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When I looked up, Holden was staring at me so intensely that it felt like everything else in the room faded away. The two of us were in a narrow hallway where the magnetic pull toward him was extra strong. I had the strongest urge to lean in and take the flesh of his bottom lip between my teeth and tug. Hard.
Catching myself as I actually started to lean forward, I blinked some sense back into my head and sat up straight. “I, um, I really should get my presentation finished. Thank you for the help. I can take it from here.”
Holden forced a smile, but I saw sadness lurking in his eyes. “Sure. No problem. I’ll head out. Goodnight, Lala.”
***
The next morning, I packed everything I needed for my presentation into three boxes. Hundreds of individual pages had been summarized neatly into a dozen slides, but I liked to bring the source materials in case anyone had questions. When I put the top on the last box, I noticed something sticking out from under the couch, so I pulled it free.
Holden’s wallet.
Last night he’d been sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. I definitely needed to return it before I left, but I couldn’t help but be nosy and peek inside. Not surprisingly, I found two condoms and a few girls’ phone numbers scribbled on napkins, in addition to some credit cards, his license, and a couple of twenties. Just as I was about to close it, a leather crease inside puckered open, and I realized there was a hidden pocket behind one side. Since I’d already been a shitty friend and violated his privacy, I stuck my finger into the slot. The picture I pulled out made my heart hurt.
It was me, Ryan, and Holden on my high school graduation day. I remembered it like yesterday. Ryan had been diagnosed a few weeks before, but no one told me until the week after graduation. They hadn’t wanted to ruin my big day since I was class valedictorian.
Pulling the picture closer to examine it, I studied my brother’s face, looking for any signs he was sick. But there weren’t any visible ones yet. My eyes shifted to Holden. He looked just the way I remembered him back then, which wasn’t all that different from now—shaggy hair, crooked smile that made you think he was up to no good, and eyes that made you feel like you were the only woman in the world.
It was odd that Holden had kept that picture. He had to have a million of him and Ryan alone, or better yet, him and all of the guys. I was going to be late to my presentation if I didn’t hurry up, so I’d have to mull over that more later. Right now, I needed to drop the wallet off next door and get to work.
Holden answered wearing low-hanging sweats and no shirt.
My eyes immediately found the thin trail of hair that ran up his stomach between his sculpted V muscles. Apparently, that one-minute staring session last night hadn’t been nearly enough.
Holden raised a brow with a smirk. “See something you like?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh my gosh. You’re attractive. I looked. Big whoop. I don’t have time for this.” I grabbed his wallet off the top of the boxes I’d set down on the floor and practically flung it at him. “Here’s your wallet. I found it where you were sitting last night. I thought you might need it.” I bent and picked up the three boxes and started toward the elevator. “Have a good day,” I yelled without turning back. “Gotta run, or I’m going to be late.”
“Whoa. Hang on.” Holden stepped out of his apartment. “How are you getting to work with all that crap? You usually take the train.”
“There’s no parking near my office. It’s actually less walking if I take the train.”
“Hang on. I’ll drive you. I have the van parked right around the corner.”
I was about to argue, but Holden disappeared inside and came back out with keys. He was still pulling a T-shirt over his head when the elevator doors slid open. Once we were inside, he took the boxes from my hands.
“I’m perfectly capable of carrying them,” I said.
“I know you are.” He shrugged. “But your brother would kick my ass if he saw you like that and me with empty hands. Besides, you might not believe this because you think I’m a manwhore, but I’m a gentleman at heart.”
I smiled. “Okay. Thank you.”
We made it three quarters of the way to my office with small talk, but then we stopped at a light and Holden looked over. “Thanks for returning my wallet.”
“Of course.”
“Did you snoop and look inside it?”
“No,” I answered curtly. A little too curt and a lot too quick. Unfortunately, I was a shit liar and felt my face starting to heat under Holden’s stare.
