AllFreeNovel
Share Us
If they only knew. If they only knew how she yearned for him, how she had grieved when he'd left, how deeply and irrevocably she'd loved him. How she still thought about him in the quiet hours between darkness and dawn.
She'd been seventeen years old when he'd roared out of town on a Harley with nothing more than a backpack and a pair of sunglasses as his companions. It had been ten years since she'd laid eyes on the man; A decade had passed since he'd kissed her on the forehead then raced out of town as if the devil himself was chasing him. Hunter Rawlings should have been nothing more than a faded memory, but he was etched in her heart like a permanent tattoo. Forever.
And now he was coming back, like the prodigal son Olivia read about as a child in Bible class. But unlike the prodigal son, Hunter was returning as a successful entrepreneur, one who'd achieved wealth and power beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Contrary to many folks’ predictions, he'd made a success of himself. In her heart Olivia had always known Hunter would soar proudly like an eagle and take his rightful place in the world. Even so, he'd risen to heights she'd never imagined possible, building an empire worth hundreds of millions.
She smiled tenderly as she remembered the night Hunter had been caught stealing her Daddy’s ham. In that one brief moment he'd imprinted himself on her heart, leaving an indelible impression that hadn’t faded in all these years.
The cherub-faced young boy who'd bristled with rage after being caught red-handed with her daddy’s ham had tugged at her heartstrings, leaving her with no choice but to love him.
And even though she hadn’t seen him in a decade, his memory still lingered after all these years. And now, he was making his homecoming in honor of Jax and Callie’s wedding. As a result, her heart was pounding so fast within her chest she felt certain that she could almost hear it thumping.
“Girl, you look out of this world in that dress!” Lily let out a low whistle that drew her out of her thoughts. Lily ordered Olivia to twirl around so she could check out the dress from different angles. Olivia smiled at her bossiness and obediently followed her instructions. Lily was a perfectionist with regards to her dresses, she thought with a chuckle. It was her personal mission to make sure every client looked as impeccable as possible. As she twirled around she felt the extravagant fabric brush against her calves and a rush of excitement flooded through her as the realization hit her with full force. He was coming back!
“Wait till Marcus sees you in this little number, Olivia. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he drops down on one knee and proposes on the spot,” Lily said with a chuckle of delight.
Little did Lily know that Marcus had already dropped down on one knee and proposed to her, numerous times, in fact. With as much compassion as she could muster, Olivia had let him down gently and explained to him that she couldn’t marry a man she didn’t love. And she knew full well and good that he didn’t love her either! Marcus Devroe had been one of her childhood playmates, the son of Lisette and George Devroe, her parent’s oldest and dearest friends. For the last two years he'd been Jack Renault’s right hand man at Renault Industries, a keeper of the company’s vast secrets and innovations.
Olivia’s father had gently encouraged a romance between his daughter and his protégé, making none too subtle comments about Olivia’s single status and his lack of grandchildren. Jack thought the world of Marcus, and although Olivia knew her father loved her deeply, she was also aware he desperately wanted his family line to continue, no matter what the cost. In Jack’s opinion, she should get started in the business of making him some grandbabies to rock on his knee. She hadn’t taken Marcus up on any of his romantic offers, yet her father and Marcus continued to bother her on the topic.
If the truth be told, she didn’t care about Marcus’ opinion of how she looked in the sage green dress. He wasn't the object of her interest. And he never would be! She let out a long, heartfelt sigh. There was only one man’s opinion she cared about. As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror she prayed that she could pull off the perfect pitch to the one man on the planet who made her heart thunder inside her chest. There was so much riding on it – Renault Industries, her father's emotional well-being and her family’s legacy.
She also wanted to help her father save his company so she could concentrate on her own future—the running of Savannah House, the resort she had inherited from Miss Hattie Alexander along with her best friend, Callie, and four other lifelong friends—Morgan Lucas, Hope Matthews, Charlotte Duvall and Fancy Tolliver.
As far as Olivia was concerned, failure wasn't an option.
They needed a white knight to ride to their rescue. They needed Hunter Rawlings.
