What is happening to me?
I hold her gaze and decide to open up a little. “I’m going to admit this is all new to me.”
“Wow,” she says with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Could have fooled me.”
A laugh bursts out of me. “Obviously not sex, although I’m struggling to remember the last time I had sex.” I shake my head. I probably shouldn’t have admitted that. Too late now. “I’m talking about having sexhere. At my place.”
Uncertainty fills her eyes for a brief second before her ferocity clicks back into place like armor. “So youdowant me to leave.”
“No,” I say, shocked that I genuinely mean it. “But give me a second to figure this all out. Okay?”
Smirking, she walks over to me and presses a kiss to my lips. I expect it to be tender, but there’s nothing tender about Holly. She’s all fire and ice. Strength and a backbone of steel. Her kiss is full of fire and the promise that if she stays, she’ll be kissing my lips—and other places—later.
That’s part of why I want her to stick around. But I’m not going to lie to myself. I don’t just want her here for sex or for the computer. I want her company, and I’d like to get to know her better. She looks up into my eyes. “We’ve got all night for you to figure it out.” Then she turns away and moves over to the computer. “Where do you want to set this up, anyway? Does Jane have a desk in her room? I figured you’d prefer for me not to go poking around.”
“She does, but let’s leave it set up out here on the table.”
Her nose scrunches. “It’s going to be a hassle to move around. It would be better to set it up wherever you’ll want it permanently.”
“Well,” I say, slightly aggravated that she’s questioning me, “that’s where I’ll want it. I don’t want Jane in her room doing God knows what on the internet. If it’s out here, I can monitor when she’s on it. In fact, turn it around so that I can see the screen from the living room.”
She stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “You don’t plan on giving her any privacy?”
“She’s a little kid, Holly,” I say, irritated. “She doesn’t need privacy while she’s on the computer. She needs supervision. I’m not letting some pervert on the internet groom my daughter.”
“Hey,” she says, holding up her hands in surrender. “There’s a reason I’m not a parent.” She shrugs. “Well, there are several of them, but not knowing shit like this is one of them.”
“You think I was born knowing this stuff?” I grump. “You figure it out as you go along.”
She laughs. “I’m trying to picture seventeen-year-old Cole knowing how to protect his kid from internet predators.” She shakes her head. “It’s hard to picture that version of you with a kid at all.”
I shrug. Seventeen-year-old me would likely be horrified at how domesticated I’ve become. Then again, seventeen-year-old me was a dumbass at least two-thirds of the time.
“Are you hungry?” I ask. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”
Her eyes twinkle playfully. “Are you inviting me to dinner?”
“It’s food,” I say in a snippy tone. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I have to eat, and it would be rude to eat in front of you.”
“So youdohave manners.”
Her statement catches me by surprise. Most people would describe me as laid back and congenial, but there’s no denying I’m different with Holly. She’s like a pendulum, irritating the shit out of me on one extreme, or heating me up on the other. Then again, both extremes get me worked up.
I could apologize for being an asshole most of the time—Ishould—but something tells me that would upset this delicate balancing act we have going on right now, and I really want to see how this plays out.
“You good with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup?” I ask, walking over to the fridge.
“From a can?” Holly asks as she gets the computer situated on the table.
“Homemade,” I say defensively, but then my conscience gets the better of me. “Jane’s babysitter made it for dinner last night. We have leftovers. But if you don’t want that, I can make hot dogs and mac and cheese.”
“You have the palate of a five-year-old.”
“I cook for an eight-year-old.”
She grins. “Touché. Before I pick, can I ask one question?”
I lift a brow and give her a piercing glare.
