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"O Negative!" Eli yelled. "West?"
West shrugged. "Sorry, Holly. He's right."
She groaned. "Son of a bitch."
"Yep, I win. And you know what that means."
"What does it mean, exactly?" West asked.
"Nothing," she snapped. "It means nothing."
West placed the card back inside the box. "And on that note, I'm out of here."
Holly huffed out a breath and stood. "No, you stay. I'm going to feed Miss. Meet me outside in five minutes, Donnelley."
She glared at him and flounced from the room.
"What's going on?" West asked. "That was..."
"Dramatic."
"Yeah, very."
"She's majorly low on funds," Eli told him. "I wanted to help her out, and she refused. So I told her we could bet on it. If I won, I would pay for her new things. You know how stubborn and independent she is. She'd rather go without than take a handout from me. I didn't know any other way I could make it happen."
"What if you had lost?"
"Please. I wasn't losing. I even let her have theHappy Daysquestion. I knew the catchphrase."
"Me and Penn were going to help her get back on her feet, but she refused us," West said. "I have to admit, your way was pretty smart."
"I better get out there before she does," Eli told him, getting to his feet.
"Good luck today," West said, snickering. "I have a feeling you are really gonna need it."
* * *
Eli pulled into yet another discount department store parking lot and groaned. "Are you picking these places on purpose? I'll take you wherever you want to go, Holly. You don't have to pick the cheapest stores on earth."
"Believe it or not, I shop at these stores, Eli. Like I said before, not everyone has millions in the bank."
"I understand that. But I'm offering you the chance to shop wherever you want. Money isn't an object." He paused. "And frankly, this violates the rules of the bet. You weren't supposed to complain. You were supposed to get what you needed."
She crossed her arms and gave him a withering glare. "I haven't complained one bit! We've been to three stores, and I've bought essential items. Hairbrushes, dental floss, mouthwash, socks, makeup remover, and more. I let you pay; I didn't say one word."
"I don’t think I’ve spent a hundred dollars," he argued. "Come on, can we please do this right?”
"Don't you get that this is difficult for me? Yes, you won the bet. But don't you care that I'm having a hard time? I'm not used to people taking care of me. I don't like relying on anyone. And now, I have to rely on you, of all people.”
"All I'm trying to do is help you. And after the shit you've been through, I hoped you'd have some fun with this. Iwantyou to have fun."
Holly bit down on her lip and stared out of the passenger window of the SUV. "I don't mean to be difficult. What you're doing is incredibly generous. It's not your fault I'm struggling with it. It takes a lot for me to trust people. And that goes double for you. Especially with whatever we have going on between us right now."
He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I know I have a long way to go to earn it, but I wish you would try to trust me."
"Look, I can't deny that you’ve stepped up for me as much as Penn has, and despite everything, I appreciate it." She glanced down at her hands. "My father is a wealthy man. Not your level of wealth, but he's got money. I watched my mother take advantage of that while I was growing up. She never learned how to do anything for herself because she relied totally on my father. When they split up, she started going from man to man, because she needed somebody to take care of her. She became whatever they wanted to get what she needed."
Holly ran her hands down over her face. "I love my mother dearly, but I never want to be like her. I made up my mind early on that I was going to be independent and take care of myself. So yes, it's hard for me to rely on a man for anything. It's always been hard for me to lean on people in general, but especially men."
