It Was Always You

Taking The Afternoon Off

…Lucas’s POV…

By the time Olive and I had reset the last display crate in the barn, the weight between us had settled into something quieter, something understood. We finished stacking crates, wiping tables, and sweeping the dust from the barn floor. The tension from earlier had shifted, it was an electric possibility between Olive and me that neither of us could ignore, but neither wanted to rush.

Sofia’s voice echoed through the doorway before I even saw her. “Lunch, you two?”

We walked back toward the house together, our steps almost in sync, the late morning sun stretching long shadows across the dirt path. My mind replaying her kiss—the way her lips pressed against mine, the need we both felt. Everything was shimmering between us. But she seemed more grounded than earlier—like she’d made peace with something.

When we stepped onto the back patio, Owen was already pulling the lids off leftover containers, and Sofia was setting out glasses of sweet tea. Olive drifted toward Sofia, helping with plates, while I sat across from Owen, careful to keep my shoulders loose.

“Reset done?” he asked, scooping rice onto his plate.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Looks good for next week.”

“Good.” He took a bite, then added casually, “We’ve earned the afternoon off.”

Olive looked up from the cooler. “Really?”

He gave a half shrug. “We usually do the day after Market. Everything’s in place. We’ll hit it hard tomorrow.”

Sofia smiled and tilted her head toward Olive. “Want to take a walk? Just us. I’ve been meaning to show you that patch of wildflowers near the fence line.”

Olive glanced my way. Just a flick of her eyes. But it landed like a stone in my chest.

“I’d love that,” she said. The two of them disappeared down the shaded path.

After lunch, Owen stretched out a yawn. “Think I’m gonna lie down for a bit.” He didn’t even glance at me, which made me think he was trying not to.

“Yeah. I’ll clean up,” I offered.

He gave a wave of thanks and stepped inside, leaving me with quiet dishes and the pulse of something unspoken still humming between my ribs.

As soon as the kitchen was clear, I went back into my cabin to clean up. I had time before Olive finished her walk with Sofia.

When I was clean and my cabin was picked up, I took the back steps and followed the worn path toward Olive’s house.

She opened the door before I knocked, barefoot, with her hair down and messy. “You really don’t give me much time to miss you,” she said with a smirk.

“Didn’t want to waste the afternoon off.” I replied with a wink.

The moment I stepped inside, the space closed around us. She backed up, letting the door swing shut behind me.

The couch was where we ended up—shoulders brushing, knees knocking. It was a comfortable silence, but you could feel that we both had something important to say. But even that faded, replaced by a rising current of want neither of us seemed capable of ignoring.

Her lips were on mine before I could finish my next sentence.

And I didn’t stop her.

I deepened the kiss, pulling her into my lap. She straddled me without hesitation, fingers diving into my hair, hips shifting forward. I groaned into her mouth, letting my hands find the small of her back, her waist, the curve of her thigh. She kissed like she was starving. I kissed her like I’d been holding my breath for years.

My body was ready to take this further. Her soft moan, the way her nails scraped gently across my shoulder blades it took everything in me not to give in.

I had to pull away, chest rising and falling like I’d just run sprints.

“Olive,” I whispered, resting my forehead against hers. “We can’t.”

Her breath caught. “I know.”

“I want to,” I said, my voice gravel. “God, I want to. But not like this. Not before we figure this out. Not when it still feels like a secret.”

She exhaled, slow and shaking. “You’re right.”

We sat there, her still in my lap, our foreheads pressed together, eyes closed. The fire hadn’t died, but it had settled into something warmer—less dangerous, more intentional.

“I don’t want to sneak around,” she said quietly.

“Neither do I. But telling your brother right now…” I trailed off.

She nodded. “I’m not ready for that either. But I will be. Soon.”

I brushed my thumb across her cheek. “How about we spend the next few days figuring this out? We keep it simple. Real. And before the next market, we talk to them.”

“You’ll talk to Owen?”

“I’ll talk to Owen, if that’s how you want to handle it.” I promised.

“And I’ll talk to Sofia. She seems like she might already know.” Olive smiled.

“Maybe she’s giving us space on purpose.”

“Maybe.”

I hesitated, then added, “Let me take you out. Tonight. Just us.”

“Like a real date?” she asked, leaning back a little to look at me.

“Yeah. Dinner and a show. That little theatre in town still does weekend performances, right?”

Her eyes lit up like the sun had moved indoors. “I’ve always wanted to go there!”

“I’ve always known you love it. Couldn’t imagine a better first date.”

She kissed me again, slower this time. Sweeter.

And then she stood, smoothing out her shirt. “Go. Before I change my mind.”

I laughed, standing too. I touched her hand before I left. “I’ll pick you up at 7?”

She nodded. “7 sounds good.”

I walked back to my cabin, heart pounding for an entirely different reason now. Whatever this thing between us was—it mattered.

And this time, I was going to do it right.

As I made my way back to my cabin, Owen was sitting on the patio with his arms crossed behind his head. I guess now was the time to find some reason to be taking Olive into town. This sucked. He’s my best friend and lying to him has never been easy.

“I think I’m going to run into town later” I said, keeping my tone casual. “Thought I’d take Olive with me. She mentioned needing some new work clothes, and I need to pick up the new bee keeping suit for her. She’s been busting ass around here; it might be nice for her to see something besides orchard rows and barn walls.” None of that was a lie, but it also wasn’t the whole truth.

Owen squinted at me. “Since when are you the tour guide?”

I shrugged. “Since she moved out here and hasn’t had five minutes to breathe. She mentioned needing some new things so I figured I’d do something decent.”

He looked unconvinced but didn’t press it. “Fine. Just don’t let her bring back a stray animal or some new hobby she’ll hate in a week.”

I gave a dry chuckle. “No promises.”

I walked into my cabin and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

“How about 3 instead of 7?” I texted Olive

My phone buzzed almost immediately “Can’t stay away for too long, can you? 3 sounds good!”

I smiled and walked to my closet to get ready.