“We should,” she agreed, but she didn’t move either.
“Definitely,” I said, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear that had escaped from her ponytail. The gesture was gentle, careful, but the moment my fingers brushed her cheek, Holly’s breath caught in a way that made my pulse spike.
“Declan,” she said softly, and there was something vulnerable in her voice that made me forget about extension cords and festival logistics entirely.
“Tell me to stop,” I said, my hand still cradled against her cheek, thumb tracing the soft curve of her jawline.
Holly’s eyes searched my face for a long moment, and I could see her processing the same conflict I was feeling. The knowledge that this would complicate everything, weighed against the undeniable pull between us that had been building since that almost-kiss while garland hanging.
“I should,” she said finally. “This is probably a terrible idea.”
“Probably,” I agreed, but my other hand had somehow found its way to her waist, settling against the soft curve of her hip through her sweater.
“We’re supposed to be working together,” Holly continued, but her hands had come up to rest against my chest, fingers curling slightly into the soft wool of my sweater.
“We are working together,” I said, taking another small step closer until her back was pressed gently against the storage shelves. “Very... collaborative.”
Holly laughed, a soft sound that was equal parts amusement and nervous energy. “Is that what we’re calling this?”
“What would you prefer?” I asked, letting my hand slide from her cheek to rest at the nape of her neck, fingers tangling in the soft hair at the base of her ponytail. “Strategic festival planning? Hands-on logistics management?”
“How about completely losing our professional boundaries in a storage closet?” Holly suggested, but she was smiling as she said it, and her hands had flattened against my chest in a way that suggested she wasn’t exactly protesting our current situation.
“That’s remarkably accurate,” I admitted, enjoying the way her smile lit up her entire face. “Though I prefer to think of it as discovering unexpected synergies in our working relationship.”
“Unexpected synergies,” Holly repeated, and there was something breathless about the way she said it that made me want to kiss her more than I wanted to continue our ridiculous conversation about euphemisms.
“Holly,” I said again, more seriously this time, because I needed her to understand that this wasn’t just physical attraction or convenience or some kind of holiday romance fantasy. “I need you to know that this—whatever this is—it’s not casual for me.”
Something shifted in her expression, surprise and something that might have been relief crossing her features.
“It’s not casual for me either,” she said quietly. “Which is why this is probably such a terrible idea.”
“Why terrible?” I asked, genuinely curious about her reasoning.
“Because I’m in a bad place, relationship-wise, and you will be leaving at some point.”
The admission was honest and vulnerable, and it made me want to pull her closer and promise her things I wasn’t sure I was ready to promise. Instead, I settled for sliding my hand from her waist to the small of her back, drawing her closer against me.
“What if it’s not temporary?” I asked, the words coming out before I’d fully thought them through.
Holly’s eyes widened. “Declan...”
“I’m serious,” I said, surprised by how much I meant it. “Holly, I know this is fast, and I know the timing is complicated, but I haven’t felt like this about anyone in... possibly ever.”
“Like what?” she asked softly.
“Like I want to take you to dinner somewhere nice and argue with you about event planning strategies just to watch you get animated about something you care about. Like I want to wake up next to you and bring you coffee exactly the way you like it. Like I don’t want to go back to New York.”
Holly stared at me for a long moment, and I could see her processing what I’d just said.
“That’s...” she started, then stopped, shaking her head slightly. “Declan, that sounds like a relationship. A real one.”
“It does,” I agreed. “Is that something you’d be interested in?”
Instead of answering immediately, Holly reached up and kissed me.
It was soft at first, tentative, like she was testing the waters of this decision we were making. But when I responded, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss, she melted against me with a soft sigh that made every rational thought in my head disappear.
