They had gotten to know each other. He knew that she was aware of the fact that he came from a wealthy family. She knew what kind of car he drove and that he had an apartment in the city and a second home in the country. Olivia knew those basic things just from asking other questions about how he spent his time. She didn't know the extent of his fortune, though, and she didn't seem to care. Eric liked that about her. She didn't mention his money and she also didn't mention the fact that her uncle was Ezekiel Tanner. He had found that out on his own.
Ezekiel Tanner was kind of a big deal in his household. It was crazy to Eric that Olivia's dad was the man's brother. It was a small world. Eric's father and grandfather were huge Pistons fans back in the day, and Eric's dad met Ezekiel a few times during his prime in the NBA. It was something Eric hadn't told Olivia but would likely mention to Ezekiel once they met.
Growing up rich had its perks. Eric had met his fair share of actors, musicians, and athletes. It would be cool to hang out with Ezekiel Tanner, but that wasn't what was driving him. It was Olivia he had been waiting to see. She was the one who had been on his mind.
Her appearance was a little more polished this evening than it had been in the coffee shop. She had traded her friendship bracelets for subtle gold jewelry, and her hair and makeup were more thoughtful. She still had a youthful innocence about her that made her seem delicate to him. He felt an undeniable urge to be with her—to guard her.
"He's taking you the front way so you can go by the big house," Olivia said once they pulled onto the private road that led into the farm. "That's Uncle E's house," she said, pointing into the distance. The road was lined on both sides with white wooden horse fences. It was beautiful, even in the dark.
"So, there's another entrance that will take you straight to the stables?" Eric asked, following Jude.
"Basically," she said. "We could have kept going down that road and turned left later on. This way's a little longer, but it takes you by the house."
Olivia's phone had begun ringing while she was talking, and she picked it up and put it to her ear once she finished her statement.
"Hey, what's up?" she asked.
She paused, and Eric couldn't hear what was being said on the other end.
"I thought I'd go with you guys. Why?"
A pause.
"Oh, no, I mean, I just assumed I would go with you since Eric's going to meet Mister Everything."
She paused.
"It's okay. I can just walk back later. Or you can take me."
Another pause.
"I'm sure. Okay, bye."
Olivia turned off her phone and set it in her lap. Eric glanced at her, and she smiled and pointed toward the beautiful home they were passing on their left.
"I'm staying in the big house," she explained. "My clothes and everything are there. Jude was asking if I wanted to be dropped off right now."
"How far is it?" Eric asked as they drove slowly through the property.
"It's pretty far," she said. "It's walkable, but they drive or use golf carts most of the time. He was wondering about me getting back."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Eric said. "I'll drive you back whenever."
He glanced at her from over the console, and she grinned at him. She was adorable. Her teeth. He wouldn't call them jagged, but they were not lined-up quite like everyone else's. The canines were protruding a little and set slightly higher, giving her whole smile a different, interesting, beautiful appearance. It was one of the things about her that seemed youthful to him—unrefined. He loved the way she looked.
He was happy he had gotten to know her over the phone, but he wished he had a little more practice being around her. As of now, he was still distracted by her beauty. He was glad he had to concentrate on the road because if he had to look at her any longer, he would have reached out and taken her hand.
"I can't believe Jude went that way because he wanted to drop me off," she said. She was shaking her head, Eric could see the motion out of his periphery. "He should have known I would want to see you meet Mister Everything."
"Do I get to meet him tonight?" Eric said.
"Yeah," she said. "Your apartments are right there connected the stables."
"I guess I didn't know if he would be in that same set of stables or not. I wasn't prepared to meet him tonight. I feel like I should bring him a gift or something."
Olivia laughed and the sound of it tugged at his chest.
"Who, Mister Everything?" she asked. "You want to get him a gift?"
"Yeah. What do you buy a racehorse? Does your brother need some nice tack or something for him?"
"How do you know it's called tack?" she asked.
"I don't remember where I learned that. I heard it a long time ago."
"I think my uncle is letting Jude use his stuff," she said.
"He might need some of his own," Eric said. "I'll talk to Jude about it."
Chapter 10
Eric
Eric parked next to Jude once they made it to the stables. The structure in front of him was Spanish inspired and definitely closer to the Ritz than an old, country farm. Eric barely had time to take in his surroundings before Olivia opened her door and began climbing out of the vehicle. He wanted to walk around and open the door for her, but she was too quick.
He had dated a number of women over the years and they had always just gotten into and out of cars by themselves. He had never even given it a second thought. Eric experienced an odd sensation of regret as he stared at Olivia, standing there with the passenger's door open. She was perfectly capable of opening her own car door, and yet he wanted to do it for her—he wanted to take care of her.
"Can I help you with your luggage?" she said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"No, no, no. I'll get it. I just have one bag." He got out of the driver's side and met Olivia at the back of the vehicle. Jude got out of his truck and joined them over there. They had a conversation with him about the SUV Eric was driving, and Jude ended up sitting in the driver's seat to check it out.
