Both nights he fell asleep watching TV while she still worked at the table, only to wake up in the morning and discover that she’d covered him with a blanket. Then he’d take Whiskers back to his basement before heading to work to start the day all over again.
Since the forensics auditor had taken over, Kevin left early on Thursday afternoon to take the kitten to the vet, but instead of going back to the office, he went home to work on his kitchen. He was ripping out Sheetrock in the kitchen when he heard a knock on his front door.
Checking the time, he realized it was too early for Holly to come home, but he wasn’t prepared to find her cousin on his front porch. Holly had mentioned she was getting back from Vegas today. He’d expected a confrontation, but figured it would happen later tonight.
She wore black pants and a white shirt, so he suspected she was on her way to work. “Melanie.”
She didn’t waste any time getting down to business. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He wasn’t surprised by her hostility after their initial meeting, but that didn’t mean it didn’t bother him.
She didn’t wait for an answer. “I can see through this charade, so give it up. Leave Holly alone.”
“It’s not a charade. I want to be her friend.”
“Yeah, save it for someone else—someone other than my cousin. Holly likes to see the good in people, and you’re exploiting that.”
His anger rose. “What reason could I possibly have for lying to her?”
“I’m not stupid, Vandemeer. I know how men think. The organ that is really behind their motivation.”
“You think I’m trying to sleep with Holly? That this is one long con to get back in her bed?” While he had to admit to himself that it started out that way, it couldn’t be farther from the truth now. Sure, he wanted her in every sense of the word—and the last three nights had killed him—but he wanted her company more. And, more importantly, he wanted her to be happy. If being friends was what she wanted, he’d learn to deal with it.
“Please. Are you seriously suggesting it’s not?” He paused and she released a snort. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“It’s not like that, Melanie. I swear.”
“And the proof of that was when you screwed her and left? What do you hope to achieve, Lover Boy? You can’t openly date her with your dragon-woman mother.”
“We’re friends.” But he had to admit that, if the positions were reversed, he wouldn’t believe him, either.
She snorted again. “You want to be her friend. Do you even know anything about being a friend with a woman?”
“No, but I’m trying.”
“Holly is one of few people I know who values her principles, and she doesn’t want to betray her boss, no matter how much of a bitch your mother is. So let’s be honest: we both know your real intent is to wear her down. How do you think she’s going to handle it when you do? You’re only going to hurt her. I know it. And you know it. She’s the only one who can’t see it, and I can’t stand back and let you do it.”
He had to wonder if she might be right. He would never intentionally hurt Holly, but there was probably no good outcome from this. But, selfishly, he couldn’t give her up.
“She’s a good person. She deserves better than this. Leave Holly alone,” Melanie sneered. Then she stomped off the porch, not stopping until she got into her car and left.
The tightness in his chest wasn’t a surprise when he realized what he needed to do. It was time to look for another job, even if it meant moving away. Then again, maybe he should only look at jobs outside of the Kansas City area. Because, stay or leave, he was going to lose her.
But then he’d thrown her away, so maybe that was what he deserved.
* * *
Holly noticed Kevin’s car in the driveway when she got home, and she fought the urge to go see him. She had taken her binder for the Johansen wedding to her daily visit with her grandmother, but the older woman had spent most of the visit dazed and confused.
Grandma Barb’s dementia was progressing faster than any of them had expected, and Holly was scared. She was losing her grandmother, and Melanie—the only other person who could possibly understand what she was going through—refused to discuss it.
She’d never felt so alone, and the need to pour her heart out to someone was overwhelming.
She wanted to pour her heart out to Kevin. He’d been more than willing to listen to everything else.
But that was dangerous. For one thing, men tended to shy away from emotional women, and, two, if she went to him, it would only prove that she needed him.
Needing Kevin was dangerous. What if she gave in and agreed to a relationship? What if part of her appeal to him was the chase, and, once he had her, he lost interest and left her brokenhearted?
Her parents had left her. Her grandmother was leaving her. She didn’t think she could survive Kevin leaving her, too.
So she stayed home and made a pasta salad—something cold to feed Kevin when he came over later. She paused, realizing that he’d spent only three nights at her house but she already was used to him being there.
And that was a very bad thing.
She poured a glass of wine and went out into the backyard, refilling the baby pool with fresh water. Excited, Killer ran around the pool and Holly’s feet, playing in the water and demanding her attention. She glanced toward Kevin’s house, remembering that today had been Whiskers’ vet appointment. There was an excuse to go over and see him.
She was shameless.
But she couldn’t do it. As vulnerable as she felt right now, she didn’t trust herself. She was like a child told to stay away from fire. She was drawn to him despite knowing that, one way or the other, she was probably going to get burned. So she sat her butt in her chair and drank her wine. She had the Murphy–Douglas wedding to keep her busy this weekend, the rehearsal tomorrow night and wedding duties to fill up the entirety of Saturday.
Maybe that would help take her mind off the man next door.
