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“I can’t believe she gave up so easily.” Granted, Lyss had told her more than once that many people misjudged the blonde divorcee. Still…Holly couldn’t completely dismiss her suspicions.
“I may have had something to do with her decision to retreat.”
What?“How?” Holly hated how badly she wanted to know.
“I told her the truth.”
She narrowed her eyes. “About what?”
“About why I’m here.” He checked the contents of the oven before slinging the dishtowel over his shoulder and leaning his ass against the counter to face her. “But more importantly, about us.”
Holly blinked. “Us?” She sounded like a freaking parrot. God help her.
Nodding, he braced his hands on either side of his hips. “Yes. Us.”
“What exactly did you tell her?”
“You sure have a lot of questions.” His eyes held hers. “So let me ask one. Why didn’t you insist I go to my parents’ house or get a hotel room rather than letting me stay here?”
“Because this isyoursister’s house,” Holly answered as if it were a no-brainer. “If anyone leaves, it should be me.”
“Is that what you want?”
“What Iwantis to know what any of this has to do with what you told Willow.” Then, a thought suddenly hit her. “Are you comparing me to her, Chace? Insinuating I had ulterior motives to keep us under the same roof? Because I didn’t.” Holly shook her head before quickly correcting her statement. “I don’t.”
At least Holly didn’t think so. Not intentionally, anyway.
Yet having him here, even for just two days, had given Holly a glimpse into what their life might have looked like had she not broken their engagement. If they’d married. Had a family. Enjoyed weekend outings together, creating priceless memories to cherish forever. Spent their evenings canoodling on the sofa after their children were fast asleep and before heading to their own bed to…
No! That was the fantasy, not the way things would likely have gone down had they stayed together. Hell, in all probability, Holly and Chace would have found themselves in a similar situation as Lyss and Sean were in now. Only Holly would have received the harrowing news that her husband had been injured.
Or worse.
And after losing her oldest brother to the unrest in the Middle East, Holly never wanted to go through that again.
“You’ve got that wrinkle again.” Chace pushed himself off the counter and drew his index finger between her brows.
Holly was surprised her entire face wasn’t one big, confounded brow.
He lifted her chin with his forefinger, forcing her to look at him. “For the record, I wasn’t insinuating anything. Nor is there any comparison whatsoever between you and Willow Bodine.” Brushing her hair away from her face, he held her gaze. “For me, anyway.”
Holly’s breath caught in her throat. At his nearness. His earthy, masculine scent. The words that fell from his lips. But most of all, the way he was looking at her as if she hung the moon.
“What did you tell Willow, Chace?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“The truth.”
“That we were once engaged?”
He nodded. “Yeah. That and how I plan to do whatever it takes to win you back.”
Her heart plummeted to her toes, taking the breath in her lungs right along with it.
Taking a step back, Chace grinned at what she suspected was the wide-eyed, open-mouth shock on her face. “Now, how about you round up the twins while I set up the laptop for the video chat with Lyss.” He dropped a quick but no less toe-curling kiss on her lips before turning for the family room, leaving Holly standing there in stunned silence.
16
When Chace had offered to handle the twins’ nightly bedtime routine so Holly could grade more senior essays, he’d had absolutely no idea what that entailed. But considering he’d been getting himself ready for bed for thirty-four years, how hard could it be, right?
