“I love your shyness. It’s part of who you are, Liv,” he said. “Don't ever let some idiot make you feel inadequate.” Hunter snorted. “Hmmph. He must've been all kinds of crazy not to recognize your beauty—inside and out. No doubt trying to hide his own inadequacies.”
The sound of Olivia’s tinkling laughter sounded like music to his ears. He loved making her laugh. It was such a joyful sound.
“You're amazing. Don't let anyone tell you any different, okay?” Hunter pressed.
“I never will,” she said. “Not after the wonderful things you’ve said tonight. Thank you.”
“I'm not one to be modest, but I think you're giving me way too much credit.” He leaned over and flipped off the light so that there was only a soft glow emanating from the alarm clock on the nightstand.
“No, Hunter. You’ve never realized what a deep impact you have on people,” she murmured. “You never did.” He heard a wild yawn coming from her direction.
He allowed her words to wash over him for a few moments. To hear her speak about him in such a glowing light felt amazing. But did he deserve it? Was he really someone who should be spoken of in such a way?
“Don’t make me more than I am. I’m a man. Flawed. Human. Selfish at times. I make mistakes and sometimes with my line of work, I hurt people. I don’t take that lightly, Olivia. I’m not soulless, but I’ve always had to separate business from personal. And sadly, sometimes people get hurt in the fallout. I hope you can understand that. You’re special to me. I never want to hurt you.”
Silence greeted him. Why hadn’t Olivia responded? He was opening up the conversation so he could tell her about his intention to acquire Renault Industries. Suddenly, he heard the light sound of her snoring. She had fallen asleep! Olivia hadn’t heard a word he had just uttered. He let out a groan. Saying those things hadn’t been easy. Wasted words! Could he summon the courage again to tell Olivia about his plans for Renault Industries?
He fought against sleep, willing his eyes to stay open so he could savor the wonderful moments he’d shared with Olivia this evening. He knew before long that daylight would come, stealing these fleeting moments away from them. Reality would come with the breaking of dawn, bringing with it a clarity and focus he couldn't ignore. As soon as he made a move to take over Renault Industries, lines in the sand would be drawn and allegiances would be tested. His newfound relationship with Olivia might not weather the turbulent storms that were bound to come.
Once again, he was going to shatter every ounce of faith she had in him.
As he finally surrendered to the irresistible pull of slumber, a final thought flashed through his mind. If he lived to be one hundred, this night would go down as one of the most unforgettable of his life. It could have been a disaster after his motorcycle broke down, but instead they had reconnected. Bonded.
He had no clue how he was going to move forward with his acquisition. If he did, it might break both of their hearts.
“Happiness is always in reach. You just have to reach out and grab ahold of it.” Olivia Renault
Chapter Eight
Olivia stared into the bathroom mirror and vigorously brushed her teeth. She rinsed, then placed her toothbrush on the sink. She examined her face in the mirror with a critical eye. Surprisingly, she looked none the worse for wear after the late night they had enjoyed. There was a rosy glow to her cheeks and a special sparkle in her eyes.
It was all because of Hunter.
Going out on a date last night with Hunter had been sheer perfection. Even their unexpected stay at the Red Oak Inn couldn’t dampen her spirits.
Riding behind him on his motorcycle with her arms wrapped around him and her hair whipping in the wind had been a once in a lifetime experience. Dancing up a storm to the amazing sounds of Hurricane Soul had been thrilling. Being at Hunter’s side had been a dream come true.
She knew she would replay these memories over and over again in her head for the rest of her life. Last night had been a precious gift from God. Over the years she had become resigned to the fact that she would never see Hunter again or spend time with him. His return to Savannah had changed all that. At least temporarily.
Once they were at the inn they had talked until they had both fallen asleep. Not once had she felt uncomfortable being alone in a room with him. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her, she realized. Part of her felt slightly disappointed about it. Dates should end with a goodnight kiss. Hunter had been a perfect gentleman though—and she respected him all the more for it.
For the first time she’d gotten a glimpse into the hardships he had endured on his rise to the top. She had ached for him upon learning of his loneliness and self-doubt. He had made himself vulnerable with his confession.
She loved him. Still. And she knew she'd go on loving him for the rest of her days. It was that simple. And that complicated, she realized, since Hunter was only breezing in to town for a short period of time. Once the wedding had taken place, he’d be leaving to return to his high flying life in New York City. She feared that she would never see him again and that he’d take her heart along with him when he left. Just like last time.
Last night hadn't been about saving Renault Industries or rescuing her father from financial ruin. It had been all about the irresistible pull she felt towards Hunter and the overwhelming need she felt to be with him.
And now that they'd connected on a deep level, could she really ask him to step in and help save her father's failing company? She didn't want to cheapen their relationship by bartering for favors. At the same time, she couldn't ignore reality. Time was of the essence. With every passing day she knew that the company was slipping like grains of sand through her father's fingers. Losing Renault Industries would devastate her father and cause irreparable harm to the local community. Hundreds of people would lose their jobs, and the closure of the plant would forever alter the landscape of Savannah.