She was going through her mental list of everything she had to get together for both days when she heard Kevin shouting through his open kitchen window.
“Shit!” The sound of spraying water accompanied his curse.
His kitchen had been completely gutted, so the sound of spraying water could not be good.
She’d put Killer in the house and was on her way through her gate when she heard him shouting again.
“Goddammit!”
Before she opened the door to his kitchen, she knew it was bad—based on the very loud sound of gushing water. But she wasn’t prepared to find Kevin on the floor in front of the pipes where the sink had been. His hand was on the turn-off valve and a hard stream of water was spraying him in the chest, the water splashing up into his face. He was completely drenched, his T-shirt clinging to the muscles of his chest and upper arms.
Focus, Holly.
“What happened?” she asked in a panic.
“I don’t know.” He tried to duck out of the water spray to look at her. “It just started coming out!”
“The valve doesn’t shut it off?”
“I can’t tell.”
Bracing herself, she knelt beside him, blindly reaching for the valve. “At least it’s the cold water.”
“Shit,” he grumbled. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
She turned the valve both ways, which made no difference in the gushing water, then leaned out of the direct spray to search for the source of the leak. She found a crack in the metal pipe in the now exposed wall.
“It’s your pipe,” she said, sitting back on her heels. “We need to turn the water off to your house.”
His eyes flew open in panic. “How do I do that? I don’t know how to do that.”
Holly jumped up and ran down his basement stairs, searching the unfinished walls.
Kevin was right behind her. “What are we looking for?”
“The main water line. There
should be a turn-off valve.”
He took off in the opposite direction but she found it first, a piece of plywood partially covering it. She grabbed the valve and pulled, but it refused to budge. There was a good chance the lever hadn’t been pulled in years, if not decades.
“I found it!” she shouted to him. “But it’s stuck.”
He ran over and grabbed the lever, putting all his weight into it. Panic washed over his face when she hear a loud snap. “Oh, shit.” Then he showed her the broken-off valve in his hand. “Now what do we do?”
She didn’t answer, instead dashing up the stairs and slipping in the water that was now pooled on his kitchen floor. Kevin was right behind her, giving her a questioning look.
She ran for the front door, then down the porch steps, Kevin on her heels.
“Where are you going?” he called after her.
“To find the manhole in your yard!” she called after him, not waiting for a response as she ran toward her garage. She hadn’t used the tool to shut off the main water line in years and worried she wouldn’t be able to find it, but she tossed aside a painting drop cloth and discovered it underneath.
Kevin was in the yard, shaking his head as he held his phone to his ear. “I can’t find it anywhere, Matt.”
Holly pushed through a group of bushes by the street and found the cover, using the tool to pry it up and over to the side. Kevin was instantly next to her, helping push the heavy metal lid out of the way so she could find the valve nut and use the bar to turn it. She got the crowbar-like rod locked onto the valve, then Kevin grabbed the T-shaped handle and put his weight into it until it stopped turning.
His gaze lifted to hers. “Do you think that did it?”
“Let’s go find out.”
They ran back inside. The water still gushed out of the pipe, but it began to sputter, then dwindled down to a tiny stream before stopping altogether.
Holly stood in the kitchen, taking in the damage. “This is bad.”
“I know,” he groaned.
The walls were drenched, and an inch of water pooled on the vinyl floor; it was now seeping toward the wood floors.
Where to start?
“Do you have a Shop-Vac?” she asked.
He looked at her and burst out laughing. “I didn’t know how to turn the damn water off. Do you really think I have a Shop-Vac?”
She loved that about him—that he could be in this horrible situation, yet he could find the humor in it.
“We need to save your wood floors. Call Matt and see if he can loan you one and I’ll grab a bunch of towels.”
He pulled out his phone as he followed her to her house, grabbing an armload of towels along with her and following her back to his money pit. They sopped up the water on the wood floor, building a barricade at the doorway from the kitchen into the dining room.
“That’s all we can do for now,” Holly said apologetically. “Other than scooping out water with a bowl.”
“That’s okay. Matt should be here within ten minutes.”
“Look on the bright side,” she said. “It’s a miracle your phone still works after getting drenched like that.”
It was hot outside, but she was completely soaked and the breeze from the fans made her shiver. She turned to face Kevin, only to find him staring at her chest.
Oh, shit. The thin fabric of her white wraparound sleeveless cotton shirt was soaked, revealing her thin bra and her hardened nipples.
But a flood of warmth gushed through her veins as she took in his chest, his wet T-shirt clinging to every muscle.
Her breath was coming in short pants and she knew she had to get out of here or she was going to jump him, right here in the middle of his flooded kitchen.
Go. Now.
Her feet barely registered the command but they had begun to move when her foot slipped on the wet floor and she started to fall.
Kevin grabbed her, hauling her to his chest and plastering her tight against him. She looked up into his face, her breath sucked away by the lust in his eyes.
She had never wanted a man like she wanted him now. She lifted on her tiptoes to kiss him, but Kevin took over.
