Spotlight (The Holland Brothers Book 4)

“Are we going skating?” Olivia asks as I help her into my truck. She looks stunning in a short, light blue dress that shows off a whole lot of leg.

“It isn’t our first stop, but if you’re a good girl, I’ll see what I can do.” With a wink, I close her in and jog around to the other side.

“How was your day?” Olivia asks as I drive across town.

“Good. Tiring. Your grandfather is putting me through the wringer.”

Olivia beams. When I signed my new contract with the Mustangs, I only had one request. I wasn’t sure if he’d go for it, but Earl agreed to come on as a pitching coach on one condition: he’d still be able to oversee the facility needs.

He’s a natural despite his insistence that his coaching years were behind him. Smart and insightful while still being able to provide feedback in a way that feels motivating instead of discouraging. I’m stoked that Freddie, Roger, and all the rest of the guys are benefiting from his wisdom now too.

“Are you excited for Sabrina’s bachelorette party next weekend?” I ask her.

She smiles. “I know you guys are all crashing.”

“What? How?” I lucked out on the timing. We have a game the night before so I’ll have to drive up separately and maybe leave a half day early, but I can’t wait. Two nights in a little cabin with Olivia.

“Archer asked me what I thought. He wasn’t sure if it would be a good surprise or if he was going to walk in on a bunch of strippers and a pissed fiancée.”

“And what did you say?”

“That everyone should get to enjoy said strippers and that Sabrina would be ecstatic.”

I bark out a laugh. “God, I love you.”

The city lights get smaller behind us and the mountains and desert land stretch out in front of us. I pull up a paved drive to a huge house built into the mountainside.

“Who lives here?” she asks. “A teammate? Coach? Some big shot in the front office?”

“You’ll see.” I grin and get out of the truck.

Olivia sticks close as I lead us around to the side to an open gate. Noise from the party inside filters out. There are lights strung up everywhere and people milling about.

The summer heat still hangs in the air and the smell of flowers is so strong it’s like walking into a garden.

“Oh my goodness, it’s so beautiful.” Olivia’s voice is filled with wonder. Her mouth hangs open as she looks around at the meticulously landscaped yard. Plants of all sizes and colors. It’s like something out of a magazine. In fact, I’m pretty sure this garden was featured in a magazine.

“These don’t look like baseball people,” she whispers.

“They aren’t.” I start to walk, and she pulls me back.

“Are we party crashing?”

Laughing, I lift our joined hands and kiss her knuckles and lead her through the party. I don’t know a soul. It’s mostly older people, a few kids that look like they were forced to attend.

We navigate to the back of the yard where a large cactus-looking plant is the star of the night. It stands about seven or eight feet tall next to a tree, stretching and climbing along the trunk and limbs. White, partially-bloomed flowers sit in the middle of spiky petals that are scattered along the stems.

Olivia gasps. She looks to me, then back to the infamous Queen of the Night.

“How?” she asks.

“I asked around, made a few calls, bribed a few sweet, old ladies with tickets to a baseball game.”

“Flynn.” Her hands cover her mouth and her eyes flood with tears.

“Pretty cool, right?” I’ll admit, I didn’t really see the appeal until now. This plant only blooms one night out of the entire year, and we get to witness it.

“I never thought I’d see one in person,” she says, voice filled with awe.

“Me neither. I wasn’t sure I’d be in town when it bloomed. The lady hosting the event could only give me a rough timeline of when it would happen. Ruby was my backup in case I couldn’t make it.”

“Ruby agreed to come in your place?”

“I had to bribe her as well.”

“With what?”

“By agreeing to buy every book she ever writes.”

Olivia lets out a laugh and then turns her gaze back to the cactus. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“I’m evening the score. You do nice shit for me all the time.”

She faces me, then steps forward and rests one arm on my shoulder as she presses her lips to mine.

Then we stand there, staring at it. Well, she stares at it. I stare at her. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.

Eventually more people start to crowd around, and we all watch as the flowers open to a full bloom. Goosebumps rise on my arms. It’s by far the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

There are “oohs” and “ahhs,” followed by a long silence as we collectively take it in. I’m not sure how long we stand there before people start to trickle away.

Unsurprising, Olivia doesn’t budge. I’d stand here with her forever.

“I’m so glad I got to see it with you.” Olivia rests her head on my shoulder as she hugs my arm. “This was perfect.”

“Nearly.”

Her brows pull together as she stands tall and then turns to face me. I use our joined hands to tug her to me. No one knows us here, but somehow it still feels like the perfect moment. Just the two of us and a once in a lifetime encounter.

“Marry me?”

“What?” Her eyes widen in surprise as she smiles. Then she swats at my chest playfully. “Don’t joke.”

“I’m not joking.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring box.

Olivia’s blue eyes are like saucers. “Oh my god.”

I flip the box open and get on one knee.

“Flynn Holland. What are you doing?” she whisper-hisses.

“Proposing, gorgeous.”

She lets out a small laugh, mouth still hanging open.

“I love you, Olivia. You are it for me. I want to be your husband and a father figure to Greer. I want to have a bunch more babies, too, if you’re into that. Otherwise, we can just practice a bunch. I want to do life with you, all the fun, hard, messy, chaotic things. Over the past few months, I’ve realized that I don’t care what the future looks like as long as it includes you.”

My heart pounds as I pull the ring out. “What do you say?”

“I say yes.” She nods and more tears fall.

I slip the ring on her finger and then stand and frame her face with both hands. Her lips curve with a smile as I cover her mouth with mine.

Holland Brothers

Archer

Congrats on the engagement! Olivia is great. Excited for you both.

Brogannoveldrama

The Holland Brothers are officially off the market. Eat your heart out, ladies.

Knox

Oh boy. Let’s not get carried away. You’re sure about this, baby bro?

Me

Positive.

Hendrick

It’s a big step. Husband. Father.

Me

I’m not worried. I learned from the best. The four of you.