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I could tell from her voice that she was more teasing than upset. But regardless, she’d caught me off guard, and my reaction was to jump out of Hollis’s lap. Unfortunately, my attempt at standing failed, and I wound up flat on my ass on the living room floor.
Hollis chuckled and extended his hand. “Smooth.”
“Shut up.” I rubbed my ass as I got up. “That was your fault. I tried to give you a nice peck on the lips. But noooo…that wasn’t enough. You had to be greedy.”
“I can’t help it when I’m around you. I am greedy. I want your body in my hands at all times.” He stood and kissed my forehead. “Sit. I got you that wine you like. I’ll get you a glass, and you can tell me all the horrible things my business partner told you about me, so I can deny them.”
Hollis came back with two wine glasses and sat down next to me on the couch. He set his glass on the coffee table, scooped up my feet, and started to take off my sandals.
“So how did it go?”
“It went great. I really love her.”
“Good. I’m glad. Because while she’s a giant pain in my ass, she’s a good person and my best friend. But don’t tell her I said that.”
I sipped my wine. “I won’t. But I’m pretty sure she adores you as much as you adore her. Though both of you seem to like to pretend you get on each other’s nerves. On the train here, I realized I never asked either of you how you two met.”
“We’ve known each other since college. She was Anna’s macroeconomics TA. They became friends.”
“Oh, wow. It didn’t sound like they were friends anymore.”
Hollis tossed my shoes on the floor and began to massage my feet. “They definitely aren’t. Anna met her first, and the three of us became friends. Addison was a year ahead of us, but she and I had the same major, so the three of us would often study together. After we graduated, we went to work at competing firms. When I decided I wanted to go out on my own, I suggested we do it together.” He shrugged. “When shit went down with Anna, she might’ve been as pissed off as I was. The two of them may have been friends first, but if things hadn’t gone wrong with Anna, there’s no doubt whose side of the church Addy would’ve been sitting on.”
“I like that your best friend is a woman.”
Hollis dug his thumb into the arch of my foot, and I felt my entire body relax. “Oh yeah? I like that your best friend isn’t a man. Pretty sure I’d hate you hanging around another man all the time.”
I laughed. “Are you saying you’d feel threatened?”
“Nope. I just prefer the only dick swinging around you to be mine.”
“I feel bad for Hailey when she starts dating. You’re a little on the protective side.”
Hollis’s fingers stopped moving. “Dating? We have a long time until that happens.”
“Not really. I was into boys by the time I was thirteen. Went to the movies alone with Frankie Hess at fifteen.”
“I don’t like Frankie Hess.”
I chuckled. “Well, Hailey’s Frankie Hess better hope someone besides her uncle answers the door when he comes to pick her up.”
“Someone else? I assume that means you, right?”
Things between Hollis and me were pretty much perfect, but I still liked to screw with him to keep it real. I shrugged. “Or whoever you’re dating by then. We are talking a few years down the road.”
I pretended not to notice the scowl on his face. “And where are you planning on being then?”
If I looked at him, I’d crack up. So instead I sipped my wine and reached to set the glass down on the coffee table next to his. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll look up Frankie and see what he’s doing these days.”
I was flat on my back with Hollis hovering over me faster than I could finish yelping. “I’m joking.” I laughed.
“Joking, huh? You’re in some mood. First you tell me Hailey’s going to be dating in the next two years and then you taunt me by talking about another man.”
I giggled. “Frankie was fifteen.”
He snuggled into my neck. “Don’t care. What’s mine is mine, and I don’t like to think of it belonging to anyone else, before or after me.”
“Neanderthal,” I teased. But the truth of the matter was, I loved hearing Hollis refer to me as his.
He pulled his head back and looked down at me. “If it makes me a caveman that I want to lock you up and fill your belly with my babies, then so be it. Where’s my club? I might use it to beat Frankie’s ass.”
My face softened, and I reached up and cupped Hollis’s cheek. “You want to have babies with me?”
