Picture Perfect (Butler Island) (29 page)

 Grant Womack was in love with the
picture
perfect character she portrayed: the
easy-going, witty
, free-spirited persona she’d carefully cultivated. He
didn’t know the
real
Olivia, the one she fought to keep hidden. Because
truthfully if he did, he probably wouldn’t like her very much.

Olivia stared at the latest issue of
Adversity Magazine, the picture she’d submitted of Grant fleeing the theater as
it collapsed behind him on the cover. The editor had indicated it was her best
work yet and had rewarded her with another sizeable check.

Funny how that accomplishment didn’t
seem to mean a whole hell of a lot without the man on the cover to share it
with…

The sound of her phone ringing
startled her, transporting her back to the here and now. Rising from her gray
velvet loveseat, she tossed the magazine on the coffee table and then reached
into her purse for her cell phone:
KENDALL
.

“Hello?”

“Happy birthday!” Kendall squealed.

“Well, not sure I’m ‘happy’ about
turning twenty-eight, but thanks!”

“You okay?” Kendall prodded.

“What? Oh, yeah—I’m fine. I guess I
just suddenly realized how close to thirty I’m gettin’.”

“It’s just a number, ya know”, she
kindly reminded her.

“Yeah, I guess so. So, anything
excitin’ happen on the island for New Year’s Eve?”

“Nope—just the usual fireworks
gathering on the beach… I, ah… ran into Ty.”

“Yeah, he mentioned he’d seen you.”

“He did?” Kendall asked hopefully. “I
mean—yeah, we talked. He was pretty torn-up about not being able to visit for
your birthday this year”, she amended. No way did her best friend need to know
about
everything
that’d happened New Year’s Eve!

 At least not yet.

“I know. I forget sometimes that not
everyone has the flexibility with their careers like I do.”

“It’s definitely a perk. Running the
pharmacy doesn’t allow me to take off very often either.”

Just then, Olivia’s doorbell rang,
indicating there was someone just outside the wrought iron gate that led to her
small guesthouse. “Hey, listen, someone’s at the gate. Ty told me he mailed a
package—I bet it’s here! Call you back later?”

“Of course”, Kendall agreed.

After tossing her cell phone onto the
loveseat cushion, she bolted toward the door. Barefoot, she wrapped her arms
around herself for warmth and quickly tiptoed to the wrought iron gate. The
mailman was long gone, but he’d left her package on the ground on the other
side. Once she had it in her grasp, she pranced inside and gave it a gentle
shake.

“I wonder what it is?” she mumbled
softly. After locating a pair of scissors, she sliced through the tape and
unfolded the cardboard flaps, revealing the contents inside: an album.

She expected that Ty had replaced her
worn, leather portfolio. But that’s not what she saw when she opened to the
first page…

Instead, she saw Grant… Turning the
page, she relived her time with him back on Butler Island. She hadn’t taken all
of the pictures; some were probably captured by various friends at various
gatherings: poker night, Halloween, Winterfest…

Tears erupted from her eyes as she
thumbed through the album. Ty hated the idea of her and Grant—
why had he
sent this?
And more importantly,
what’d possessed him to fabricate it in
the first place?

On the very last page was one of her
favorite memories of them: the picture captured by her time-lapse feature when
Grant had chased her on the beach. Every time she saw it, it made her smile,
and this time was no different. Below the picture was a yellow Post-it note
that read:

Olivia,

Hoping your day will be filled with

unforgettable memories.

All my love,

Grant

Collapsing onto the loveseat, she
clutched the album tightly against her chest and surrendered to the
overwhelming wave of despair and regret that’d suddenly washed over her.

Why was she torturing herself? He
loved her… and she was in love with him, too.

She loved Grant
Womack!
There, she admitted it.

Walking away from the man she loved
had been much harder than she imagined it would be. Who was she kidding?—she
didn’t
want
a future of what-if
’s
. Didn’t want to deprive herself
of his love any longer.

What
did
she want
?

Well, that was
easy: Grant Womack—no matter
if it was six months or sixty years. She just
wanted
him—
for as long as he would have her.

Releasing the album from her tight
clutch, she glanced at the handwritten note again, savoring each word. It
wasn’t until she’d re-read it that she noticed a tiny arrow at the bottom,
encouraging her to peel the sticky paper away from the page and look on the
other side.

Flipping the small yellow paper over,
she read the most exciting three words…

Open the gate

A rush of euphoria coursed through
her veins. With the album still in her grasp, she hurried toward the door,
raced down the porch steps and then ran toward the man that was standing on the
other side of the wrought iron gate…

Grant.

It’d taken all of his strength to remain
hidden after he pressed the buzzer on her gate. He’d heard it swing open and
had been so tempted to reveal his presence. But it wasn’t time—not yet.

She was expecting a package from Ty
and once she opened it, needed time to digest the contents of the album. And
then, she had to digest that the package hadn’t come from Ty at all—it’d come
from him.

