“Well, Master, let’s not keep them waiting.” She spoke in a fake British accent, and a rush of affection for her moved through Chet. At least he didn’t have to face everyone alone, and he squeezed Olympia’s hand as she reached for her door handle.
“Thanks for coming,” he said, his voice giving away his emotions.
“Of course,” she said, searching his face. “I wouldn’t miss it. I can’t wait to meet your mother.”
Chet thought maybe she’d hit her head or something, but Olympia had been talking about meeting his mother since he’d told her about this party. “Now, stay in the car so I can open your door. My grandmother would faint if she knew you opened your own door.”
Olympia smiled and cupped his face in her free hand. “I love you, you know.”
“I know,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her quickly. “I love you too.” With that, he got out of the car, scanning the front of the mansion with its tall, white pillars. He saw no one, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to open the door himself.
Oh, no. Thornton would do that, at the precise moment Chet needed it open. He wondered if there was a class for butlers or something.
He opened Olympia’s door, and she emerged as if she were a glamorous movie star. She hooked her hand through his elbow, and they walked toward the door. As predicted, it opened when it needed to, and Chet led her inside with the words, “Thank you, Thornton.”
“Mister Chadwick,” he said with a bow. At least it wasn’t Master. “Your family is in the library, sir. Would you like to join them?”
“Sure,” Chet said, turning to his left. He knew where the library was, but he moved slowly so Olympia could take in the grandeur of the mansion.
“It’s beautiful,” she said, a sense of awe in her voice. “Chet, it’s wonderful. Look.” She pointed to a huge portrait framed in gold that hung between two doors. “Is that your father?”
“Yes,” he said, stopping to admire the painting. “He loved hunting. And dogs. That was Collin.”
“The dog’s name was Collin?”
“Yes,” Chet said smiling at the black bowser in the picture. “He was an excellent hunting dog, and my dad said there’d never be another like him.” Chet looked away from the picture. “And there wasn’t.” A fondness for a dog Chet had barely known filled him. “Dad buried him in the family graveyard. The only non-human.”
“Wow,” Olympia said.
“Chet.”
He turned toward the sound of his brother’s voice, a smile blitzing across his face. “Eli.” He dropped Olympia’s hand so he could hug his brother. “How are you?”
“Alive,” Eli said, wincing as Chet grabbed onto him.
“Oh, sorry.” Chet pulled back. “I forgot about the accident. What did the insurance company say about the car?”
“Total loss,” Eli said, his gaze moving to Olympia. “You must be Olympia.” He put on his winning smile, and Chet watched Olympia melt under the brightness of it.
“My brother, Eli,” Chet said, stepping back as his brother kissed both of Olympia’s cheeks and welcomed her to the Chadwick plantation.
“Come meet Chelsea,” Eli said, turning to re-enter the library.
“Oh, he’s charming, isn’t he?” Olympia asked, watching him go.
Chet found a flush in her face, and he started laughing. “You think so?”
“That accent.”
“I have that accent,” he said. “And you’re blushing like crazy.”
She looked at him, alarm in her eyes. “I am not.”
Chet swept a kiss across her forehead and said, “Okay, my mother is next. Get ready.”
The library had been decorated with more pink and purple than Chet had ever seen in one place at one time. “Holy baby shower,” he said as Olympia pulled in a breath and then let it out in a soft, “Aww.”
“She’s obviously having a girl,” Chet said. “My sister never was one to be subtle.” He spotted Lynn standing over by the grand piano, one hand on her pregnant belly as she chatted with a brunette wearing a ball gown.
A legitimate ball gown.
“I’m underdressed,” Olympia said.
“I told you we would be,” Chet said, squaring his shoulders as his mother turned toward them. Every eye moved in their direction next, and he hissed through his teeth, “Here we go.”
He managed to get them across the library to the party center, and he said, “Hello, Mother. Lynn. Charles.” He glanced at Olympia and stepped back half a step. “This is my girlfriend, Olympia Heartwood.”
