“Tell me about it,” I murmur as I get out of the truck.
Holt pulls my suitcase from the bed while I help Leah out of the back seat. We walk through the garage as a group, the girls running ahead to open the door.
The inside of the house is just as charming as the outside. Through the mud room, the space opens to the kitchen on the left, the living room toward the back, and the dining room on the right. The stairs to the second floor are on the far left side, opposite the living room.
There are small touches of the girls all over the place: children’s art hangs on the wall, Barbies lie on the floor in the living room, and tiny backpacks hang on the back of the barstools.
“Come on in. Are you hungry? We just finished dinner when we came to get you.”
“I could eat.”
“Dad makes the best pasta in the whole entire world. Like, it’s so good,” Lauren says as she leads me toward the kitchen.
“Can we have ice cream while G eats?” Leah asks.
G.That’s what my sister and best friends call me too.
“Let me get her a plate first, then we can do dessert.”
“Yes!” the girls exclaim.
Holt makes me a plate of alfredo and then hands the girls small ice cream sandwiches.
My first bite makes me moan. “Damn, that’s good.”
Holt’s eyes heat. I didn’t mean to make that sound sexual, but this is the best food I’ve had in a while.
“Told you Daddy makes the best food.” Lauren smirks as she carefully eats her sandwich. Next to her, Leah is licking the ice cream between the cookies. They’re so similar to Ginny and me. My kindhearted twin is the gentle people-pleaser of the two of us. I’ve always been bold and brash, while Ginny is quiet and passive. When she decided to go to Nashville to pursue a singing career after we graduated high school, I wasshocked. Not because I didn’t think she could do it, but because she’s not the outgoing type.
It took her a couple of years, but the minute she signed a record deal, her name shot to the top of the charts.
As proud of her as I am, it’s hard to be her identical twin sometimes. When people realize I’m not the one they hoped for, their disappointment is palpable. I’ve gotten used to it over the years, but it still doesn’t feel great.
I was shocked that the girls weren’t upset that I wasn’t who they thought. That rarely happens.
When the three of us are finished eating, Holt directs the girls to get ready for bed. They race upstairs, giggling with each other as they go.
In the ensuing silence, I find myself babbling. “Thanks again for letting me stay. I promise I’ll be out of your hair tomorrow.”
Holt shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. You can stay as long as you need to.”
“I highly doubt you want your one-night stand hanging around you and your girls.”
“I was wondering if you’d bring that up.”
I grimace. “I’m sorry I snuck out. I don’t do goodbyes very well.”
“It is what it is. I’m only sorry I couldn’t buy you breakfast. But I suppose that’s what you were trying to avoid.” His piercing stare is intense enough to make me feel like he’s seeing straight through me.
I drop the eye contact. It’s too much for me to bear. “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have accepted the offer.”
“It’s done and over now. I should go supervise the monkeys.” Holt walks away, his broad shoulders straight and his head held high.
Why do I feel like I missed out on something wonderful?
CHAPTER 5
Holt