"You guys can come into my place," Jude said as the three of them approached the building. "Your door is number two right there. It's unlocked if you want to set your luggage inside. There's a key on the coffee table in case you want to lock it up on your way out. Nobody will bother your stuff, but the key's there."
"These doors are the apartments?" Eric stopped walking and took in the entrances.
"Yeah, and each unit has a back door that leads into the stables, but you can come meet us at my place when you're done and we'll go in through there."
Jude had some papers for Eric to sign, and he was chomping at the bit for him to do it. Jude knew he could relax and that everything would work out, but it was his first time doing this and he was excited.
Jude and Olivia went into Jude's apartment while Eric went into door number two. It was a nice place with simple, inviting furniture that went with the architecture of the building. Eric set his bag down on the other side of the bed, grabbed the key, and took a glance in the fridge, which was stocked with a few simple snacks and drinks. It was as nice or nicer than any hotel he would have stayed at, and the bonus was the proximity to Olivia. At the thought of her, he turned, closed the fridge, and headed for the door.
Within seconds, he was in Jude's apartment. It was set up exactly like the one he was staying in, except Jude had all his personal stuff lying around. Eric knew he still had some papers to sign, and he was just as excited and anxious to do it as Jude was. He couldn't wait to be a part of all this. This whole atmosphere was already exciting to him.
Jude and Olivia were standing in the kitchen, and Eric went over to join them.
"Is it up to your standards?" Olivia asked.
"I hope so, or I'm unreasonable," Eric replied.
She was teasing him anyway. She had gotten to know him enough that she knew he was easy to please. Eric stared at the papers on the countertop as he approached.
"He's technic
ally ours," Jude said. "But this makes it feel even more official."
"Let's do it," Eric said, glancing around for a pen.
"What are you looking for?" Jude asked, seeing him searching.
"A pen."
"Oh, a pen. Of course, you might need that," Jude said with a nervous laugh. He pointed to the area of cabinet space near Olivia's mid-section. "They're in a drawer right there behind you," he said.
Olivia turned and retrieved a pen from the drawer.
"What'd you think about Tanner's game?" Jude asked.
He asked the question at the exact perfect time because Eric was in the middle of the pen transaction with Olivia, and they paused their efforts while Eric turned to Jude to answer. Their hands were literally touching. It was just their fingertips—where they overlapped as both of them were holding the pen at the same time. Jude's distraction could not have been timed more perfectly, and Eric answered the question, looking at Jude and pretending he was completely unaware of the fingertip touching that was happening with his right hand.
He was not unaware of it.
He was, on the contrary, extremely aware of it.
Heat rose in his chest when he realized that she wasn't moving.
"I loved it," Eric said, with his gaze focused on Jude. "Olivia had told me that he was a good player, but I was blown away. He's amazing."
Jude nodded.
"Is he already committed to UK?" Eric asked, still touching her, hand unmoving.
Jude nodded, but then he glanced at their hands, which made Olivia pull back, leaving the pen in Eric's possession.
"He is," Jude said. "We've got four more years of Wildcat craziness coming."
"Will you stay in Lexington, then? After you graduate?"
Eric knew Jude was the same age as Jordan and would also graduate college that coming May. He knew he had grown up in Philly like Olivia, but Jude never talked about what he would do when he graduated. Olivia glanced at Jude like she was curious as well.
"I really don't know yet," Jude said. "I was dating this girl down here, and I was thinking about staying with her, but we broke up about a month ago. I guess I'll have to see what happens with this horse and then figure out what I'm thinking after that, you know, with a job and everything. I'll be working with him for another year or two, at least."
"Well, I'm excited to see what happens with him." Eric made the statement, pen in hand, as he stared at the paperwork, searching for the place to sign.
Jude showed him where he needed the signatures and then offered them something to drink. They only hung out in the apartment for a minute or two before deciding to go meet the horse.
Mister Everything was all he was cracked up to be. Olivia had met him before, and she was excited to make the introduction to Eric. She was adorable. She was trying not to make it obvious, but Eric could tell she was excited by the way she wiggled and jiggled in these tiny movements that she thought he didn't notice. She smiled a lot, too, and he tried his best not to get lost staring at her mouth, but it was difficult. He imagined what it would be like to kiss her. He had never in his adult life been interested in a woman and gotten to know her to this extent without kissing her.
Eric could tell Olivia liked him, but she did not throw herself at him. They were friends who had long discussions about things that weren't relationships or relational intentions. He wasn't used to women being like that with him. Most of them would have wanted him to define things by now.
Olivia was unlike other women, plain and simple. It had been a long time since he had heart-fluttering feelings, but she did that to him. It was everything about her. He watched how she spoke and how she moved and the way she reacted to things. He knew her voice well, but it was mesmerizing getting the visual to go with it. She was uninhibited, sweet, funny, beautiful.
It was difficult for Eric to pay attention to anything with Olivia around, but it was plain to see that Mister Everything was a gorgeous horse—a fine specimen. He was a stunning creature and Jude explained that he was only about half his eventual weight and would only get better looking as he grew.
Jude and Olivia were both happy and proud, and Eric had more fun watching them make the introduction than looking at the horse.