He really liked saying that, and he beamed at her as she exuded confidence and happiness to be there. She air kissed everyone and hugged his mother and turned to the brunette.
“My fiancée, Gloria,” Eli said, appearing at her elbow.
“Fiancée?” Chet asked. “When did that happen?” He studied Eli’s face to try to learn how his brother felt about this development. But Chet didn’t spend much time with his brother, and Eli had a real lawyer mask in his arsenal.
He barely blinked as he looked at Gloria. “This morning.” He smiled at her, and she sent a mega-wattage grin back at him before holding out her left hand.
“Wow.” Olympia took her hand and studied the ring. Chet had never been happier he hadn’t even mentioned the diamond he’d bought for her. “This is beautiful.” She smiled at both of them. “When will you get married?”
“Oh, we don’t have a date yet,” Gloria said. “I need to meet with my mother and Marsha.”
“The wedding planner,” Eli said.
“We’re looking at next Christmas,” Gloria said. “Right, dear?”
“Right,” Eli said.
“Next Christmas?” Chet asked. That was more than a year away. What could possibly take so long to plan? Before he could ask, Lynn stepped in between them and asked, “Is your father Henry Heartwood?”
“Yes,” Olympia said, her smile never wavering.
Lynn wore a triumphant look and turned back to her husband. “He is, dear.” She swept her gaze over them again as if she couldn’t quite make eye contact. “He knows someone on the island who knows your family.”
“Of course,” Olympia said, and Chet had to look away so he didn’t start laughing.
“Oh, here’s my grandmother,” he said, shaking his head at the waiter who paused for him to take a drink. Olympia took one and sipped.
“Oh, it’s apple cider,” she said.
“Lynn can’t drink because of the baby,” Chet said, pinning a smile to his face. “Grandmother, I want you to meet Olympia.” He brought her forward, and his grandmother’s face lit up.
“Oh, Chet. She’s your Olympia.” His grandmother hugged Olympia who laughed lightly. But Chet sure did like the sound of her being his, and he determined maybe he could still ask her to be his wife later that weekend.
“They’re great, Chet,” she said hours later as they sat on the steps off the back deck. “Really great.”
“You can’t be serious,” he said.
“Why? Because they all exude charm and money and grace?”
“Did you see what we ate for dinner?” Chet shook his head. “No one eats whole Dungeness crab anymore. It’s ridiculous.”
Olympia snuggled against his bicep. “Okay, the crab was over the top.”
“And the little cakes in the shape of a J,” he added. “I mean, who names their baby months before it’s born?”
She giggled and said, “Probably a lot of people.”
Chet shook his head. “I doubt it.”
“So…what do you want to name our first child?”
Chet’s heart stopped cold, and he had no idea what to say. They hadn’t talked about children yet.
“Oh, you haven’t thought about it.” She straightened and laced her fingers through his.
“I mean, I’ve thought about it,” he said carefully. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted children.”
“I do,” she said. “And I hope they have green eyes like yours.�
�� She smiled up at him, and an overwhelming sense of love filled him.
Chet looked at her, wondering if there would be anything more wonderful than being her husband. “Olympia,” he said. “I bought you a ring. I mean, it’s not as nice as what Gloria’s wearing, but it’s nice.”
“Oh?” she asked, her voice sparkling with a tease. “Is it a diamond?”
“Yes,” he said. “I love you, and I want to be your husband.” He untangled his hand from hers and reached into his pocket.
“You have the ring with you?”
“I’ve been carrying it around since I bought it a few weeks ago.” He held it out to her. “Will you marry me?”
She took the diamond from him, her eyes wide and glued to it. “Chet.” Her voice was only made of air. “This is gorgeous.” She looked up at him, glassy tears glistening in her eyes. “Yes, I’d love to marry you.”
Light filled his whole soul, and Chet leaned down to kiss her. “I’m so glad I left Atlanta,” he whispered against her lips.
