by Carrie Elks
“I was distracted. And how is Nancy?” Nancy was Natalie’s boss. A kick ass divorce attorney that made grown men cry. Holly adored her.
“Busy as always. We have a new case brewing, but we won’t start work on it until the new year. You’ll be back by then, right?”
Holly swallowed. “Yeah, I guess I will.” Strange how she didn’t want to think about that.
“But that’s not why I’m calling. I got those papers you scanned. And I got one of my property lawyer friends to take a look. He says he’s found something interesting, and potentially game changing, but he wants to run it by another lawyer first.”
“What kind of thing?” Holly asked, her brows knitting.
“Something that might help you save your grandma’s town. But he doesn’t want to get your hopes up until he’s confirmed it. He should have more news tomorrow if you’ll be around? He’s suggested a video conference at seven.”
“Seven tomorrow night?” Holly remembered their family meeting. “Yeah, that would work. Will you be there?”
“Um, yeah. I kind of promised to go out for dinner with him afterward.” Natalie sounded almost embarrassed.
“Oh God, don’t you want to go?” Holly wrinkled her nose. “Sorry about that.”
“Oh no, I definitely want to go. Ryan’s hot as hell. I’m just embarrassed because I kind of used your problem to get closer to him.”
Holly laughed. “In that case, I approve. And I’ll get to see exactly how hot he is tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah you will. And I really hope he has some good news for you. I can’t believe those assholes bought up your grandma’s town just to demolish it.”
Holly pulled her lip between her teeth. She really was sleeping with the enemy, wasn’t she? Maybe if things were different, she’d confide in Natalie and tell her about Josh. But Natalie was hundreds of miles away, and this situation was way too difficult to discuss over the phone.
Even Everley and Alaska knowing made her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure she could cope with Natalie’s judgement, too.
“Listen, I have to go. Nancy’s working a late one and I need to get our order in for Barracuda. I’ll send you the Zoom link tomorrow, okay?”
“Sounds good,” Holly agreed. “I’ll make sure my cousins are there. We all have an interest in this.”
“That’s fine. Talk to you tomorrow, Hol.”
“Laters.” She ended the call, wondering what the hell Natalie’s friend had uncovered. Letting out a lungful of air, she slid her phone back into her purse and waved to Alaska, who waved back. She needed to get ready for her evening with Josh.
The enemy.
Why was her life suddenly so complicated?
Josh fell back on the mattress, pulling her with him so her body covered his. “Jesus, I’m broken.”
Holly laughed against his chest. “That makes two of us.” They’d been in bed since she’d arrived at his place, save for an emergency break to inhale some food. He was too irresistible for his own good.
“You’re an addiction, you know that?” Josh brushed a tendril of hair from her brow. “I keep trying to concentrate on work, but all I can think about is you.”
Her heart thrilled at his words. “Maybe that’s my plan. Distract you while we steal the town back from you.”
The corner of his lips quirked. “What a way to lose money.” He ran his fingertip down the line of her spine, making her shiver. “You want a drink?”
“No.”
“A shower?”
“In a bit. I don’t think I can walk right now. There are no nerve endings left in my legs.”
Josh laughed, running his soft lips over her brow. How easy life would be if they could always stay here. Not think about work or family or fighting over this town. He was holding her again, his thick biceps pressed against her upper arms, and she couldn’t remember the last time she felt this good.
Or this safe.
Which was wrong, because she wasn’t safe. And wasn’t that confusing? Her body was saying one thing, and her heart the other.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll never walk again. I’m too old to go three times in one night.”
“You didn’t feel old to me.” She kissed his chest, and he stirred beneath her. “Feels like part of you wants to go again.”
He winced. “Ignore it. It’s like one of those ghost limbs. You think you can feel it, but it’s really not there.”
Holly laughed, and the movement made him even harder against her. “It’s definitely there.”
“Let’s talk about something else. See if we can get him to go away.” Josh lifted her chin so he could kiss her. She sighed against his lips, kissing him back, feeling her body slowly coming back to life.
“How about I ask you that question again?” Holly suggested, a sparkle in her eye. Maybe she’d finally get an answer.
“Okay. Shoot.”
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, eyeing him carefully. “What’s the thing you keep in your pocket that you don’t want me to know about?”
Josh grinned. “I thought we were ignoring him?”
Holly narrowed her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“It’s stupid.” He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “But you can look if you want. It’s in my pants pocket. Right side.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Go on.” He nodded, watching with interest as she clambered naked over him, and reached for the pants she’d stripped off of him earlier. Sure enough, there was a lump in the pocket. She reached in, her fingers touching a smooth, cool surface.
“A pebble?” She frowned, lifting it out and inspecting it. It was about an inch and a half long, made of smooth, white stone.
“Turn it over.”
She glanced at him and then back at her hand, turning it in her palm. On the other side she could see paint, faded to almost nothingness. She pulled it closer, her brows knitting as she tried to work out what it was.
“It’s a butterfly,” Josh said softly. “Or at least it was when I got it.”