Burying his hand in her hair, his hungry mouth covered hers as his other hand cupped her ass, pressing his groin against her. The hard bulge in his jeans made it very clear that he wanted her.
Her hands roamed his chest, soaking in the hard contours of his pecs. But she wanted more. She wanted his chest bare. Groping blindly, she found the bottom of his shirt and jerked it up with both hands. He quickly caught on and helped pull it over his head, then he turned his attention to her.
Her fingers fumbled with the clinging cotton of her shirt, the knot at her side uncooperative.
Kevin groaned and impatiently brushed her hands away, grabbing the fabric of the deep V-neckline and ripping the shirt open to expose her bra and bare chest.
“Oh,” she gasped, as her nipples tightened.
She grabbed the waistband of his jeans and tugged him closer, desperate to get his jeans undone.
He growled his impatience, cupping her ass under her skirt and lifting her up to straddle him. His mouth devoured hers and she struggled to keep up, overwhelmed by everything she felt—yet she couldn’t get enough.
He dragged his mouth from hers, skimming her chin with his lips and his tongue, making her even wilder with need.
“God, Holly. You drive me crazy.”
She grabbed his face between her hands and kissed, her tongue searching out his to show him he did the same to her.
“Oh, God. Sorry.” She heard the male voice from the living room, but by the time she figured out someone else was in the house, Kevin had turned his back to the living room and lowered her to her feet. Wrapping his arms around her back, he pulled her close to hide her from view.
Oh, God. It was Matt with the Shop-Vac.
“I’ll wait outside,” Matt said, already heading out the front door.
Holly closed her eyes and leaned her forehead into Kevin’s bare chest, her face burning with humiliation. What had he seen? Her bare legs wrapped around Kevin’s waist. Her bra? But that wasn’t what horrified her. Matt had seen her wild and out of control. No one had ever seen her like that. No one but Kevin.
Kevin held her close, his hand digging into her hair. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t…”
She shook her head and tried to pull free, but he held her close.
“Don’t run from me, Holly. Don’t run from us.”
“There is no us, Kevin. We can’t do this.”
“You can’t deny this,” he said in exasperation. “This thing between us…I’ve never had anything like this. Can you say you have?”
“No.” She shook her head again and pushed his arms off her. “I don’t know. I have to think.” A fresh wave of humiliation washed through her. “Go find Matt. You need to clean up this mess.”
“Not until I know you’re okay.”
Tears burned her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”
He reached for her, lowering his face to kiss her, but she pulled back.
“Stop. We can’t do this. Nothing has changed.”
His eyes darkened. “You can’t be serious. Everything has changed.”
“No, we agreed to be friends. This is…No. We can’t do this.”
“How is this any different than being friends?” he asked, his voice tight with anger. “You said Mom wouldn’t let you go out to lunch with Megan. Do you think there’s any difference in her eyes? Friends with or without benefits, it’s all the same to her.”
She gasped. How could she be so stupid? “You’re right.”
But he realized his mistake, his eyes widening. “Holly.”
She took a step back, the water sloshing at her feet. “I think you should stay somewhere else tonight.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Holly was at the reception venue by seven Saturday morning, setting out the centerpieces of rosebuds—which she hoped would be semi-open by ton
ight—and hanging the twinkling lights and decorations she’d prepared.
By noon, she was changed and at the church, making sure she was there before anyone else had arrived. She made a pass through the church sanctuary, making sure the flowers were all in place, then greeted the bride and her family when they arrived a half hour later. The wedding was at five, but there was a full schedule with hairdressers and makeup artists arriving to do the wedding party’s hair and makeup, then photos.
By the time the wedding started, she’d defused two crises—the first was a salad-dressing stain on a bridesmaid’s pale pink dress that Holly fixed with a stain remover she had in an emergency basket, and the second was a lost bow tie of one of the groomsmen. Holly took a bow tie from one of the ushers and replaced it with an almost identical black tie from the same basket. Once everyone was up at the altar and the service was going as planned, Holly took a moment to catch her breath.
The first half of the day was a success; now to make sure the second went just as well.
The reception was held at a local hotel. The DJ had arrived and set up, the hotel restaurant staff had everything ready for the cocktail reception, the cake was in place. Now that the candles on the tables were lit—thanks to the bride’s cousins—and the twinkling lights were on, the banquet hall was more beautiful than she’d dreamed.
The wedding guests trickled in slowly at first, then in groups, getting drinks from the bar and finding seats at the open-seating tables. Holly was about to head to the back entrance to greet the wedding party when she saw him, her heart leaping into her throat.
Kevin stood with two friends—Matt and a man she hadn’t met—looking more handsome than she’d ever seen him in his pale blue shirt and red tie. His friends provided competition in the looks department, but her eyes were on him. But he’d captured the attention of another woman, too. Her hand rested on one of his biceps, and the smile on his face let Holly know he didn’t seem to mind the contact.
Only You Page 21