“Me too,” she said, lining up their mouths again for the sweetest kiss of his life—with his fiancée.
Read on for a sneak peek at the next book in the series, BODYGUARD, NOT BOYFRIEND to meet another Heartwood sister and the man she definitely does NOT want…
Woo hoo! I’m glad Olympia and Chet found a way to be together! If you are too, please leave a review here.
Join Elana’s newsletter to get deals on her books, notices of new releases, and free books.
Sneak Peek! Bodyguard, Not Boyfriend Chapter One
Sheryl Heartwood checked through the peephole to find her best friends standing on her front porch. She unlocked the door and removed the chain before stepping back to face Abby and Tyler Bryan.
“Hey, guys,” she said, glancing behind them to find that truck still parked right on the edge of her property.
Ricky Van Nuy had been following her home for a couple of weeks now, and she seriously couldn’t sleep in this house for another night with that truck there. In an instance like this, she wished she lived with one of her sisters, the way Gwen and Celeste did. Or the hotel like Olympia. Alissa lived too far away from civilization, and she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to not have someone close enough to hear her scream.
She couldn’t see Ricky as her friends came in, their little chowchow on a leash, waddling in after them. “I just need to pull the pizza out of the oven,” she said. Sheryl didn’t cook often, and she rarely turned on the oven in the summertime. But she’d needed a reason to get her friends over here.
“Smells good,” Tyler said, bending to unclip the leash on All-Star’s collar. “You said you had a problem. Something to do with that truck parked out front?”
“Yes,” Sheryl said. “How did you know?”
“There was a guy there when we pulled up,” Abby said, pulling out a barstool and sitting down while Sheryl opened a bag of Caesar salad. “But he ducked down when we got out of the car.”
So Ricky was out there. Sheryl’s heartbeat bobbed around in the back of her throat. She cleared the emotion away and turned to get the pizza out of the oven as the timer went off. “My sister said I should hire someone to be my bodyguard. I was hoping you guys would know someone.”
Sheryl worked at her family’s hotel, resort, and spa, and her hours taking care of the grounds started well before dawn. Ricky hadn’t been bothering her before work. Only after. She wasn’t sure when Ricky left at night, because she refused to sit by the window and watch his truck.
“I’m sure we can find someone,” Tyler said. “Doesn’t Pops work at The Heartwood Inn?” he asked his wife.
“Pops works the swing shift,” Abby said. “Sheryl’s done early in the day, right?”
“Usually by two,” Sheryl said. It was too hot to do much after that, and she and her crew put in eight hours every day long before two o’clock came. She loved her schedule, as she could take a quick cat nap and then be rested for the summer evening activities on the island.
She loved Carter’s Cove and the nighttime energy that existed during the summer months. Some people found the tourists annoying, but Sheryl loved the surfing competition, the bonfire, the tennis and golf tournaments, the dog championship, the classic car parade, all of it.
But the thought of being out in public past dark had terrified her these past few days, and she’d missed a few things.
The bonfire was in two nights, and she was not going to miss it. Ricky was not going to keep her inside, behind locked and chained doors. Oh, no, he was not.
“I know a guy,” Tyler said. “But he has another job in the mornings.”
“I don’t need him in the mornings,” Sheryl said. “Just the afternoons and evenings. I can pay him to hang out with me.” She hated the way that sounded, but she had a legitimate reason this time.
Not that she’d hired a man to spend time with her before. Sheryl wasn’t desperate, and she hadn’t minded being a third wheel for her friends as one by one, they all found a man and got married.
Sheryl hadn’t really minded—until she didn’t have anyone to come sleep on her couch and make sure she was safe at night.
“His name is Gage Sanders,” Tyler said. “He’s ex-military, and he works security at the ferry in the mornings until at least noon.”
“Maybe he won’t have time,” Abby said. “You should text him.”
Tyler held up his phone. “I just did.” He reached for a plate and took a couple pieces of pizza. He held up one and grinned. “I think he’ll do it. Gage doesn’t have a lot going on in the afternoons, if you know what I mean.”
