Holly waited a moment. “Why did I what?” she asked finally.
Alex shook his head. “It’s not important.” Without realizing it, he’d started to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. Now he let her hand go as casually as he could. He knew from experience that even when he was touching her to offer comfort, his libido could get carried away.
“Okay, now I’m curious. What were you going to say?”
He shrugged. “It’s just…talking about Brian made me wonder…”
“Wonder what?”
“The same thing I’ve wondered ever since high school,” he admitted. “Why you ever went out with the guy. But you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
She shook her head at him, but she was smiling. “You always told me what a jerk he was.”
“Yeah, and a lot of good that did. So what was the attraction?”
She sighed. “I only figured it out after things were over between us. After my parents kicked me out and I was on my own. Dating Brian was really more about them than me. I’d always worked so hard for their love, their acceptance, and Brian was exactly the kind of boyfriend they always wanted me to have. All form and no substance, just like them.” She spoke a little bitterly, and Alex wished he’d kept his mouth shut.
“Hey, you don’t—”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind you knowing what an idiot I was—especially since you knew already. You told me the truth about Brian from the beginning, and I never listened. All I did was hate you for it.”
His heart contracted. “Holly, I—”
“It’s okay,” she said again, with a crooked smile. “I don’t hate you anymore.”
He couldn’t find anything to say to that.
“By the way,” she was saying now, “I found out something else when I was doing the forms. My insurance policy covers living expenses in the event of a loss. So Will and I could be out of here in a few days if…”
“You want to leave?” He was surprised at how much he hated the idea, even though he’d been thinking just a few hours ago about getting his sanity back once Holly and Will were gone.
She bit her lip. “It’s not that I want to leave. You’ve been so great to Will and me…but we have to be cramping your style a little.”
“What style? I don’t have a style. You’re not cramping anything. And why would you want to stay in a hotel or an apartment? You’ve got a whole house here.”
“Your house,” she reminded him. “And we are cramping your style, or at least your social life. You had a call from someone today. Just before you got home, actually.”
Damn. “Who was it?”
“She said her name was Amber. I let the machine pick up, so you can listen to the message yourself.” Her cheeks turned pink. “I had the impression she wanted to come see you. For an, um, overnight.”
He leaned across the table for emphasis. “Listen to me, Holly. I’m not seeing anyone right now, and I don’t plan to see anyone in the near future. Amber and I broke up more than a year ago. Maybe she was looking for a hookup, but I’m not. Okay? You and Will aren’t cramping my style. And I’d like you to stay here.” He pulled back a little. “If you want to, that is.”
“I want to,” she said. “I mean…if you’re sure….”
Relief flooded through him. “I’m sure.”
A smile spread across her face. “Okay, then, we’ll stay. Until you get tired of us, that is.”
Until he got tired of them? Holly and Will had been here two days, and already he could hardly imagine the house without them.
And Holly even looked beautiful under fluorescent kitchen lights.
She covered a yawn with her hand and rose to her feet. “It’s getting late—I guess I should say good-night.”
She went upstairs to her room and his mind flashed to the memory he’d tried to repress all day—the image of her lying in bed, drenched in moonlight, murmuring his name in her sleep.
He waited until he heard her bedroom door close before he went upstairs himself.
He could tell that the hallway and bathroom had been part of her cleaning spree, but when he opened the door to his bedroom, it was obvious she hadn’t been in there. It felt a little depressing, stale and dusty and unloved.
The way his whole house would feel once she left.
It was a cool October evening, perfect football weather, and Holly sat in the stands next to Tom Washington’s parents. She’d thought about Alex a fair amount last night and during work today, but for the last hour and a half she hadn’t thought about him at all, even though he was right below her, clearly visible on the sidelines.