**
City of Savannah. Hunter couldn’t help but grin as he passed the sign notifying him that his return to Savannah was official. The beautiful shores of Georgia had risen up to greet him like an old friend, the beauty of the land immediately pulling him in like a moth to a flame.
He'd traveled all over the world, from the barrier reefs in Australia to the tropical shores of Bali, yet the sight of this precious land appealed to him more than any of the seven wonders of the world. Somehow, inexplicably, he'd forgotten the irresistible pull of his hometown and the feelings it roused deep inside of him. The trees were splashed with the vibrant colors of fall. Reds. Oranges. Yellows. The smell of burning leaves hung in the air, smoky and pungent. He inhaled deeply, savoring the rich, woodsy smells of his birthplace. He exhaled. He was home.
At barely nineteen years old he'd made it his life’s mission to leave his hometown and establish a life for himself on his own terms. His life in Savannah as a member of the dirt poor Rawlings family had been filled with poverty and charity, two things Hunter couldn’t abide. Mama had given her brood plenty of love and affection, yet he'd never been able to shake off the feelings of shame and embarrassment due to his family’s circumstances.
Although he'd made a dramatic exit out of town on the back of his hog, what no one but him knew was that the motorcycle had conked out less than three hours later somewhere in South Carolina. This time around Hunter was riding a top of the line Kawasaki, a fully customized motorcycle that had set him back a hefty sum of money. It was the best money could buy. Only the best. It was a mantra that he'd repeated to himself time after time through the years. It had served as a motivation to graduate Summa Cum Laude from Brown University, then on to Harvard business school where he'd earned his Master’s degree in record time.
In the next few years he'd ridden high on the hedge fund boom, wisely selling his shares and earning millions, then starting his own multimillion dollar co
rporation, Rawlings Corporation. As well as amassing a fortune and establishing a successful corporation, he'd achieved a level of notoriety after being profiled in financial magazines, featured on CNN talk shows, dubbed New York City’s Hottest Bachelor of the Year and becoming a highly sought after motivational speaker. People magazine had dubbed him “The Wonder Boy” when he was only twenty-five. At twenty-nine years old, Hunter Rawlings had made all of his dreams come true.
Except one, he thought ruefully. He still didn’t have a Queen by his side, a woman to love and be loved by. And he couldn’t help but think of the woman he had left behind right here in Savannah. Olivia.
As soon as he was able to, he'd fled his hometown and all it represented. Shame. Despair. Living hand to mouth. It had been his family’s way of life to depend on the generosity of other families in order to stay clothed and well fed. He'd spent most of his life wearing nothing but hand-me-downs and worn out shoes. It had burned his pride to accept the fact that he was considered a worthless nobody. As a result, he'd learned to hate Savannah and all it represented.
But there had been other things in Savannah that he had loved dearly, he conceded. Things he had sorely missed over the years.
Home. Family. Hearth. Mama’s sweet potato pie. Olivia. These were the things Hunter had tried to forget over the years as he built his empire, without much success. They'd always remained with him, living testaments to his humble origins and the things deep down inside of him nobody or nothing could touch.
He was a Georgia boy at heart, born and bred, tried and true. If he hadn't known it before, it had been made painfully obvious to him the moment he'd crossed over into the Georgia state line. His heart had soared like a high-flying kite and he'd felt happiness ooze into every pore in his body. For the first time in a long time he thought back to the decision he'd made that fateful day when he'd decided to leave town. Had he made the right choice? His life would have been so different if he had stayed.
He shrugged off the thought. What did it matter anyway? It was all in the past. What's done is done. The only thing that mattered now was the present. He'd finally come back, to lay claim to everything Savannah had once denied him and his family. Wealth. Power. Respectability.
When he'd received the ecru colored wedding invitation it had come as a total shock. One of his best friends in the world, Jax Holden, was marrying their childhood friend, Callie Duvall. Like Olivia, she had been one of the reigning princesses of Savannah. Both girls had been kind and sweet, despite their vast wealth.
Callie Duvall and Jax Holden request the honor of your presence at their nuptials.
Just seeing those words in print had made him smile. In all the world there couldn’t be a more perfect pair than the two of them.
