AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He turned up the music as he made his way through the storm, crossing his fingers that the wailing guitars would distract him from all of the things going on with his mother.
Hopefully, he wouldn't get another call tonight about the same thing, but he never knew what would happen from one minute to the next.
She was fine for now, and that would have to be enough.
2
"I've got to stop thinking about it." Holly flopped down on her bed and covered her face with her hands. "Right now. No more thinking."
She'd had a bowl of cereal for dinner, taken a shower, and watched a few shows on Netflix, but she still couldn't get Eli out of her head.
When he'd shown up at the hotel with all of those thoughtful, nostalgic gifts, she'd been stunned. The sincerity of his apology was an amazing start toward making things right between them after all these years.
But the sex?
Holy freaking hell. It had been the hottest, most intensely emotional sex of her life.
Not that she was surprised. He'd been the only guy to ever own her heart.
And now, he claimed to want her and no one else.
She closed her eyes and let out a sigh. It was exactly what she'd always wanted to hear, but she hadn't been at all prepared to hear it.
Miss, her calico kitty, jumped up on the bed and began taking a bath.
"I've got to be professional for the next thirty days, Miss. I can't think about what happened... or about how much I want to be with him again."
Miss glanced over at her with wide, vivid green eyes, then went back to licking her paw.
"I'm just going to put him out of my mind right now."
It wouldn't be easy. Her heart whispered that she couldn't fully trust him, while the rest of her wanted to rip his pants off.
"Nope. His pants have to stay zipped the entire time. Right, Miss?"
The calico glanced up at her again and let out a tiny meow.
She couldn’t help but laugh. "Exactly. Are you ready for your evening snack? It's late, and we should get to bed."
Holly stood, and Miss jumped down from the bed, weaving in and out between her legs.
"I guess that's a yes." She smiled down at the cat. "Come on. I could use a snack, too."
* * *
"What the hell?"
Holly struggled to sit up, rubbing her eyes as she came awake in the dark room. The scent of smoke hung heavily in the air as she scrambled from the bed.
She hurried into the kitchen and peered around. Had she left a burner on? She checked the knobs on the stove. Nothing was out of place. But when she walked out into the living room, the smell of smoke assaulted her, and her eyes began to water.
Something was very wrong.
Throwing open the front door, she peered to the right and gasped. Flames shot from the window of the unit next to hers and licked along the balcony rail.
"Holy fucking shit!"
Her neighbor, a bald guy in his forties, ran out of the apartment.
