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Confusion leapt into Chace’s smoldering brown eyes. “No one?” His gaze bore into hers. “Ever?”
Holly shook her head.
“Why?”
The raw emotion in his voice sliced clear through Holly’s heart. But was she ready to tell him the truth? That she’d only ever made it to a third date with any other man once, and by the fifth, she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. That every man she met suffered in comparison to him. That she could never just settle when her heart would forever belong to him.
The weight of his gaze was crushing as he silently awaited her response.
Why the hell hadn’t she kept her big mouth shut? Laughed off his comment. Whipped out one of the sarcastic retorts she was famous for and high-tailed it back to her room like she’d done the night before. For someone who shied away from taking risks, Holly had definitely gone out on a few limbs last night and this morning.
Pushing back the stool, Holly started to rise. “Look, Chace. I didn’t—”
Chace grabbed hold of her wrist. “You can’t drop a bombshell like that and then run away, Holly.” He shook his head. “Not this time.”
“How about we just forget this whole conversation ever happened?” she suggested hopefully. “We can wake the girls and take them out for breakfast before we go look for a tree. There are plenty of precut options in town. Or we can go to the woods by Lake Sheridan and cut one down ourselves. Maybe that’s the better option. The twins would have a blast. Only I don’t have a chainsaw. But we could probably borrow my dad’s.”
“Give us the next three weeks, Holly.”
“What?” she gasped around the breath caught in her throat. Surely she’d misheard him.
Right?
“Give us until New Year’s.” He met and held her gaze. “Please.”
Holly’s heart pounded so hard inside her chest she feared Chace could hear it. “Why?” she heard herself ask.
Why the hell was she asking more questions when she wanted nothing more than for this conversation to be over?
Now!
“Because we have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.” Chance tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Because I want to hold your hand while walking down the street. Kiss you under every sprig of mistletoe I can find. Cuddle up with you on the sofa at the end of the day and kiss you some more.” He brushed his thumb lightly across her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. “Say yes, Holly. Please.”
Fear and longing flamed to life inside her. Could she put her heart on the line for a few weeks of what they’d once shared? She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. She just wasn’t sure if she possessed enough courage to try. “I don’t know, Chace.”
“Why not?” He tilted her face toward his. “What are you afraid of?”
“Everything.” It was the God’s honest truth.
His eyes held hers. “I wish I could assure you that you have nothing to worry about, but like you, I have no idea what the future holds. No one does. Shit, a week ago, I never imagined I’d be standing here in my sister’s kitchen with you. But here we are.”
“And next week? When a call from my brother or one of the Steele brothers could send you halfway around the world to protect some stranger?”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“How do you know? You just said you can’t predict the future.”
“When I was in the military, I didn’t have a choice. Now I do. So, if SSI calls, which they might, I don’t have to go.”
“But you will.” He always did. Honor demanded it. And Chace was one of the most honorable men she knew.
He shook his head. “No. I won’t.ThatI can promise you.”
Holly wanted to believe him. Even more, she yearned for precisely what he asked her to give them—time spent together without limitations, restraints, or fears. To recreate the magic neither of them had found with anyone else. And to recapture what had gone missing from their lives since the day she’d given Chace back his ring.
How could Holly deny herself or Chace this opportunity? Especially when they’d be spending Christmas together with the girls either way? Besides, he was right. What did they have to lose?
Drawing a deep breath, Holly swallowed her fear. “Okay,” she agreed, because God help her, she couldn’t say no.
