Page 56 of Sweet Escape
“Not as nice as it is to have you around here, darlin’,” Clint says, licking a smear of frosting off his thumb. “Nice to have somethin’ pretty to look at.”
Unable to stop myself this time, I step up behind Liv and snake an armaround her waist, settling my palm protectively over her belly. “How are you feeling, honey?”
Liv glances over her shoulder with a sweet smile meant only for me, and my heart gives an involuntary squeeze. “We’re good.”
Mama quirks a brow in my direction, catching onto my intentions without saying a word. “What can I get y’all for lunch? I have to head into the office in an hour, but I can fix something up real quick.”
“I’ve got it covered, Mama,” I say. “You can go do whatever you need to do.”
She pats my shoulder and smiles at everyone as she passes, heading toward the primary bedroom. “I’ll see you Sunday for family dinner, Liv,” she calls from halfway down the hallway.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she responds sincerely.
I kiss her temple and pull out a seat at the island for her, but my eyes are spearing into Clint and Hank, who both have shit-eating grins on their faces. Without uttering a single word, I just staked my claim on Liv, and they’ll spread the word around the ranch faster than wildfire.Olivia is mine.
Chapter 15
Twist Ties
?How do I do this - Kelsea Ballerini
Olivia
“I owe you a date.”
I startle at the rough edge of Wilder’s voice. His lips are barely a hair’s breadth away from my ear as I finish up a batch of macarons for the display case.
“Who let you in here?” I ask.
“Grammy, obviously. She winked at me and told me to have my way with you.”
“She did not!”
“She most definitely did. I had no idea Rosie was such a horndog.”
“I heard that, Wilder Hayes,” a voice calls from beyond the swinging doors.
“Does your grandmother have supersonic hearing?” he whispers. “Is that how she knows everything?”
I giggle. “That would make a lot of sense, wouldn’t it? I think you might be onto something.”
“Should we test our theory?” Wilder searches around the counters for something, I don’t know what. When he finds it, he fidgets with the item in his hands before dropping to one knee behind the counter.
My eyes widen and I speak through gritted teeth. “What the hell are you doing?”
He holds up a gold twist tie used to secure our cellophane treat bags. It’s fashioned into a circle with the ends looped around each other like a tiny bow. “Olivia Sullivan. Light of my life. Mother of my child. Will you marry me?”
I choke on air, eyes watering as I try to regain my composure. “Get up, you ridiculous man.”
The doors swing inward to reveal an unenthused Grammy, fists planted on her hips. “You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that if you want to get one over on me. And if we’re talking about proposals, that was pathetic. Where’s the romance? The drama? The ring?”
He slips the makeshift band around my ring finger and stands. “Guess we were right,” he says.
Grammy scoffs, snagging a tray of the completed macarons. “It ain’t superpowers,” she says, twisting to return to the dining room. “It’s the vents.” With that, Grammy disappears around the corner once more.
“Son of a bitch,” Wilder mutters.
Leaning back against the stainless steel counter, I clear my throat. “What were you saying about a date?”
