A Hot Holiday Collection

Chapter 8

8

LELAND

I ’d been waiting for this night for so long, I could hardly believe it was finally happening. If I’d thought I could get away with it, I would have married Olivia a few days after I met her and moved us into an apartment off campus. But I knew our parents would loudly and vehemently object, and I’d been plagued with the niggling reminder that getting married when I hadn’t come clean would be a massive fucking mistake.

Now though, the air was finally clear between us. I had her dad’s blessing, and the ring I’d had custom made for her was burning a hole in my pocket.

I heard movement on the stairs and turned, only to be practically knocked over at the sight before me.

My breath caught in my lungs as my eyes scanned Olivia from the top of her head to her sparkly gold fuck-me heels. I would definitely be doing that later. I’d booked a room at the hotel where we were going to a New Year’s Eve party.

Her gorgeous hair was swept to one side, clasped with an emerald clip and the rest hung over her shoulder in soft red curls. Her eyes were smoky, her lips red, and the strapless gold dress hugged every curve of her body until it hit her knees, where the material flared out. She had a sheer black shawl in one hand and a black clutch in the other. With every movement, she sparkled and shined, not only from the dress but also from the beauty inside her.

When she reached the last step, I finally managed to draw in a breath, but I choked on it as she did a little spin. The back of the dress, or lack of back, nearly had my head exploding. “No,” I rasped. “No fucking way. Go change.”

Olivia laughed and patted my shoulder patronizingly. “I don’t think so. I bought this dress a year ago and have been dying to wear it. I saved it just for tonight, so the only way you’ll get me out of this dress is to rip it off.”

I snaked an arm around her waist and yanked her back against me, putting my lips next to her ear. “If you insist on wearing the scrap of material you’re trying to pass off as a dress, that’s exactly what’s going to happen,” I warned. I was going to add something dirty, but her parents walked into the entry, also ready to go to the party. “This isn’t over,” I growled before nipping her earlobe and releasing her. I took her shawl and draped it over her shoulders, wincing when it barely covered anything. A hand clapped on my shoulder, and I glanced up to see Olivia’s dad staring at me with sympathy. “I tried earlier.”

“Thanks,” I muttered, sullenly following Olivia out to the driveway. We were driving separately because Olivia and I wouldn’t be returning with them. Her dad didn’t say anything when I mentioned it to Alice in front of him. He just pretended I hadn’t said anything and had been acting ignorant of the whole thing ever since. I wanted to laugh because eventually, he would have to pop that bubble he lived in, but I also couldn’t blame him. I imagined I would be the same way if I had daughters. Then again, he was probably cutting me more slack than usual since he knew my plan for tonight and had given me his blessing.

After a long-suffering sigh that made Olivia giggle, I turned my thoughts back to my plan for midnight. I helped her into the passenger seat, then rounded the car and got in. The hotel was only a ten-minute drive, so we didn’t have much time to talk before I was waving off the young guy who stepped up and jogging around to help my girl. Once she was on her feet, I went to the trunk and grabbed a bag, then tossed the keys to the valet. She glanced curiously at my luggage, her lips curved in a seductive smile, but she didn’t say anything as she looped her arm through mine, and we entered the building.

We stopped at the front desk to check in and have our bag sent to the room, then made our way to the event space on the top floor.

People were just finding their seats for dinner when we arrived, and we weaved our way through the tables to Olivia’s parents. We’d chosen to sit at different tables, so we said a quick hello before heading to one where some of our college friends were waiting.

“Olivia!” Leigh—one of her sorority sisters—exclaimed. “You look amazing!”

“Yeah...wow,” her twin brother, Anson—a recent pledge in my frat—agreed quietly, staring a little longer than I liked.

“Eyes to yourself, Kearns,” I growled. To his credit, he flushed guiltily and looked away.

The other six occupants, Asha, Caren, Eloise, Grady, Rai, and Cyrus, were friends from our houses on campus. They all lived within an hour or two from the hotel, and we’d made plans to meet up for New Year’s Eve.

Olivia had mentioned this party to me a couple of times, and I dug around until I was able to score tickets for all of us. The hotel manager was also a sucker for a good romance and had been a willing accomplice in my plans for the night.

There were two empty seats at our table because my first surprise for Olivia had been delayed in Las Vegas. Danny had arrived a few hours ago, but he was waiting at the airport for Delia’s plane to land.

Thankfully, we were barely into the first course when Olivia gasped and shot up from her chair. She squealed with excitement and walked swiftly toward Delia, who was rushing to meet her in the middle. “I can’t believe you're here!”

“When I heard you scored tickets to this event, I had to come and see what all the fuss was about.” Delia winked at me when she hugged her friend.

Danny said something, and the girls laughed before turning to come to the table. I stood, and we shook hands before pulling each other into a back-slapping man-hug. “Thanks, man. It means a lot that you both came.”

“Wouldn’t have missed it,” he replied with a smile before turning to help Delia into her seat on Olivia’s other side.

Conversation flowed freely during the meal, all of us laughing and enjoying the company. Olivia was beaming, and I loved seeing her so happy.

Once the meal and dessert were cleared away, a band came up on the stage and began playing. Couples wandered out to the dance floor, and eventually, Olivia—who was leaning back against me from her chair—looked up and asked, “How about a dance, sexy?”

I leaned down and kissed her forehead before answering. “Anything to get you in my arms, baby.” She chuckled as she sat up and put her shawl on the table with her clutch. I gritted my teeth but managed to keep from ruining the moment by dragging her up to our room to do as I’d threatened.