He admitted that normally he was a
confident man—but not now. Hell, for all he knew, she’d rip the pages from the
binding and toss it in the trash.

After several minutes had elapsed, he
ambled toward the gate and waited nervously for the front door to open. He
still wasn’t sure how he’d be greeted—or if she’d even bother for that matter. 

With each passing minute, his anxiety
grew; every tick of his watch, his morale weakened. And then, it happened…

The door flew open and the most
beautiful woman he’d ever known ran toward him. Her honey-blonde hair had been
haphazardly piled on the top of her head, held in place by a pencil; the long
sleeve, heather-gray nightshirt hugged her hourglass curves and the hem fell
mid-thigh, revealing an incredible pair of legs. But that wasn’t the best part.
The expression on her face almost rendered him speechless: a beautiful smile
and a look in her eyes that revealed more than any words she could’ve spoken.

She was running toward her future…

Gnawing on her bottom lip, she halted
in front of the gate and stared at a grinning Grant.

“Surprise”, he said as he opened his
arms.

“I can’t believe you’re here! I… I
thought Chief Handler revoked all vacation time this week?” she asked
confusedly.

“All, but one.”

“And it
was
Ty’s. But he said
one of the guys at
the department had a
family emergency. They needed
time off so—”

“—So he gave up his scheduled
vacation time… for me”, he clarified.

“You?” she
asked, bewildered. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah”, he said as he gestured toward
the gate between them. “Mind if I come in?”

“I’m sorry, yes, of course you can.”
Olivia unlocked the gate and opened it. She’d been so surprised to see him,
she’d completely forgotten her manners—and not to mention—
her pants!

Pivoting, she turned toward her front
door and tugged on the hem of her gray nightshirt, suddenly aware of how
exposed she actually was. Once inside, she gestured for Grant to sit on the
loveseat, and then joined him.

“So what’s wrong?” she asked
impatiently. “It’s not your parents, is it?”

“No, although I did visit them on the
way here—”

“Grant, that’s great! I’m so happy
you realized the grudge you’ve carried with you all these years was trivial.
You have two parents who wanna be a part of your life!—do you know what I’d
give to have that?”

Grant smiled. “I
know. And if not for you, I honestly don’t know if I would‘ve taken that first
step.”

Uncomfortable with his praise, she
tucked her feet underneath her and tugged at the hem of her shirt again. “So if
your parents are fine, what’s the emergency?”

“It’s personal”, he uttered softly.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I—”

“—You see”, he interrupted, “a very
beautiful photographer left town; left me with a hole in my heart… I was hoping
you could mend it.”

Olivia lowered her head. “Grant, I—”

“No, listen to me”, he demanded as he
cupped the back of her neck. “I love you. You’re a part of me now—you can’t
just take-off and leave.”

“There’s so much you don’t know about
me, Grant. I’m—”

“I know more than you think. You’re a
smart-ass with a big heart and an infectious laugh; you’re talented, you’re
beautiful, and you’re the bravest person I’ve ever known.”

Olivia met his gaze and shook her
head. “I’m not brave—I’m a coward. I’m afraid, Grant. I’m so afraid to allow
anyone to get too close. And when I feel like someone’s broken through the
barrier, I push them away. I’ve never completely lowered my guard before—until
you. The more I pushed, the harder you pushed back… I let you get too close,
and now… now I’m terrified”, she confessed.

“Of what?” he prodded as his thumb
brushed her cheek.

Olivia closed her eyes as a tear
escaped. She needed to be honest with not only Grant, but herself. And somehow,
saying the words with her eyes closed seemed safer. “Terrified that I’ve found
the love of my life—scared that it’s only a matter of time before I lose him.”

“What?”
  He
questioned optimistically.

Olivia opened her eyes and gnawed on
her bottom lip. “I…
I love you.”

The words had barely left her lips
before his mouth came over hers. It was fiery and ravenous at first, and then
their tongues waltzed to a slow, soothing melody.

 A sensual oral promenade.

Breaking the kiss, Grant leaned his
forehead against Olivia’s and gazed into her vibrant emerald eyes. “Marry me”,
he blurted.

“What?”
she asked in
disbelief.

“Livvy, you fill a void in my life I
never knew existed. Now that I know, I can’t live without you. You’re a vital
part of me now—I need you like my lungs need air. Please, Livvy, please say
yes…”

Those next few seconds were the
longest of his entire life. Once the initial shock faded from her angelic face,
he knew.

The corners of her mouth turned
upward and a radiant glow beamed from her eyes, beckoning him—calling him home.

Olivia nodded and then threw her arms
around him.

“I promise I’ll make you happy,
Livvy; we’ll spend a lifetime filling albums with good memories.”

And that’s when she knew: Although
her road to “happily ever after” hadn’t been paved, she still managed to find
her picture perfect fairytale ending.

Stay tuned for

Nikki Rittenberry’s

next Butler Island
novel

Coming Fall 2012