Just stop it! a voice inside her head whispered. Stop worrying and obsessing over Renault Industries and live in this moment with Hunter. Cherish it. Savor this time. It might not come your way again.
When she emerged from the bathroom, Hunter was standing by the window staring at her with an incredulous expression stamped on his face.
“What?” she asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She reached up to her lips and rubbed them. “Do I have toothpaste on my face?”
“Nope. Forgive me for staring, but I’m in awe. You look just as gorgeous this morning as you did when I picked you up for our date last night.” He reached up and touched his jaw. “I need a proper shave, but that will have to wait until we get back to Savannah.”
Olivia ran her eyes over his face. His stubble lent him a rougher edge. He still looked as handsome as sin. “At the risk of giving you a big head, you look very handsome.”
“Why thank you. It never hurts to hear those words.” Hunter’s grin was infectious. He held out his arm. “Ready to go eat breakfast. My stomach is already rumbling. It feels like days since I’ve eaten anything.”
Olivia rubbed her stomach. “I’m hungry too. Last night’s dinner seems so long ago.”
Hunter turned toward her and smiled. “There was something I forgot to do last night. And I need to take care of it right away.”
“What did you forget?” Olivia asked with a frown.
He reached for her chin, then dipped his head down and planted an achingly romantic kiss on her lips. The kiss caught her off guard, leaving her slightly breathless. She felt the warmth of his hand as it grazed against her cheek. His lips tasted like minty toothpaste. She kissed him back, savoring the taste of his lips as they moved against hers. He smelled like a woodsy cologne—remnants from last evening, she imagined.
If only this kiss could last forever. If only she could capture this moment in a time capsule, so she could relive it over and over again. If only Hunter loved her the way she adored him.
As the kiss ended, Hunter ra
ised his lips to her forehead and placed a tender, soft kiss against it. Every nerve ending on her body tingled. If she hadn’t already loved him with every fiber of her being, this simple, romantic gesture would have pushed her straight over the edge.
She let out a sigh. It was too late. She was already head over heels in love with Hunter. And perhaps the truth was, she had never really fallen out of love with him.
**
What a way to start your morning! Hunter thought as the limo curved a path through a long, winding country road bursting with glorious fall foliage. The car service had picked them up promptly at seven thirty, putting an end to their delicious country breakfast. Pancakes, grits, cinnamon rolls, eggs, ham and sausage. Not to mention his favorite—biscuits.
In another twenty minutes they'd be in Savannah, far away from the beautiful night they had shared and the delightful Red Oak Inn. They would soon be miles and miles away from their enchanted evening.
He stole a sideways glance at Olivia, who was sitting next to him looking as radiant as ever. No one in their right mind would ever imagine that last night she'd been forced to sleep in her clothes or that she wasn’t wearing a stitch of makeup.
A dozen times or more he'd almost blurted out the truth to her during breakfast. Just as the words were about to tumble off his lips he'd reined them back in. He'd always made it his practice to separate business matters from his personal life. That was one of the reasons he'd become so successful in the high octane world of finance. Never the two shall meet. But now, inexplicably, his two worlds were on a collision course, and he knew if he wasn't careful, there was bound to be an explosion.
Why had he ever made the decision to acquire Renault Industries in the first place? Had he made this personal rather than strictly business?
Olivia moved to the edge of her seat and rapped on the glass partition with her knuckles. “Sir, could you make this left toward Tybee Island instead of heading downtown. Once you get off the exit go straight toward Savannah Beach.”
Hunter looked at her quizzically. “Where are you going? The youth center is in the other direction.”
“I'm going to Savannah House. I’m one of the new owners,” she said briskly.
Hunter's mouth hung open in shock. “You own Savannah House? Hattie Alexander’s resort? W-Why didn't you say anything the other night?” he stammered.
She shot him a smug look. “Because you were acting like an idiot. You were making all sorts of assumptions about my life and my future. Who was I to rain on your parade?”
The words he'd flung at her the other night roared in his head. I was trying to figure out what your goals are, where you're going. Could he have been any more obnoxious? Or judgmental? He had made a lot of assumptions. A feeling of shame washed over him.
“Miss Hattie left this place to us in her will—me, Callie, Morgan, Charlotte, Fancy and Hope. We’re meeting here to talk to the contractors.”
“So you're renovating the place?” he asked, surprise evident in his tone.
“Yes. As part of the will, Miss Hattie left us a large amount of money to make repairs on Savannah House. It was quite substantial, so it affords us the opportunity to make some updates before we re-open.” She had a smirk plastered on her face while he was sitting there scratching his head and playing catch up.
A substantial amount of money. Re-opening? He sank back into his seat as his brain began to process the information she'd just thrown at him. Just when he thought he was up to speed on Olivia's life, she'd thrown him a curve ball. It irked him something fierce that he'd so clumsily dropped the ball.
He let out a low whistle. “You really are full of surprises, aren't you?”
Olivia folded her arms across her chest and smiled. “I like to think I am.”
“So, how does this fit in with your passion for the youth center. Will it be hard juggling both?”
“I aim to do both. Because there are six of us I can’t imagine we’ll all be needed at Savannah House each and every day.”