But her dress was quickly forgotten when she was pressed up against me, and we were slowly swaying to the music. “I don’t care what’s happening around me,” I murmured as I rested my cheek on the top of her head. “Having you in my arms is heaven on Earth.”

Olivia dropped her head back, and her green eyes were misty as she met my intense gaze. “I know I was really mad and made you grovel, but I have a confession to make.”

I raised a brow. “Oh?”

She nodded, and her cheeks turned adorably pink. “I’m grateful that you asked me out in order to help Danny. Otherwise, we might not be right here, right now, and nothing could be more perfect.”

I pressed a tender kiss to her mouth before whispering, “I’ll have to work hard to top this moment then.”

Olivia giggled and laid her head on my chest, completely missing the fact that I hadn’t been joking.

Midnight neared, and while I’d expected to be nervous, I felt confident and excited. I’d waited much too long to officially mark Olivia as mine. Giving her something that would warn off all the assholes who would have otherwise hit on her.

Danny hadn’t been the only one intimidating guys on campus for two years. If I caught some guy ogling my girl, we had a very firm conversation that led to a threat of dismemberment if I caught them doing it a second time.

At twenty minutes to midnight, I walked Olivia to our table and excused myself to use the bathroom. Once I was out of the ballroom, I saw the manager waiting for me with a giant grin on her face. She waved me over, and I followed her to a door marked “Staff Only.” She used a key card to unlock it and gestured for me to enter. “Everyone is getting into position now. Just give us two minutes, then you can go up on stage.”

I nodded and shook her hand. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

She smiled and said, “Happy New Year,” before leaving me alone.

I waited as instructed, then inhaled deeply and took the steps up the side of the stage. The hum of conversation ended, and every eye turned to me. “Um, hello. So, I’m sorry to interrupt your night—well,”—I shrugged—“actually, I’m not.” A smattering of laughter drifted around the room.

“Two years ago, I met the perfect woman. And, like many guys, I guess, I did something truly stupid.”

There was more laughter, but Olivia, who had turned around in her seat to face the stage, was staring at me with wide eyes and her mouth forming a little O.

“Luckily, she forgave me. But I still want to prove to her that she’s the most important person in the world to me. That I’ll love her for eternity and don’t want to spend any more time without her.”

Tears were glistening on Olivia’s cheeks, and I almost hopped down off the stage to run over and make her stop crying. But I reminded myself they were “happy tears,” as she called them—which made no sense to me.

I lifted my chin toward the back of the room, and the low rumble of a drum began, then others joined in until the whole line was playing. A second later, a group of men and women in kilts came strolling in while they began to play the tune to “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Holding the microphone, I hopped down onto the dance floor just as two ballet dancers came in—one female dressed as the swan princess; the other, a male dressed as a British Lord—and danced up to do a routine right in front of Olivia before lowering themselves into an elegant curtsey and bow.

“Olivia, will you come here, please?”

Delia elbowed her in the side when she didn’t move right away, and she threw her friend a disgruntled glare. Then she stood and walked toward me, her face still covered with shock.

When she was close enough, I took her hand and drew her close. “If I could have brought you everything in the song, I would have. But the hotel would only put up with so much.”

Olivia laughed, but her attention was diverted when she spotted the manager wheeling a large cake up to us. The rest of the days in the song were depicted in the frosting over three tiers. On the very top sat a golden pear.

I lifted my chin again and the music stopped. “Don’t think I’m not aware of how damn cheesy this is,” I told her with a self-deprecating laugh. “But I also know that you love it, even if you don’t want to admit it and lose cool points.”

She laughed and held her hands out in a helpless gesture. “Fine. You got me. This is awesome.” Her mouth formed a wide smile as she looked over the detail on the cake, but when she got to the pear, she tossed me a curious look.

“Ten minutes to midnight,” the manager said quietly before walking away.

I set the microphone down because, while I didn’t care who heard me propose, this was for Olivia, and I wasn’t going to broadcast the actual question. It would take away from the intimacy of the moment. I took the pear from the cake and dropped to one knee.

“Olivia, you are the single most important person in my life, and to live the rest of it without you would be like living without air. Impossible. I promise to love you until the end of time, to be your best friend, a devoted husband and father, to give you twelve days of Christmas every year, to learn how to decorate a cake”—I winked at her, and her face flamed bright red, making me grin—“and to be completely honest with you unless you ask me if you look fat.”

Olivia giggled, and her eyes danced with joy before going wide again when I flipped the top of the pear open. A diamond ring was nestled inside, and I pulled it from the velvet bed, then set the pear down and took Olivia’s hand. “Will you marry me, baby?” Dropping my volume so that only she could hear me, I added, “Keep in mind that this is a gesture. You don’t really have a choice.” I slid the ring on her finger to emphasize the point.

She put her other hand over her mouth, but it didn’t completely muffle her laughter. When she uncovered her face, she beamed at me so brightly I felt the heat on my skin. Or maybe it was the desire burning inside me.

“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she announced loudly, then she bent over and whispered, “Just a gesture. I was always going to marry you.”

I laughed and surged to my feet, my lips meeting hers as I wrapped my arms around her and spun in a circle.

The countdown started while we were kissing, and I broke away only long enough for us to shout, “5...4...3...2...1! Happy New Year!” Then I kissed her again as the bagpipes and drums began to play “Auld Lang Syne.”

Someone nudged us, and I dragged my mouth from Olivia’s to glare at them. It was Delia, handing me a party horn—or, more accurately, shoving it in my mouth. I rolled my eyes, but before I could spit it out, Olivia grabbed the thing and started blowing.

I laughed until she grabbed my neck and brought me close enough to whisper in my ear, “Just practicing for later.”