, and our lips move in perfect harmony.
Pulling away from the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers. “Anything else you want to talk about?” I ask.
“I wish it was us,” she murmurs. “I wish it was us who’s getting married in two weeks.”
“Me too, baby. We’ll have our day. You’ll get your outdoor country wedding that you’ve always dreamed of.”
“So you do listen?” She laughs softly.
“Every fucking word, Liv. There’s nothing that passes these lips that I don’t capture up here.” I point to my head.
“What about you? What kind of wedding do you want? This isn’t all about me, you know?”
“You really want to know?” I ask her. She nods. “My ideal wedding is one where you, my beautiful Olivia, are walking down the aisle toward me. Nothing else matters, as long as at the end of the day you’re my wife.” She offers me a sweet smile. “Now, let’s talk about this shindig,” I say, pulling back the covers and motioning for her to climb under. Once she’s settled, I pull my shirt over my head and kick off my jeans.
“What about Dixie?”
“She’s fine. I took her out and barricaded her in the kitchen.” I climb in next to her and burrow under the covers. “Now, tell me how it’s going to go down.”
“My dream wedding?”
“Nope. Our wedding. Tell me how it’s going to be.”
“Summer, early fall. Outside. I picture it being in a field of flowers. Not a huge event, just those closest to us.”
“I thought you wanted a huge country wedding?”
“I never said huge.” She laughs. “But country, yes. That’s us, and I want the day to encompass who we are and who we’ll be together as much as possible.”
“So something outside, in a field of wildflowers, with our closest friends and family. What else?”
“My bouquet will be pink and white roses, with some wildflowers mixed in. I don’t really want a big wedding party. I think it’s ridiculous to have them spend money on clothes they’ll never wear again. My dress… well, it’s simple, yet elegant.”
“Tell me more,” I say, pulling her close.
“Nope. That’s a surprise. Besides, I’ve never even seen the perfect dress. It’s just an idea in my head.”
“I think you should start looking. Doesn’t that sort of thing take time?”
“Yeah, I mean it can, but we’re not even engaged,” she says hesitantly.
“Oh, we are. You’re going to be my wife. My ring’s not on your finger yet, but that’s a technicality. What you described sounds pretty simple, minus the dress. Start looking.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes.” I place a kiss on her temple.
“Okay,” she agrees; however, I can tell from the tone of her voice that it’s reluctantly. “It’s just weird to not be officially engaged and shopping for a wedding dress.”
“Trust me, Liv.”
“Okay.”
“Now, what about a reception?”
“I thought just some tables set up under a white tent, or Mom and Dad have the old barn out back behind their house that they use for storage. We could clean it up and set up a few tables, string some lights. A small cake, some homemade pork barbecue with some sides.”
“You have a field of wildflowers in mind?” I ask her, knowing she does. We’ve ridden the horses and the four-wheelers through that field many times over the years, both before she was mine and after.
“Yeah, you know the one in the back of the property at Mom and Dad’s?”
“That’s always been your favorite spot.”
“It’s beautiful there. I can imagine the pictures of us in the field of wildflowers.” She snuggles closer, burying her face in my chest.
“It’s pretty far back on the property.”
“It is, but with just close friends and family, we can get them back there. Hell, they don’t have to dress up, and we can take them back on a hay wagon. Can you imagine Lexi and Walker? They would love it.”
“They would,” I agree. “So that’s it? That’s all it takes to make the day special for you?”
“No. It’s you, that’s what makes it special. The rest just paints the picture of the love we share.”
“Very poetic.” I chuckle.
My laughter dies out and we lie there, letting the silence surround us. It’s not uncomfortable, not with her here in my arms and not with the subject at hand. We just planned our wedding. Well, she did, but I meant it when I said all I needed was her.
“What about me?” I ask her. “What am I wearing?”
She laughs softly. “I say some nice jeans, a button-down, and your cowboy boots.”
“No monkey suit?”
“Nope.”
“You really do love me,” I say dramatically, causing us both to laugh.
That’s how we drift off to sleep—her in my arms, and laughter and love surrounding us.