Heat of Passion(23)

“Come on, Holly, don’t be mad,” came his low voice from the doorway. “I was only trying to help.”

“By hanging up on my sister? That was unbelievably selfish of you.” She turned to face him, glad he’d put on his jeans so she couldn’t get distracted by his gorgeous body.

“I’m not happy with you right now, Carson. And…” She took a breath. “I want you to leave.”

His blue eyes darkened. “You don’t mean that.”

“Yeah, I do.” She clenched her jaw. “Isn’t that what you wanted? Me being honest with the people in my life? Well, I’m being honest. I’m too pissed off to have this fight right now, so I want you to leave.”

His sexy mouth tightened in a thin line. “Fine. You want me to go, I’ll go.” He turned then shot her a glance over his shoulder. “But this isn’t over, Holly. Maybe I stepped over a line tonight, but I did it for you. You spend so much time worrying about your family that you never have enough time for yourself. I just wanted you to have one night that’s only about you, not them. Because I care about you, and I want…” He let out a slow breath. “I want to be with you, and I know you want to be with me.” Her heart ached as a sad expression filled his face. “And, baby, we’d both be a lot better off if you’d just admit it.” With that, he slid out the door.

58







Chapter Five


Okay, so she was an idiot. It only took Holly twenty-four hours to figure it out, though a part of her had known all along she was being foolish by keeping Carson at arm’s length. Ever since the night she’d met him at the Hot Zone, she’d felt more alive, more free, than she had in years. Instead of holding on to that feeling, she’d sent Carson away, and now she felt more trapped than ever.#p#分页标题#e#

Then again, was it possible to feel anything other than trapped when she was having dinner with her family?

“Pass the mashed potatoes,” Todd said through a mouthful of sesame chicken Holly had prepared.

She obediently passed him the bowl of potatoes, then glanced around the table at the rest of them. Her father’s dark head was bent as he cut his chicken, her brother Kyle was slathering butter on the rolls Holly had spent the past two hours baking, and Caroline was pushing peas around her plate with her fork, looking distracted.

And had any of them commented on her dinner? Nope. Even though Caroline had called her at the last minute, Holly had run around her kitchen, cooking, packing up everything in Tupperware so she could bring it over to her dad’s house for this unexpected dinner Caroline had planned. Instead of working on the recipes she was creating for her midterms, she’d slaved to make this stupid meal, and none of them had even thanked her for it.

It only made her realize that Carson had been absolutely right when he’d told her they took advantage of her. She’d always known it, but hearing someone else say it had forced her to really look at the situation. And she didn’t like what she saw. Ever since her mom died, she’d done everything for her family. When was the last time any of them had thanked her for it?



Elle Kennedy

“I have my last exam tomorrow,” Todd spoke up, taking a sip of water. “Hol, do you think you could come over to my dorm after dinner tonight and quiz me?” Her lips automatically formed the word yes but she quickly snapped her mouth closed. No. No. So what if it was Todd’s final exam? She had her evaluation next week, and if she wanted to impress her teacher, she needed to come up with a recipe that would knock the man’s socks off. Wasn’t that more important?

If Carson were here, she knew he’d say yes, it was more important, and a sudden flare of determination lit up inside her.

“I can’t,” she told her brother. “I have my own exam to prepare for.” Todd looked startled. “You can’t? But it’ll only take a few hours. Please, Holly?” She was about to firmly reject him again, when her older sister suddenly slammed her hand down on the table, causing the silverware to jingle loudly. Everyone turned to Caroline in surprise, even their dad, who hadn’t said a word during the entire meal.

“Quit bothering Holly,” Caroline said to Todd, her green eyes flashing with anger.

“She said no.”

Todd swallowed. “I wasn’t—”

“You were being an asshole, expecting her to drop everything to help you study for an exam that for weeks you should have been reviewing for,” Caroline snapped. Her cheeks flushed. “Actually, we were all being assholes to Holly. Even you, Daddy.” Their father frowned.