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Rolling my eyes, I get up to open the door for him. “Hey.”
He steps back to avoid getting hit with the door. “Do you know what I just realized?” he says, hands shoved deep in his jeans pockets. He’s in a dark gray, long-sleeve tee with the sleeves pushed up, his toned forearms on full display. He looks…okay, I guess.
“What did you just realize?”
“I’ve punched exactly two people in my entire life, and both of them were for you.”
“Forme?”
“Aboutyou,” he corrects.
Is that why he’s here? For an apology? “Well, you should probably stop doing that, Holden.”
“Maybe.” He shrugs, his eyes taking me in. “Did Mags take you to visit my grandma?”
I stand to full height. “No, why?”
“I thought you may have raided her closet because I swear, she has that exact same nightgown.”
“Shut up,” I laugh out, looking down at my clothes. I’m in a light blue nightgown with tiny teapot prints. It covers the length of my arms and drops down to my ankles. Itisa grandma nightgown and the absolute least sexy thing he could see me in, but it’s also insanely comfortable. “I’ve packed all my clothes already.”
“Right.” He nods once. “So you were just going to burn that before—”
“Who are you? The fashion police?”
He smiles, jerking his head to the side. “Let’s go.”
I look down at my clothes. “Um…”
“We’re not going far. And besides, I’ve already seen it. And no matter how hard I try, I can’tunseeit now.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a delight to be around?”
He nods. “Yep. Granny Eastwood tells me all the time.” He reaches into the RV and collects my flip-flops from just inside the door, then grabs my ankles to slip them on. I’d be lying if I said I felt nothing when he touches me, especially when he’s gentle like this. Comforting. Maybe that’s what Holden will forever be in my mind—a comforting memory of what I once had. When he’s done, he says, “Let’s go, Gladys.”
Once I’m on the ground with the RV closed behind me, I ask, “Where are we going?”
“Coming from a man who’s waited five years for you to show up, I have every right to say that you areincrediblyimpatient.” He leads me away.
“So many digs,” I murmur, walking beside him.
“Well, I do work with soil daily, so…” He eyes me sideways, a slight smile tugging on his lips. “I’m quite experienced with digging.”
“That’s…” I shake my head. “No.”
“You’re so hard to please,” he mumbles.
“Funny,” I retort. “Youdon’t seem to have a problem with pleasing me.” My entire face flushes the moment the words are out of my mouth, and Holden—he trips over his own feet, then quickly rights himself. He doesn’t say a word as we move through the barn, stopping just before the greenhouse. When he turns to me, I look away, embarrassed. It’s one thing to be thinking about Holden in that aspect, but to say it out loud… I feel like I’m seventeen again, trying to deny my feelings even though they’re already laid out for the world to see.
And there’s nothing wrong with having those feelings, even sharing them with him… it’s just—we both know we can’t act on it.
“You never asked me,” he says, and my eyes narrow in confusion.
“Asked you what?”
He takes a few steps to a panel on the wall with multiple switches. The first one he flicks dims the lights in the greenhouse, making it barely visible. The next sets off colored lights from the floor, illuminating the space in blended hues. But it’s the last switch that has me gasping—has my heart racing, my smile spreading, and my eyes widening like a kid on Christmas morning. Mists of water spray through the air, splitting the lights into tiny shards of color.
A giggle forms in my chest, and I don’t bother hiding it.
