I held my hands up in surrender. “Then don’t let me stop you.”
Hollie asked, “Can Mr. Jesse play, too?”
“Yep!” She shuffled the cards with such dexterity they blurred in her palms.
Hollie stood, moved her chair to the side of the bed, and sat back down. “Alright. Deal me in.”
Izzy looked at me, waiting for my consent.
When I stood and moved my chair, she gleefully dealt five stacks of cards and Hollie flashed me a smile that made my heart stall in my chest.
Fifteen minutes later, we were on our second round of Go Fish. It was my turn. I had three threes and knew I’d seen the last one I needed—the three of spades—somewhere on the table. But I couldn’t remember who had it last.
We were right at the end. Stakes were high.
I hummed as my eyes darted over to the wall where Nora sat.
“Nora?”
She giggled, eyes wide. “Yes?”
I squinted my eyes at her even as a smile stretched across my face. “Do you have any threes?”
Relief washed over her. “Nope! Go fish!”
I pulled a card from the pile.
Hollie was next. She thumbed her cards and looked around, herface twisting in thought. She sat forward, raising her elbows to prop them against the edge of the mattress. The new position curved her back into a subtle arch, lifting the hem of her shirt just enough to draw my attention to the sliver of skin between fabric. My eyes lingered one beat too long before I pulled them back to her face.
All the Thompsons were beautiful. The first time I met Bea, I was struck by her natural beauty and every Thompson I met after proved the same. But Hollie? She was the prettiest by alongshot.
She had a mother’s body—soft in all the right places. Supple curves that stretched her clothes and a warm, pink glow on her cheeks that highlighted the color in her lips. Her hair was clipped back in a twist and tiny curls slipped out around her temples. Before she asked for a card, she always bit down on her lip for a moment.
When I met Hollie on the sidewalk, things were so rushed, I didn’t have the chance to notice her. And then Hollie saved Cade’s life. Granted, I noticed her then, for sure. But I noticed how calm and capable she was—not her beauty. But now, here we were, playing cards like we were sitting around a dinner table and not a hospital bed.
And I couldn’tstopnoticing her. Everything about her.
The way she talked to her daughters and Cade. The way she brushed the top of her finger across her cards. The graceful way she moved, every motion was fluid. The way she smiled and the husky sound of her laugh.
And her lack of a wedding ring.
Seeing that bare left ring finger brought relief—which made no sense. I didn’t ask myselfwhythe idea of her being married made me feel a little sick to my stomach. She didn’t act married though. She wasn’t texting anyone, hadn’t mentioned a significant other, seemed forward and eager to know me. But maybe I was in my head about it.
She turned to me, one brow arched. “Jesse?”
I fought my smile back. “Yes?”
“Do you…have anythrees?”
I deadpanned. “Seriously?”
The girls erupted in giggles.
“Come on.” Hollie held her hand between us, waggling her fingers. “Hand ‘em over.”
I removed the threes from my deck and smacked them into her palm. To my surprise, Hollie didn’t lay a book of threes down on the table, and the game continued with Izzy taking her turn next.
I leaned toward Hollie, and she held her cards to her chest so I couldn’t see. I whispered, “You didn’t even have the three of spades? You took them just to sabotage me?”
