“I did.” She ended each syllable with cut-glass precision. “He’s talking to Caitlin and Lorraine while Tick talks football with David.”
Scott nodded. Silence stretched between them, muffled chatter and that flat jazz drifting in. Scott’s mouth drew to a thin line, his gaze heavy on her face.
“Are you happy with him?”
The low, rough question seemed dragged free of his throat. Her breath caught, a sharp pain in her chest.
Her answer came easy enough. She swallowed, moistening her upper lip. “Yes.”
His stance stiffened, and he glanced away, mouth tighter. He gave a short jerk of a nod. “Good. I’m glad.”
A pause hung, then he swung that piercing blue gaze back to her.
“I want that for you.”
Her chest panged again, lungs constricted, a weight pressing in so she couldn’t get enough air. This shouldn’t be so hard. She concentrated on drawing in small sips of air.
“I want the same for you.” She brushed her hair away from her eyes. Asking if Andrea made him happy was pointless – he wasn’t seeking happiness with her or anyone else. He wanteduncomplicated and convenient, a paper napkin of a relationship requiring little or no maintenance. He wanted someone who would be satisfied with a transactional relationship.
And that would never have been Holly.
The realization washed shaky relief through her. No matter how hard she tried, she’d never be what he wanted, and expecting him to be what she wanted was unfair when he couldn’t be that, either. They were doing the right thing, this awkward and painful uncoupling.
She was already what Colt wanted, without trying, and even with the emotional weight he carried, he was everything she hoped for.
The strain of the evening evaporated on her next exhale, and she smiled, perhaps her first real smile of the night. “I really want good things for you, Scott.”
A half-smile tipped up the corners of his mouth, ever so slightly. “I know.”
Beneath his bluster and hard edges, he wanted the same for her. She smoothed her bangs with one finger. “This will get easier.”
It alreadywaseasier, with this obstacle breached.
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat and gestured toward the door. “I should get out there.”
“Sure.” Shoulders straight, she preceded him outside. Across the yard, Colt laughed at something Caitlin shared, humor and surprise lighting him up like the brightest holiday lights. He waved a hand over the table, palm down, fingers spread, grinning with whatever his rejoinder was.
Holly paused, drinking in that moment, vaguely aware of Scott making his way over to join Andrea.
Colt spoke again, punctuating with his hands, so himself in that moment her chest ached. Drawn by the enjoyment on his face, she took a step toward him, then another, her lightest, surest steps of the evening. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to be by his side, filled with the urge to touch him and be close to him.
She crossed the grass, navigating the grass and the unfamiliar heels with growing confidence, sure of where she wanted —needed— to be.
Chapter Nineteen
What was that noise?
Burying his face in the pillow, Colt scrunched his eyes closed. The sharp tone cut through the quiet again, and he groaned.
“Colt.” Her voice a sleepy growl, Holly pushed at his biceps. “Answer your phone.”
Rolling to his back, he flung out an arm and fumbled for the offending device, swiping his thumb across the screen without opening his eyes. “Hello?”
“Morning, son.” His daddy’s voice rumbled over his ear. “You still in the bed?”
“Yeah.” He blinked. Early morning sunlight cast a golden shimmer on the polished wood of his bedroom floor. What did he meanstill? Colt rotated his wrist to look at his watch. “It’s barely seven-thirty.”
On a Friday, when he didn’t have to go to work. When he’d stayed up late because he’d barely shut the door before she was all over him. They’d been up half the night because she kept coming back to him, like she couldn’t get enough of him. Not that he was complaining, with her now-naked curves pressed close to him, her lips against his shoulder, a hand over his heart.
