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“It’s seven thirty.” I laugh at her.
“Too early to be up. We sleep in on Sundays, remember?” she asks as she burrows deeper into my covers.
Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I unplug it from the charger and swipe at the screen. I see Holden’s name, and my heart rate spikes.
Holden: Good morning, sweet pea. Can I see you today?
Me: Lots of laundry and notes to review for finals next week.
Holden: I can help you study.
Me: You really think I’ll get any studying done?
Holden: Parker Monroe! Get your mind out of the gutter.
Me: You know what I mean.
Holden: Dinner?
Me: Let’s see how the day goes.
Holden: That’s not a no.
I smile. This conversation sounds very familiar. I can imagine him smiling too. He’s too charming for his own good. The worst part is I don’t think he even tries to be. That’s just who he is.
Me: That’s not a no.
“That’s him, isn’t it? That’s Holden?” Autumn asks. She’s now sitting up with her back leaning against the headboard.
“Yeah, it’s Holden.”
“Tell me everything.” Autumn squeals, suddenly very awake.
“We had a good day. He took me to Momma’s Grill for breakfast, and we looked at three different houses. We had dinner, and he took me back to my car.”
“Nope. Not good enough. I want details, Parker. Spill.”
“Really, there’s not much to tell. I mean, the real estate agent was blatantly flirting with him even though he introduced me as his girl, and his hand was on the small of my back. He pretty much told her off and told her I was to be treated with respect.”
“Damn. It sounds like Bailey has a little alpha in him,” she teases.
“It was sweet, really. We’re not together. We’re not dating or anything. We agreed to take whatever this is one day at a time. This is slow, but he still stood up for me.”
“You think he’s just trying to impress you?”
Our conversation in the hallway of the first house flashes through my mind. “No. I really don’t think so. I pointed out that he’s been recorded during several red carpet events with a woman on his arm and the reporter openly flirting, and he never seemed to mind.”
“And what did he say?” she prompts.
“He said that yesterday was the first time it ever bothered him.”
Autumn squeals and does a weird shimmy dance. “I told you!” She points a manicured finger at me. “I told you that he was into you. You’re going for it, right? You’re going to see where this goes?”
“We’re taking it slow.”
“To hell with slow.” She waves her hand in the air, making me laugh. “What did he want?”
“He said good morning and wanted to know what I was getting into today. I told him I had to do laundry and study.”
“And what was his reply?”
I try really hard not to smile, but I can’t seem to stop it. “He offered to help me study.”
“Holden Bailey offering to help his girl study.” She places her hand over her heart dramatically.
“Stop.” I shake my head at her theatrics.
“For real, though, you said yes, right?”
“No. I told him I didn’t think it was a good idea, and he asked about dinner. I told him I’d think about it.”
“Text him back and give him our address. Tell him you thought about it and you’d love the help and dinner. I’ll go hang out with Bridgette or go see my parents. You can have the place to yourselves.” She wags her eyebrows.
“We don’t need the place to ourselves, and I’m not sure I want him to know where we live.”
“He’s not a stalker, Parker.”
“I know, but he already knows about my escape to Cup of Joe. This is the only other place I can hide from him.”
“Why do you want to hide from him?”
“Because he makes me want… more. So much more.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“That’s just it. I’m starting to think you might be right. But I don’t know. I wanted to go slow, get to know him, and form my own opinion.”
“You can still do that. Hiding from him isn’t going to make that happen. You can still have him come help you study and eat dinner together. That’s not jumping into bed with him. Take things slow in that aspect, but you have to open yourself up to him if you expect the same in return.”
“I know you’re right.”
She picks my phone up off the bed and hands it to me. “Call him. I’m going to grab a shower and go hang out with my parents. Besides, Mom always sends me home with leftovers and yummy snacks.” Her laughter follows her out of my room.
Sitting on my bed, I stare down at my phone as if it has all the answers. Autumn is right. I can’t expect him to let me see who he really is and hold back on him. I like him. I like spending time with him, and I already know falling for him through all of this is inevitable. He admitted that it’s more to him, and I pretty much did too. I didn’t tell Autumn that. Not because I didn’t want her to know, but those thoughts that we openly shared with one another felt intimate.
