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He turned, his eyes blinking a few times in disbelief before he closed the distance between us.
“Easy.”
He stopped a fraction of an inch before he reached me, careful not to touch.
“I thought you needed—”
“I should have called first.” He glanced at his dirty clothes. “Shit. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
I touched his cheek. “I’m glad you’re here. And for the record, I don’t want your damn space.”
“I don’t want it, either.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “Do you have a minute? Is there somewhere we could go?”
I grabbed his hand and led him out of the elevator lobby to the stairwell. “Nobody uses these,” I said with a tease.
The second the door clicked behind us, I launched myself at him. He caught me, folding me in his arms. Holt buried his nose in my hair and held me like he’d never have the chance to again.
This was the first peace I’d had since I stomped away from him last night. He smelled like motor oil and Holt. The lethal combination I couldn’t resist.
“Damn it.” He tried to disentangle from me, but I held fast. “I’m getting you all dirty.”
“I don’t care.”
“You look so pretty today. I like this dress.”
“I wore it for you,” I confessed. When I’d slipped on the Kelly green A-line, I’d hoped he’d see it and forget how I shut down on him. “But you weren’t there this morning.”
“I’m sorry.” He rested his forehead against mine. “There are things I’m not ready to talk about. And I shouldn’t have pushed you, either.”
“I don’t like you hurting over your sister. I only want to help.”
“I know.” He nuzzled my nose. “My mother was waiting for me when I got to the shop yesterday. She wants me to have dinner with her. To talk.”
I gripped his face in my hands and pulled so I could look at him. I searched his eyes, and he nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me? What did you say?”
I had no idea what had transpired with his mom all those years ago, only that she’d left shortly after Holt was born. Somewhere along the way, I’d gathered she didn’t have anything to do with any of the Dixons.
“She gave me her number. Told me to think about it.” His fingers dug into my back. “I threw it away when she left.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.” He glanced away from me. “And I really don’t want to talk about it.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
It was his turn to look surprised. “Okay?”
“Yeah. And I’m sorry about last night. What I said. The way I reacted.”
He placed a finger over my lips. “No need. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
I gave him a wobbly smile. “Are you coming home?”
He smoothed my cheek with his thumb. “Yeah, Easy. I’m coming home.” He flashed me a cocky grin. “And we’re having a roommate night tonight.”
“Is that so?” I teased.
“Yep.”