A few seconds passed before Sheryl got what he meant. “It’s not a date,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Why not?” Abby asked.
“Why not?” Sheryl asked, her voice pitching up. “I’m not interested in dating.”
“But why not?” Abby scooped some salad onto her plate, only glancing at Sheryl as if she didn’t get why Sheryl didn’t want to involve a man in her life again. She wasn’t even sure she had all the pieces of her heart back from the last time she’d tried a relationship.
Matt Goldsmith had left Carter’s Cove, and he’d taken Sheryl’s heart with him. It might have been a year or two—maybe three—but Sheryl had learned to find joy in her work, and she still had friends who invited her to do things with them.
Sometimes.
Tyler’s phone chimed, and he practically lunged for it. “It’s Gage.”
Sheryl pretended like she didn’t care as she dug around in the lettuce for a crouton.
“What did he say?” Abby finally asked, swatting at Tyler. “You’re killing us.”
Tyler just grinned his goofy smile and swiped his blond hair out of his eyes. He looked a little like a surfer, though he ran a digital marketing company for the small businesses on the island.
Sheryl unconsciously reached up and patted her own blonde hair, her scalp suddenly aching from how she kept her hair in a perpetual ponytail. She pulled her hairband out, her own curiosity reaching epic proportions.
“He said he’s been thinking about getting another gig in the afternoon,” Tyler said as if he were reading from the screen of his phone. “He said he’s interested.”
Interested.
Sheryl reminded herself he wasn’t interested in her. He was interested in the job.
“He wants to set something up,” Tyler said. “Should I give him your number, or do you want his?”
“Give me his,” Sheryl said. A moment later, her phone buzzed, and Tyler had forwarded the contact. “I’m going to text him right now.” She did, and Gage responded immediately with I can come over tonight.
Sheryl almost choked, and Abby heard and saw everything. “What?” she asked.
“He wants to come tonight.”
“Great,” Tyler said. “You need someone right away, right?” He took another big bite of his pizza.
Sheryl didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want Gage to come ove
r while her friends were here. Or did she?
“Let’s go,” Abby said, though she hadn’t finished eating.
Tyler looked back and forth between the two women. “I’m missing something.”
“Nope,” Abby said, popping the P. “Sheryl needs privacy for her job interview. We can take our food with us.”
“Take it,” Sheryl said, glancing down at her phone. She quickly typed out, Sure thing, and added her address to the text before sending it.
Everything happened so fast after that. Abby and Tyler left, and Sheryl chained herself back in her house, the truck on the street inspiring more fear in her than she knew what to do with.
Gage had said he’d “be there soon,” but it felt like a long time until he pulled into her driveway on a sleek, shiny, black motorcycle. Sheryl’s view through the slats in the blinds was limited, but wow. Gage had long legs, and as he stood from his bike, he sported a broad pair of shoulders in a sexy, leather jacket.
He pulled off his helmet and didn’t look around, his confidence oozing off of him and hitting her in the chest, even through the glass.
He had dark hair and a rugged, handsome face that had her breath catching in the back of her throat. She watched him walk up the sidewalk and onto her porch. Still, when he knocked, she flinched.
“Get ahold of yourself,” she muttered as she scampered away from the window and tugged on the bottom of her shirt. Looking down, horror washed through her when she realized she hadn’t even changed out of her gardening clothes. Mud dotted her jeans from a repotting project earlier that day.
The kitchen was a mess too, and the scent of pizza hung in the air. Sheryl didn’t want to open the door, and she stepped over to the blinds again. Maybe she could just text him that she’d made a mistake. Didn’t need his private security services.
He knocked again, this time calling, “Sheryl, is everything okay in there?”
To her complete horror, Ricky got out of his truck and approached her house. For some reason, that had her sprinting over to the door. Her fingers fumbled on the chain and slipped on the lock, but she got the door open.
Accidental Sweetheart Page 12