Hunter let out a low whistle. “From what I understand, the resort was very lucrative back in the day. If you ladies play your cards right this enterprise could be very successful.”
Olivia clapped her hands together. “I know. It’s so exciting. When Mama got sick I dropped out of college so I could be at all her appointments and her chemotherapy sessions. I just had to be with her instead of sitting inside of a classroom just thinking about her.”
“Cancer?” He uttered the dreaded word as if it were a live grenade. There weren't many things that frightened him, but this was one of them. Just the thought of it scared him to death.
Olivia sadly nodded her head. “Breast cancer. She never smoked or drank a day in her life, yet she still got this terrible disease. She went from being healthy and robust, to having surgeries and scans and chemotherapy treatments. Through it all, she stayed strong and positive, even on the worst days imaginable. I could never be as brave as her. She fought cancer like a warrior.”
“She was a special lady,” Hunter remarked.
Olivia shuddered as she reflected on her mother's experience with breast cancer. “Do you remember her beautiful black hair? She lost every strand of it due to the treatments. In the end she was wearing wigs. Still beautiful. Still strong. And she never gave up on her faith. She fought the good fight. Mama managed to hold on for five years.”
“It's not fair, is it?” he asked, his heart lurching inside him at the thought of Olivia wading through her mother's diagnosis, illness and subsequent death. He knew all too well the kind of pain associated with such a terrible loss. “I used to wonder why God singled my dad out. I used to ask myself why other dads got to see their kids graduate high school while mine was buried six feet under by the time he was forty. I used to agonize over the fact that the slime ball who drove drunk that night survived when my dad didn't. He was such a good man, such an amazing father and husband. He never had a lot of material things and he struggled to stay employed, but everything he did was done for his wife and kids.”
“Oh, Hunter,” Olivia choked out, her eyes filling with tears. “It wasn't fair. You were just a little boy.”
Hunter shrugged, not bothering to hide his sorrow. He'd been hiding it for most of his life and it was a heavy load to carry. It felt so good to let some of it go and to let somebody in. “Life's not fair. And when it comes to losing a parent, I think it hurts like crazy no matter what age you happen to be. Being a kid just makes you feel more vulnerable, like there’s this giant gaping hole in your heart that can never be healed.”
She reached out and squeezed his hand, linking it with hers in a comforting gesture. He squeezed her hand back. Neither of them said a word for the rest of the ride to Savannah House, and none were necessary. Hunter knew that Olivia understood the grieving process and the unimaginable pain it brought to the living. Losing her mother had been a monumental loss, and she was still knee-deep in grief. It was a loss she'd always carry with her, even though the pain would ease with time. He'd like to tell her that, at another time when she wasn't rushing off to deal with issues pertaining to her inheritance.
Somehow, being back in Savannah had chipped away some of his layers, and he found himself revealing things he'd never felt comfortable sharing before now. He didn't know how she'd done it, but Olivia had peeled him like an onion, reaching a part of him that he'd believed was dead and buried along with his father.
“Good friends and good conversation are priceless.” Callie Duvall
Chapter Nine
Olivia waved goodbye to Hunter as the car turned around in the long driveway and headed back to Savannah. A feeling of satisfaction flowed through her. Hunter had been stunned about her inheritance. She had seen a look of keen interest sparkling in his eyes. As a savvy businessman, Hunter knew the prospects for Savannah House.
Her excitement was building with each and every day. She turned to look at Savannah House in all its glory. It stood l
ike a beacon in the fresh morning light, serving as a symbol of hope, not only for prosperity, but for renewed friendships and a continuation of Miss Hattie’s legacy. There was a hub of activity towards the end of the driveway, not too far away from the guest cottage Callie was living in. There were workers from Caliph Construction, along with several service trucks. The signs of construction work being done on Savannah House caused butterflies to flutter around in her stomach. The crew had already finished almost ninety percent of the work. They were finishing up in the posterior portion of the property, which wouldn’t affect their meeting today.
“Hey there!” a feminine voice called out. Olivia turned toward the airy sound of it, smiling at the sight of Fancy, dressed in a bright red dress and black heels. A trendy black hat sat perched on her friend’s head. She looked like a stylish city girl. Her blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders.
“Fancy! I didn’t expect to see you here today. I thought you were in New York for a few more days.”
“Well, the wedding is rapidly approaching, so I figured I better come back so I can support Callie. I take my bridesmaid duties very seriously,” she said with a grin.
“Who else is here?” Olivia asked, noticing a few cars in the driveway.
“Well, Callie of course, and Morgan and Hope. I’m not sure Charlotte can make it,” she explained. “I just came outside to make a phone call.”
“We really need everyone here today. Time is slipping through our fingers,” Olivia said, a hint of strain evident in her voice. “Not to complain, but we still have to figure out a lot of things. We haven’t even begun to discuss pricing or whether or not we’re going to include a spa area. We need to tell the contractors immediately.”
Fancy made a face. “If I could make it all the way from New York, what’s Charlotte’s problem?”
A Moment in the Moonlight (Secrets of Savannah Book 2) Page 9
