Page 13 of His Cabin Obsession

“Some of your favorites?” I ask.

“Yes.” A small dimple appears on the right side of Olivia’s cheek when she smiles. It makes my heart tighten a little inside my chest. “Suzanne Collins went there, and she’s super famous and rich now. I mean, that’s not the whole point, but her books got her to that level of success.”

“That’s what you would want?” I ask.

“It’s perfect, really,” Olivia says, reaching for another piece of bread. “You have all the fame to sell more books, all the critical acclaim you could want, your books appearing on the big screen – and you still aren’t at a level of fame where people will recognize you in the street. You can live a normal life, write every day, and have everything you want.”

With me, she wouldn’t need the income. But she doesn’t need to know that. I’m just taking in what she’s saying. She wants her work to be read, wants to be recognized and praised for it. “Sounds like the dream,” I tell her.

Olivia grins. “One day I’ll be there.”

Somehow, I don’t doubt it.

“So, what do you do?” Olivia asks, rubbing her fingers together above her plate to let the last crumbs fall down to it.

I take this as my cue and get up from the table. “I serve,” I say, winking. “In this case, the next course.” I swipe the breadbasket off the table and carry it over to the kitchen counter, swapping it for two covered dishes. I carry them both over at once and lay them down on top of our empty plates, then step back to lift the silver lids with a flourish.

Olivia exclaims and claps her hands. I know that I’ve chosen well. Freshly cooked and still hot steaks, settled next to buttered asparagus, mushrooms, lamb’s lettuce, and fluffy roasted potatoes. A perfect dish – and expensive, too, not that I’m going to bring that up.

We talk more over dinner, and the more I learn about her the more I love. I can’t tear my eyes away from her, from the enjoyment she has for the food, the way she lavishes every bite, the way her eyes roll back in her head at that first taste of a new morsel. Over dessert, a creamy New York baked cheesecake made by one of the true masters of the form, I learn about her family and how much she loves them, how loyal she is to them, how their hopes and dreams have become hers.

I’m truly enchanted by her, but there’s still one thing that remains clear. Olivia isn’t quite yet relaxed enough. Even for all of the easy conversation we have and the delicious food, she doesn’t quite know if she can trust me yet. Maybe there’s some lingering annoyance about what happened earlier. Whatever the cause, I need to rectify that.

I need to make her so relaxed that the rest of the night goes like a dream. And I have just the idea for how to make that happen.

Chapter Eleven

Olivia

I finish the last bite of my food and sit back, feeling full but good. The food was amazing – some of the best I’ve ever eaten in my life. Who would have thought that I would experience this here, of all places, a remote cabin with no restaurant or chef for miles around? How they kept the food so fresh and warm while transporting it here is magic to me.

But I’m still a little wary. I don’t really understand where Aaron is coming from. He mocks me and tells me to go lose some weight, and then his apology is to make me eat a three course meal? That doesn’t make sense to me. Part of me is wary that this might all be some kind of trick – that once we’re done, he’s going to start dropping hints about how a lady shouldn’t eat so much or enjoy her food so openly.

But what he says next takes me completely by surprise.

“You look a little tense,” he says, getting up from his seat. “Would you like a massage?”

I blink.

“A massage?” I repeat, as if saying it twice will make it more understandable.

“Sure,” he says. “I still need to finish making up for earlier. I’m actually a dab hand at it. I can work out those knots in your shoulders.”

A dab hand – sure. Doesn’t everyone think they can pull off a decent massage? Still, I do feel like he owes me for earlier, and if he’s offering, then I shouldn’t say no. A good shoulder rub would be a nice way to relax for the end of the day. I’ll be nice and tension free for when I go to sleep, which will be a bonus for the first night in a new place.

“Alright,” I say, warily. I settle myself a little more in my chair, expecting him to walk around behind me and do it where I sit.

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