Our eyes meet for a brief second and I savor it.
“I didn’t expect it," she admits. "I didn’t expect to feel things, and I didn’t expect the way you ended the kiss. It threw me off. I didn’t expect it to throw me off. I had all these expectations for how the day would go, and then they were blown out of the water. I know I’m weird because that was hard for me. This whole day has been weird and hard. I don’t know how to feel, and I don’t even know how I’m feeling. I’m sorry I’m acting so weird.” She groans and buries her face in her hands.
“You’re not weird, and you said that three times, by the way,” I tease.
She peeks at me through her fingers and I can’t help but smile. She’s adorable.
“Holly, it’s totally understandable to be thrown off by today. I didn’t think about the fact we’d need to kiss either. Today is not a typical day by any means. But I hope you know that I’m not here to disrupt your life. I’m hoping things can stay pretty typical for you, with just a bit more fun added in now that I’m here.”
She arches an eyebrow, her lips tilting up at the corners. “Just a little bit of fun?”
An almost smile! Finally. I’m getting somewhere.
I shrug. “Hopefully, a lot of fun. I think we both need more fun in our lives. We work too hard.”
She finally lifts her head and gives it a small shake as she hides her smile.
Thats all the encouragement I need to keep talking. “I’ll be in your space for a while, but you don’t need to change anything else about your life. You don’t have to change your last name if you don’t want to. We can file taxes separately, and all that jazz. I’ll keep to myself when needed.” I lean forward, because I don’t want her to miss the sincerity of what I say next. “I don’texpectanything from you, Holly. But I’d love to be your friend. I could use a friend out here.”
Holly’s eyes search my face. All she’s going to find is sincerity. A few seconds later, her features soften and the worry line between her eyebrows smooths away. “I can do friends.”
My heart races, but I tell it to calm down. We’ll start in the friendzone and work our way out. “Sweet. Then, whenever you need a date for something, I’ll play the part of a doting husband.”
She stiffens again. “Right. Husband.”
She glances back down and nibbles on her bottom lip.
I wait, trusting my prayer from earlier will be answered. I study Holly for a measure of discernment to know what to say to soothe whatever is bothering my wife.
I close my eyes to think. There’s a spark in my chest, and then my heart burns. I subtly rub my chest as if it’ll soothe the internal fire of desire to protect and care for Holly. My feelings for Holly have multiplied by a hundred in less than a second, and the only explanation is that this desire comes from God.
He wants me to protect, care for, and help his precious daughter feel loved and wanted.
The burning sensation lingers in my chest as words fill my mind. “Holly. The next time we kiss, you’ll need to instigate it. I won’t push you for any type of affection. That ball is in your court. I’m here to protect you, to be your friend, and to work on my woodworking projects. Please know that you can trust me to protect you. I will protect everythingabout you.”
There’s a fine mist over the oceans of Holly’s eyes, which I will never tire of studying.
“Thank you, Mateo,” she whispers as she tucks her hair behind her ear and gives me a small, but genuine smile. “I’m going to go take a nap. I think I need a reset.”
I nod and watch as she leaves and turns into her room, down the hallway past the kitchen.
Her door closes and I lean back, running my hands through my hair,disrupting all the hard work Cruz put into taming my curls.
The ball is in Holly’s court when it comes to physical affection, but I can’t help but wish I could kiss her again.
After all, it’s technically our wedding night.
Chapter 15
In Your Court
Holly
Despite Mateo’s efforts to warm my hand and then keep me warm with the throw blanket, I’m still freezing cold. I don’t remember adjusting the thermostat, so it’s probably just me. I’m definitely not shaking like a leaf because I got married, enjoyed kissing my husband too much, and then had a mental freak out about it afterward.
Tripping over my own feet as I shuffle to my closet is absolutely not a symptom of freaking out from the fact my brand-new husband just spoke to my soul out in the living room.
I have no idea how to handle this situation.
