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"What's wrong?
"It's Lyla. She's on my ass about getting pictures from the 'celebration she knows is happening tonight.' Yeah, that's not going to happen."
Penn rolled her eyes. "When is she going to understand that your private Kingsnakes life is different from your public one?"
"Never." Holly stared down at the next text that popped up. "Listen to this:"
Holly, I want to see all the notes for your feature, and any preliminary drafts. And I want them ASAP. This article is important for the blog, and I want to know what's going on with it at all times.
"Eww," Penn muttered. "She's such a micro manager."
"She can twist in the wind. I'm not giving her anything tonight."
The young bartender flashed Holly a smile and slid a bottle of beer over to her. "Here you go. Enjoy!"
Holly returned her smile. "Thanks... Mia," she said, peering at the woman's name tag.
Mia hustled over to the next customer, a big smile on her face as she took their order.
"I bet she's going to make great tips tonight," Penn said, taking another sip of her piña colada. "The waitresses, too."
"Likely."
Her phone buzzed again, and she groaned. "If this is Lyla, I'm going outside to toss this thing into that singing water fountain."
Penn snickered. "Don't be so mean to your phone, Hol. It doesn't deserve that kind of treatment. Hey, West is waving to me from the pool table. I'll see you later."
"Have fun," she murmured, staring down at the text.
Eli:Kitten, where the hell are you? This place is buzzing, and I need to see you. Meet me upstairs. I'm waiting.
Holly couldn't hide her smile as she tapped out her response.
Holly:Upstairs? It's roped off, just like it was for Hannah's party. Don't think we're supposed to go up there.
Eli:Pffft. Didn't stop us before.
Holly took a long swig from her beer bottle, then left a tip for the bartender before heading toward the staircase at the back of the bar.
She unhooked the velvet rope then carefully fastened it behind her. When she got to the second floor, she stopped near the top of the stairs and peered around the dimly lit room.
"Hey, beautiful girl."
Holly glanced to her right and saw Eli standing next to one of the booths, wearing a smile.
Her emotions got the better of her, and she launched herself at him, wrapping him in a huge hug. He chuckled softly, pulling her tightly against his body.
"It's so good to see you, kitten. I missed you after the game."
"I'm so freaking proud of you," she whispered, burying her face in his chest. Her eyes teared up, and she really didn't want him to see her get all weepy. "You don't know how much."
He gently pulled away and tipped her face up to meet his gaze. "You are?"
"Of course. Very proud. You've worked so hard to get here, and you played amazing tonight before you ever even scored that goal. I'm so glad you get the chance to play for the Cup."
"Thank you. That means everything to me." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then laughed. "Wow. I'm buzzing pretty good right now."
Holly smiled up at him. "Already?"