Seeing as how Mister Everything was a yearling and could easily get stirred, they only stayed a few minutes in his stall. They moved to the next stall to visit a bay mare named Destiny. She was extremely docile, and thus was Olivia's favorite horse on the farm.
Eric asked questions about training, racing, and jockeys, and Jude took pleasure in answering them. All three of them stood in Destiny's stall, talking to each other and visiting with the horse. Jude was on the horse's right side, and Eric was on her left along with Olivia who had been stroking Destiny's neck the whole time they talked.
Eric would reach up periodically and do the same thing, but Olivia never stopped touching the horse. She didn't take her hand from Destiny's short, soft, velvety fur. Her uncle's house was the only time Olivia was ever around horses, and she loved to interact with them as much as she could while she was there. She didn't go into the stalls alone, but as long as Jude or one of the other guys was with her, she was fearless.
Slowly, expertly, she stroked Destiny's neck while Jude and Eric talked. Eric was standing closer to the horse than Olivia was, and he reached up and placed his hand on Destiny's neck. He was saying something to Jude and pretending that he didn't know what he was doing, but he very purposefully put his hand in Olivia's line of trajectory.
He asked Jude a question about stud fees and held still, resting his hand on Destiny, waiting to see if Olivia would touch him. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he felt it. He wasn't looking at her or at their hands. His gaze was trained on Jude, but his attention was one hundred percent devoted to the place where her hand came to rest touching his. It was his pinky, and he could not think of nor focus on anything else.
Olivia's hand moved ever so slowly across Destiny's neck, brushing gently against Eric's pinky. She had been stroking the horse the whole time, but she eventually came to a stop when she came in contact with his hand. Both of their palms were facing down, touching the horse. The only place Olivia touched him was the side of his fingers, and even still, Eric felt out of his head with attraction, desire, love.
Jude was talking, but he sounded like the teacher from Peanuts because all Eric could think of or feel was emanating from his pinky finger. The center of his universe, in that moment, was his pinky. She was touching him. Not moving. She was letting her finger rest next to his. It was fully intentional.
Jude could see their faces but not their hands. He had no idea what was going on—that they were touching. Olivia was brave for leaving her hand there, and it pleased Eric way more than it should have. Eric could not stop himself from glancing at her. He turned and looked her way, staring instantly into her dark eyes.
She held his gaze for an awestruck heartbeat or two, but quickly glanced at her brother with a casual smile.
"But it could be hundreds-of-thousands, right?" Olivia asked Jude, though Eric had no idea what the context was.
Her hand was still touching his.
Jude still had no idea.
Eric was dazed.
He couldn't believe something as innocent as a casual hand-touching could have his chest feeling like it might explode. He had to stop staring at her before he did something crazy like kiss her right there in front of Jude and Destiny. He was on the verge of doing it. He felt like he had to claim her in some way. He had grown close to this girl over the phone, he was invested emotionally. And seeing her, being with her, touching her… it was just too much.
"That's a best-case-scenario," Jude said, referring to Olivia's statement. "That's after a good racing career, and siring some winners. It won't happen overnight."
Eric smiled. "Nothing worth it ever does."
Chapter 11
Eric
He had been getting close to this girl, falling for her, for
more than two whole weeks. But who was counting? Either way, it was difficult for Eric to pretend that he and Olivia were just casual acquaintances or business associates. Olivia didn't seem like a casual acquaintance to him at all. She felt like family to him. And now, there she was, touching his hand and giving him all sorts of feelings.
He was alive with anticipation. Her hand rested against the side of his for long enough that it could not be mistaken as an accident. He glanced at her, but not for longer than normal. He was desperate to give his attention to her, to check her out, but couldn't let himself be so obvious.
They continued talking to Jude, and after what must have been a minute or two, she continued moving. Her hand ran from his pinky down the side of his hand as she continued petting Destiny. Eric cleared his throat when she finally moved, and it caused her to smile.
They made discreet hand contact like this for the span of half an hour while hanging out with Destiny and carrying on a conversation with Jude. Olivia asked her brother questions that required detailed answers—questions she didn't necessarily care about the answers to.
Jude eventually moved and came around to their side of the horse, putting an end to their game. They stopped to meet a few of the other horses during the tour of the stables and each time, their hands accidentally touched. It was fun trying to find ways to touch each other without her brother seeing them. Olivia certainly wasn't shying away from Eric's efforts. If anything, she was encouraging it to happen.
The tour of the stables took over an hour, and they naturally made their way toward the apartments afterward.
"I should go ahead and get you back to the big house," Jude said, obviously talking to Olivia.
"I could take her over there," Eric said.
"Oh, no, thank you, but I have to go in and talk to Uncle E, anyway. I texted him earlier and told him I was gonna drop that paperwork by. He's waiting for me."
Olivia was annoyed with her brother. There was no paperwork that needed to be taken care of at this hour. Uncle E wasn't waiting for the paperwork, it was Jude who was overly-zealous about getting it to him, and Olivia knew it. She didn't say anything, though. Eric had been traveling and meeting new people, and she was sure he was tired anyway.
Me & Mister Everything: A Romance (Tanner Family Book 4) Page 7