“And she’s living with you right now?” Grayson asks.
“Not living, just staying temporarily. She didn’t know about the Ice Festival, so she didn’t have a room reserved. We’ve since exhausted all efforts to try to find one. Nothing’s available until Sunday.”
Knox grimaces. “How awkward has that been?”
“It actually hasn’t been awkward at all. She’s a pretty cool person, and the girls love her.”
“And you’re dying to fuck her again.” Knox gets at the heart of my issue.
I groan and drop my head on the table. “Yes.”
“Well, why can’t you?” Grayson asks.
“Because he’ll fall in love with her.”
I point at Knox instead of responding. “And she’s so fucking pretty. And kind. And funny too.”
“Holt, I think you might already be in love with her,” Emmett says gently.
I bolt upright. “I am not. I like her, sure, but I am not in love with her. It’s only been five days.”
“Okay.” Emmett holds his hands up in surrender. “It’s too fast to be in love with her.”
“The girls invited her to their book fair the first morning she was here.”
My three best friends’ eyes widen. Gray is the first to respond. “And did she go or brush them off?”
“She went.”
Emmett looks at Gray and Knox.
“Stop that.” I point at him. “I am not in love with her.”
CHAPTER 9
Gia
“Wait, wait, wait.” Lottie holds her hands up.
The faces of my best friends fill my computer screen, all three of them looking at me like I’m crazy.
“You’ve been staying with a literal stranger this entire week?” Addie’s dark eyebrows are practically in her hairline.
My sister has been frowning at me since I shared the news that I’ve been staying with Holt. “What do you even know about this guy?”
I shrug. “That he’s super-hot?”
“Gia!” the three of them shout in unison.
I crack up laughing. “I’m kidding! Look, I know I can make some interesting choices, but I’m not that crazy. His name is Holt Basil, he’s a widower, and he has two incredible little girls. He also has a huge dick that he actually knows how to use.”
Lottie face-palms, her brown hair falling over her shoulder.
“Look, I didn’t have a whole lot of choices. All the hotels are booked this week for the Ice Festival, and trust me, I searched everywhere. Holt is actually a really decent guy. I’mnot just saying that to justify my actions. He hasn’t tried to make a move on me since I’ve been here, and everyone in town has told me Holt is a safe bet.”
Addie makes a face of understanding. “If Pine Creek Falls is anything like Sonoma, they probably know better than most who you should interact with.”
“It’s even more than that. You guys, this town is… I don’t even know how to describe it. We only got a small glimpse of it when we were here over the summer. I keep waiting for someone to pop the bubble of warmth and safety here, but it hasn’t happened. They learned fucking sign language to communicate with the coffee shop owner when they could’ve just used their sister to interpret instead. Can you imagine that? An entire town learning enough of a second language to communicate with one of their own.”