She tipped her hand, looking closer at it. Sure enough, the outline looked like it had wings, though they were very worn away. “When did you get it?”
“I found it in London, a few days after I arrived there.”
“A few days after you left here?”
He nodded. Her heart felt funny. Like it was trying to knock its way out of her chest. “Why did you get it?”
“Why do you think?” He was looking at her carefully. Like he was almost afraid of her reaction.
“I don’t know what to think,” she admitted. “When you left, I assumed you forgot all about me.”
“When I left, you were all I could think about. Then one morning on my way to work I walked past a pile of stones. They were all painted with different designs. In front of them was a sign saying to help yourself. So I picked the butterfly.”
“But why did you keep it?”
“I don’t know. I liked the way it felt in my hand, I guess. And the butterfly was pretty when you could actually see it. The years have worn it away.”
Holly rubbed her thumb over the surface of the pebble. It was smooth and cool. “If you thought about me when you left for London, why didn’t you contact me?” For that first year she’d practically lived by her phone. Checked her social networks constantly for a friend request that never came.
“I wish I had. At first I thought I could forget about you, but that was easier said than done. Then when I got back to Cincinnati the following year, I decided to go for it. Call you and see if you’d meet me.”
“But you didn’t call?” She turned on her side, her brow furrowed.
“No. I saw your engagement announcement online.” A regretful smile flitted across his face. “And realized I was too late.”
She closed her eyes, squeezing them tight. “Would you have come to me if you hadn’t seen the announcement?”
“I would’ve at least contacted you. But
I figured you’d moved on. And that was a good thing, because I truly believe I would have made you unhappy. Workaholics have that tendency.”
“I didn’t get married,” she reminded him.
“I know that now. But I didn’t then. I forced myself to stop looking online about you. It didn’t help.”
“I was angry at you for not contacting me when you said you would.”
He slowly nodded. “I get that.”
“And when my mom introduced me to her step-nephew, and he made it clear he was attracted to me, I guess I thought maybe it was my chance to move on.”
“Holly, I didn’t expect you to wait for me. I only have myself to blame for all this. Everything that happened is old history. We’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
But for how long? She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of the reply. Because this time they had together was strictly limited. In a few weeks, the deal would be complete and he’d walk away from Winterville – and from her. Again.
And she wouldn’t pine over him. Not this time. For the simple fact that he’d have taken away her family’s home. When it was just the two of them in here it was easy to forget that.
Only one of them could win. Which would mean neither of them winning in the end. That made her heart hurt. Because she’d never felt like this before about a man. Not even the one she was supposed to marry.
“Are you okay?” Josh asked her.
Holly nodded. “Yeah. Just taking a trip down the ‘what if’ highway.”
He smiled gently. “That’s a crap highway to take. Goes nowhere.” He reached for her hand, taking the pebble from it and putting it carefully on his bedside table, before he pulled her against him. “We should get some sleep. It’s some crazy hour in the morning.”
“That’s because you insist on using my body for your pleasure.” She smiled against his chest.
He kissed the top of her head. “All the more reason to sleep while you can.” He pulled the covers over them, tucking her against him. The warmth of his embrace felt like a balm to her soul.
“Good night, Josh,” she murmured, her eyelids heavy. She nestled into the crook of his arms.
“Sweet dreams,” he said, as she felt her muscles loosen and her eyes close. Her breathing slowed and regulated as he gently stroked her hair.
Through the thick haze of her sleepiness, she thought she heard him speaking, but it sounded so far away.
“What if I fell for you?” It was just a murmur. “Could it ever work out?”
She wanted to say yes, but sleep stole her words away.
17
Holly had the worst case of morning-after breath. Josh was thankfully still asleep, with one hand behind his head, the other down at his side. The sheets were tangled around his waist, revealing his perfectly sculpted chest, the early morning sun making his skin look warm and inviting.
He was breathtaking, but he definitely didn’t need to be anywhere near her breath right now. Tiptoeing to the bathroom, she brushed her teeth thoroughly before pulling on his t-shirt and padding toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
Josh’s makeshift office was set up in the corner. His laptop was closed, his papers neatly collected in a pile.
Unlike him, she’d always been a messy worker. The only order she had in her life were numbers. If he laid his eyes on her office, he’d probably have a fit.
Before she could reach for a glass, the silence of the room was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. Not wanting it to wake him up – because, let’s face it, he was way too pretty when he was asleep – she reached for his phone and pressed the end call button.
Except her finger slid, and she accepted the call.
Dammit!
“Joshua?” a female voice asked.
Holly blinked as the screen flickered to life. It was a video call? Double damn. An older woman appeared on the screen, her face perfectly made up, her silver-blonde hair beautifully styled around her broad brow.
“Sweetie, are you there? I can only see the ceiling.”
Holly froze. What the hell should she do? End the call and wake Josh up? She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to imagine that conversation.
“Honey? Can you hear me?” Then a mutter, “Maybe I’m not doing this right.”
