I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to let out the frustration. “Holly,” I began, trying to reason with her, “you’re not fine. You’re sick. And standing around getting cold just to prove a point isn’t going to help you. Have a shower, then come downstairs and you can crawl into bed by the fire.”
I felt like I should be talking to Noelle, not Holly. It was like trying to reason with a stubborn child who thought they knew everything.
“I don't …”
My patience snapped. The longer she stood there arguing, the more of a chance she’d get worse. “Shower now, Holly. I’ll find you some more cold meds then you can come down and eat with us,” I declared before spinning on my heels and exiting the room, silently patting myself on the back for not ogling her nakedness.
I’d just about made it out the door when I heard Holly mutter, “You’re not the boss of me, Christopher.”
I can’t remember the last time I’d been called Christopher. It wasn’t a name anyone ever used for me. Not even my parents.
I stopped where I was.
I didn’t look back.
But I did throw out one last barb, refusing to let Holly think she got the better of me and got the last word. “Shower, Holly. Or I’ll turn that sexy ass of yours as pink as your cheeks are right now.”
I shuffled toward the kitchen, laughing at the loud squeak that had been drawn from her before the slamming of the bathroom door. Guess she just figured out her stubborn ass had been naked the whole time.
thirteen
HOLLY
I was an idiot.
I was humiliated.
I needed to get out of there. Maybe I could sneak down the stairs and disappear out the back.
“Fuck!” I swore as I realized my escape plan wouldn’t work. Not only was Chris holding Noelle hostage, but he’d completely disabled my car, too. Fine, he wasn’t holding her hostage and the car was my fault, but the asshole could’ve told me I was naked instead of standing there, arguing with me like nothing was out of the ordinary.
I squeezed a dollop of his body wash onto my palm and worked it into a lather. The steam-filled shower smelled like him, and it was a scent I’d never be tired of. Despite seeing me in my birthday suit and me now needing to find a hole to crawl into, there was something about Chris that made this place feel like home. Made him feel he was my home.
“Get it together, Holly,” I chastised myself.
Chris wasn’t my home. Hell, he wasn’t even my friend. He was just a guy who quite literally rescued me from the side ofthe road and brought me home offering me shelter from the storm. A storm that surely had to be easing soon.
I tilted my head back and hoped the hot water would wash away the silly thoughts running through my head. It was this damn cold. It had to be. I normally wasn’t the girl with a crush, especially not on someone I just met. That was ridiculous.
I finished my shower and stepped onto the bathmat. Wrapping a giant towel around me, I wiped the condensation from the mirror and stared at my reflection. I was a disaster. My nose was cherry red, and my eyes looked tired. I was tired. Bone weary, tired, if I was being honest even though I’d spent most of the day asleep. Then the guilt hit me. I’d spent most of the day asleep. Me. I didn’t get that luxury. Even when I was sick, I was still a mom and Noelle always came first. Always.
The guilt gnawed away at my stomach as I hurriedly got dressed and pulled my hair up in a messy top knot. I know I should’ve dried it, but with no power still and the desperate need to check on Noelle, I didn’t care. It wasn’t until I almost slid down the icy stairs that I even realized in my hurry to get to Noelle, I’d put my shoes on the wrong feet.
I shoved open the heavy door and stepped inside, the warmth instantly hitting me and wrapping around me like a soft, snuggly blanket. I could hear laughter and part of me felt like I was being left out, but it wasn’t their fault.
As I toed off my runners, I barked out a cough, clutching at my chest. This cold was hitting like a bitch, and she certainly packed a punch.
I opened the door to the office and froze. Chris and Noelle were sitting on the floor, both with their legs crossed playing cards. Noelle was giggling and looking completely at home with Chris, and not at all like she was missing me. It hurt, but at the same time, I was flooded with relief.
“Mom!” Noelle squealed when she saw me, throwingher cards down and rushing over, wrapping her arms around my waist and squeezing me tight.
“Hey, munchkin,” I replied, holding her close, “how was your day?”
Noelle let go and stepped back. “It was so much fun, Mom. Chris and I built a snowman and then we made snow angels and mine was so much better than his …”
“Hey!” Chris protested as he packed up the cards with a wide smile on his face.
“Then we had a snowball fight,” Noelle finished in a rush.
