36. Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

One year later

“I’ve figured out what I want for Christmas,” Tilly announced from the back seat as the car wound its way up through the trees in the sunlight.

Ollie felt Lara’s warning gaze on her from the passenger seat as she drove.

“And what’s that?” Lara answered her daughter, a note of caution in her voice.

“Aria told me that Rocco’s mum had another litter of puppies-”

“Absolutely not.” Lara stopped her.

“But it would be Rocco’s baby brother or sister!” gasped Tilly, already gearing up to argue her case. “Think how much he would love it!”

“Honey, I love you but you’re not getting a puppy for Christmas-”

“What do you think Ollie?” Tilly’s eyes were beseeching from the back seat.

Ollie opened her mouth.

“Do not answer that, Ollie Gabrielli,” Lara stopped her quickly.

“Uh, what your mum said?” Ollie deliberately made her voice extremely tentative and Lara poked her in the thigh.

“See, mum? Ollie agrees with me-”

“I did no such thing!” Ollie quickly defended herself. She glanced sideways at Lara and found herself smirking against her will. Lara looked thoroughly needled. She also looked hot as hell: a simple shift dress, those leather ankle boots she’d bought when they’d been in Melbourne together, hair tousled, those legs. Lara caught the look in her eyes and shook her head like she couldn’t even believe Ollie right now. Ollie could see right through her to the smile she was biting back.

“You’re trouble,” Lara said, her voice low, underneath Tilly’s trenchant argument and Ollie let her eyebrows rise just enough.

“You’re in trouble,” she shot back and Lara just shook her head, the smile slipping out.

Her hand reached over and squeezed Ollie’s thigh.

“And that’s the reason I think we should get a puppy,” Tilly concluded her backseat lecture. “To teach me responsibility.”

“At which point did you realise you’d given birth to a tiny lawyer?” Ollie asked Lara as they reached the main road and Ollie indicated right.

“I suspect this is all for your benefit,” Lara told her, then frowned at her daughter in the rearview mirror. “You do know that even if Ollie is a pushover, I’m still your mother, right? We don’t have time for a puppy.”

“He could stay at Ollie’s place when I’m at school and you’re at work!” Tilly was on a roll now. “He’d be such a good work-from-home dog. He could jump on your video calls,” Tilly enthused to Ollie. “The sick kids would love it! ”

“Notice how she’s not even addressing any of this to me?” Lara’s eyebrows were solidly raised now. “This is what happens when you can’t say no.”

“Who could say no to that face?” Ollie met Tilly’s eyes in the rearview and they grinned at each other.

“Me,” Lara said plainly.

Ollie pretended to look appalled and Tilly was still arguing her case when they pulled up at the mechanic’s shop. As soon as they were out though, Tilly caught sight of Audrey and Sadie half a block down.

“I’ll meet you there!” she shot out and raced down the street to catch up with Frankie and the two eldest of Audrey’s kids. They were all on their way to hang out for a lunch at the pub together, right after they’d dropped Ollie’s car off for a service. Now that Ollie was a real Ribbonwood resident, she’d ditched the damn farm ute for a vehicle of her own. The Subaru was the perfect city-country blend car, but the suspension had already taken a solid thumping.

“Morning,” Audrey had abandoned the kids to Sadie and strolled up to say hello, so Ollie chucked Lara the keys to book the car in as she greeted her old friend. “Are you just going to stand by for that?” Audrey shot her a look as they watched Nate Kerr looking thoroughly pleased at himself for making Lara laugh as she looked up at him in the sunlight.

Ollie smirked.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve never paid so little for car repairs in my whole life,” she said smugly. Nate Kerr glanced sideways as if knowing he was being talked about and Ollie gave him a threatening I’m watching you gesture, pointing two fingers between her eyes and his with a excellent glower. He laughed out loud and stepped back, his hands out, I’m innocent. Lara dropped the keys into his palm, smirked at him, then her eyes met Ollie’s as she walked back to join her, a sparkle in her gaze.

“You’re welcome,” she said, her expression mischievous and Ollie made a show of grabbing her hand and tugging her firmly away from the burly mechanic. Lara laughed, her fingers squeezing hers as they walked down the street in the light.

“I don’t know how you two can carry on like that and still feel like couple-goals.” Audrey looked at them in disbelief.

Ollie laughed.

“It’s almost,” she said, “like Lara knows to whom she actually belongs,” she smirked at the woman she loved .

Said woman looked at her, her eyes narrowed.

“It’s almost,” Lara retorted, “like Ollie knows that I belong to my damn self. But,” she added, her expression getting soft, “that for some reason I choose her anyway.”

“Spew,” said Audrey. She was smiling though. “God, it almost makes me want to believe in love again.”

“It has its perks,” Lara said. “On occasion.”

Ollie grinned at the studious nonchalance in Lara’s voice as she let the word love drift out into the wide blue sky. It was still something they teased each other about. She remembered the day the word finally got used, almost six months ago now, when she and Lara were taking a break from an extended Gabrielli family gathering and taking a walk around the winery together.

“Hey how come you never call us an olive oil dynasty ?” Ollie reflected. “Is it because it sounds less sexy?”

Lara snorted, glancing at her sideways.

“You never let a single thing go, do you?”

“Not when you insist on being so damn hilarious,” Ollie told her .

“Oh please, my point still stands,” she rolled her eyes. “ Poor Ollie, nothing but beauty and brains and athletics prowess and the warmest family who thinks the sun shines out of her arse and owns a fucking winery.”

“It worked for me though didn’t it?” Ollie pointed out. She made puppy eyes. “ Please take your clothes off Lara Bennett, for I am suffering.”

“ Yes, that’s exactly what happened.” Lara gazed skywards as if for strength.

“You couldn’t resist me,” Ollie added smugly.

“In my defence it had been a really long time since I’d had sex and there you were.”

“You, Lara Bennett, love me.” The words came out her mouth before she could stop them.

Lara went still. Ollie did too. Oh shit. This was exactly what she’d promised herself she’d never do: push Lara anywhere she wasn’t ready to go .

“Fuck,” Ollie interjected. “That wasn’t what I meant. Come here.” She grabbed Lara’s hand and started walking again, annoyed at herself for breaking the ease of their day, for just maybe ruining things between them, just as they were getting comfortable.

Lara stopped immediately, dropping Ollie’s hand. Ollie felt slightly seasick. Lara’s eyes were wide, her expression set.

“Actually,” she said slowly. “I do.”

“Hm?” Ollie wasn’t sure she’d heard her right.

Lara huffed slightly.

“I said I fucking love you, Ollie Gabrielli.”

Ollie’s jaw dropped.

“Are you announcing you’re in love with me or giving me a good telling off?” she asked, incredulous and dizzy with joy.

“Both,” Lara told her, sounding slightly exasperated. “You’ve been looking at me like you love me for approximately forever but you never say it. You’re such a chicken shit. ”

Ollie laughed out loud.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she demanded. “Do you know how hard I’ve been working, not saying I love you every goddamned day for the last half a year?” Lara blinked at her. “I’ve been taking it slow. For you.”

“Well stop, ” said Lara impatiently, biting her lip. “Say it.”

Ollie pulled her in and kissed her, then kissed her again.

“So,” she said, “it turns out I love you too. Wildly.”

“You’d better,” Lara told her, her smile finally slipping out. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of tears.

“Look at you,” Ollie was smiling too. “You’re so pretty when you’re all in love and shit.”

“Please stop talking,” Lara said, the words soft against Ollie’s mouth.

Ollie did.