Exhaling heavily, Holly pulled the phone toward her, simultaneously smoothing down her hair with her other hand.
“Um, hey. Josh isn’t available at the moment. Can I take a message?”
The woman didn’t bat a lash. “I’m Josh’s grandma. You’re new. And I see you’re wearing his t-shirt.”
He could hear talking. And laughter. Josh rolled over on the bed, frowning when he saw Holly wasn’t there. But it was definitely her voice he could hear. Maybe she was on the phone with one of her cousins. He grabbed his shorts and looked around for his t-shirt, wondering where the hell he’d thrown it last night.
Ah well. He’d find it later. Right now he needed a glass of water.
The voices got louder as he walked down the hallway to the kitchen. Holly laughed again, and it made him smile. Damn, he was an idiot for that woman.
“Every woman should have her own bank account,” Holly was saying. “And her own credit card. You should get one today. Seriously. Not because you have anything to hide, but because you’re a strong, independent woman.”
“I’m too old to change my ways.”
“You don’t look a day over fifty.”
His grandma laughed. Wait! His grandma? With a sense of foreboding, Josh pushed open the door to the living area.
Holly was leaning on the breakfast bar, his t-shirt barely covering her sweet behind. She was holding his phone, grinning into the screen, her face propped up on her palm.
“I knew I liked you,” his grandma said.
“If you like me, get a bank account,” Holly replied to her. “You can do it over the internet. I’ll send you some links.”
Josh cleared his throat. “Good morning.”
Holly looked over at him, her eyes wide.
“Is that you, Joshua?” his grandma asked.
He frowned at Holly. “Um, yeah, Grandma, it’s me.”
Holly lifted an eyebrow at the screen. “I won’t put him on the screen, he’s practically naked.”
Jesus Christ.
His grandma laughed. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Holly held his phone and walked toward him, a grin on her face. Thank god the screen was facing her and not him.
“I wouldn’t be practically naked if somebody hadn’t stolen my t-shirt,” he pointed out.
Holly was close enough for him to grab the hem of his t-shirt. He folded it in his fist, giving it a yank.
“Actually, he does want to talk to you,” Holly said, turning the phone around and shoving it toward him. “There he is.”
“Oh! He really is naked.”
“I’m wearing shorts,” he reassured his grandma, taking the phone from Holly’s hand as he shot her a dark glare.
Holly smiled wickedly, grabbing the t-shirt and pulling it over her head. “There you go, Josh. You can have it back now.”
She was standing naked in front of him. Her long dark waves tumbled wildly over her shoulders, the tips grazing the swell of her breasts. Her nipples were hard and dark, her skin almost glowing beneath the kitchen lamp.
She’d never looked more beautiful. He swallowed hard, his fingers curling around the t-shirt.
“Grandma, I have to go.” His eyes stayed on Holly’s. Her lips were parted, tiny breaths escaping from them.
“You can’t. I called you to talk about when you’re coming back.”
“I’m going to get dressed,” Holly mouthed. She brushed past him, and he turned the phone just in time so his grandma couldn’t see the naked woman walking through his kitchen.
He was a gentleman, dammit. Even if Holly was trying to lure him over to the dark side.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back yet.” He watched a
s she walked through the door, her plump behind swaying. His mouth felt so dry he could light matches with it.
“Will it be before Christmas, do you think?”
“I have no idea.” Right now he couldn’t think past the next few minutes.
“Is Holly still there?”
He slowly brought his eyes back to the phone. “No, she’s gone to another room.” His bedroom. With his bed. Where she was probably laying naked right now.
“I like her, Joshua. I like her a lot. You should ask her to marry you.”
Dear God, give him strength. “Grandma, I have to go.”
“Of course you do, sweetie. Call me back later when your other brain is working.”
He rolled his eyes and ended the call, stalking back to the bedroom, his t-shirt coiled in his hand like a weapon.
He was annoyed. And turned on. Not to mention ready to show Holly exactly who was boss.
From the way she smiled sexily up at him from his bed when he exploded into the bedroom, she was ready to find out, too.
“How did you end up talking to my grandma anyway?” Josh rubbed a towel over his hair as he walked into the kitchen. He was late for his first meeting of the day, but right now he didn’t care.
Holly was making coffee. Which wasn’t difficult, since it involved loading capsules into the machine and pressing a button. But he still liked watching her do it. Like they were a normal couple, getting ready for the day together.
Holly grabbed a cup and slid it beneath the spout. “I thought I should talk to her and ask her when she’d be available for our wedding,” she said, her voice giving nothing away. “Since we’ve had sex and all.” She tipped her head to the side, her gaze catching his. “You are going to make an honest woman of me, aren’t you?”
“I don’t think anybody could do that.”
“Yeah, well I was hoping for some kind of heirloom engagement ring or something. I figure your grandma was the one to hit up.”
He leaned on the counter, taking the cup she passed him. “How did you really end up talking to her?”
“Your phone rang and I thought I’d rejected the call, but I accepted it by mistake. I kind of panicked.” She wrinkled her nose. “Sorry.”
