What are you doing?
Bubbles hovered before forming a rapid reply.Sitting on the couch, halfway watching a movie
Her fingers shook above the screen. They hadn’t planned to see each other tonight – she had laundry to do after the gym – but she needed . . . something. To be close to him, maybe to pick his brain about what had happened with Allison all those years ago, to reassure herself in the now.
But.
He didn’t need her picking his brain, bringing the old memories back to life for him. That night had devastated his life. She didn’t need to reawaken any of that. Didn’t she have enough to reassure herself now? He loved her, and she hadn’t ever seen him look at anyone the way he looked at her. He wanted to marry her, make a life with her.
So she was going to take her sweaty, neurotic, abandonment-issues-riddled self home and jump in the shower. She would do her laundry, hang her scrubs so they didn’t wrinkle, and edit some photos.
Maybe turn on one of those stupid foreign movies he liked in the background.
Then she would go to bed and dream of him.
Chapter Twenty-Five
She dreamed of him, after all, but the shadowy scenarios bordered on nightmarish, as she found herself in a dark hallway at a large, boisterous party filled with people she didn’t know. His muffled voice drew her deeper into the darkness. She opened a door to find an empty room.
Each room was empty when she opened the door, although his voice remained, the low honeyed-bourbon drawl he whispered over her skin while he made love to her.
He hadn’t been in any of the rooms, and she’d awakened before her alarm, her throat tight and a slight ache at her temples. The headache lingered into her day at work, until finally a cheeseburger and a second dose of painkillers at lunch helped ease the pressure.
By the time she made it home to shower and change and get ready for their dinner out, she almost felt normal. She donned the white sweater dress she’d worn for what she now considered their first date because the outfit was comfortable and made her feel good about herself, an unbeatable combination.
The way he looked at her when he strolled in the back door made it even better.
“Hey.” Caressing the small of her back and nudging her into the warmth of his long body, he lowered his head to kiss her. Cold, fresh air clung to his skin, blending with the cedar and salt smell of his soap and aftershave. Holly wrapped her arms about him and pressed closer, drinking in his small chuckle. “Missed you today. You look great.”
“Mmm. Thank you.” She purred the acknowledgement under his chin. “You smell amazing.”
Lifting his head, he circled a caress at the base of her spine. “Let’s blow them off and go to bed.”
“And miss the American? You’ve lost your mind.” She pinched his belly through the soft, crisp cotton of his blue microcheck shirt. “Let’s go have amazing foodthencome home and go to bed.”
“If you insist.” He linked his arms about her waist and heaved an exaggerated sigh, good humor twinkling in his eyes. Warm affection surged through her, the final mist of her nightmares dissipating now she was close to him. “I’m not sharing my dessert with you.”
She scoffed. They both knew he would, just like they both knew what would happen once they went to bed. Pressing nearer, she fiddled with one of his buttons. Positive predictability had its perks, and she was positive she could predict how good things would be later.
His grin widened, the glow in his dark gaze shifting to something slower and hotter. “You ready to go?”
“To dinner?” She gave him a cheeky smile and fluttered her lashes. “Yes.”
Laughing, he brushed his lips over her cheek. “Come on and let’s get moving.”
When they stepped out, Andy and Grace exited their house as well. Gracie waved, a bright smile lighting her face. “Holly, I love that dress. If it’s from your stock, I need one.”
“It’s not, but I can try to find you one.” Holly’s boots clicked on the sidewalk, Colt’s hitting with their familiar thud-and-scrape. Why did she love that sound so much? Grace’s dress was cute as all get-out, a sack-like drape of heavy fabric cut on the bias, with pockets, the muted burgundy making her brown hair shine. They met on the walk, halfway between Colt’s truck at the curb and Andy’s extended cab in the drive. Holly and Grace exchanged a hug of greeting while Andy and Colt did the whole handshake-into-a-bro-hug thing. “You look great.”
Grace made a face. “I look like I had a baby three months ago. Girl, my mama wasn’t joking when she said baby number three changes your body.”
“Hey.” Andy’s voice rung with stern warning. “What did I say about that?”
Rolling her eyes, Grace leaned in toward Holly. “He thinks I’m complaining when I’m just acknowledging I will never have a flat stomach again.”
“Some of us have never had a flat stomach.” Holly snorted. She’d always been athletic, if not graceful, and she kept fit, but she had Mona’s body shape genes for real. Colt didn’t seem to mind – the man struggled to keep his hands to himself sometimes. He made her feel like some kind of sexy siren. She loved that.
“Let me see your ring.” Grace patted her hands in gleeful anticipation. “I knew he had it in his pocket, but didn’t know when he would actually pop the question.”
