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“You’re welcome.”
We are standing so close together and I think this might be it. This might be the moment when I finally get to taste the girl of my dreams, but then the spell is broken by the bar phone ringing. Holly jumps away from me, no longer sharing my same space. I’m going to kill whoever is calling.
Chapter Two
Bear
“Hello,” I growl into the phone. Holly is shuffling her feet over by a bar table and avoiding making eye contact with me. This call better be important. Someone better be bleeding.
“Hey, Bear.” Shit, it’s Dax. Holly’s big brother, my best friend, must have some sixth sense. He probably felt that I was going to kiss his little sister and he called to keep me from doing the one thing I wanted more than anything. “Is Holly at the Lost Lady?”
With a big sigh, I answer. “Yes, Holly’s here. I was going to drive her home, but the storm got worse and it’s too bad out now to risk it.”
“Yeah, that’s why I was calling. I knew she was meeting the girls tonight. I wanted to make sure they all got home. Is there anyway she can stay with you tonight?”
“With me?” I have a loft on the top floor of my building and there’s plenty of room, but Dax has no idea what he’s asking me.
“Yeah, you have room and it’s too dangerous outside to try and get her home. I know she’ll be safe there with you and I won’t have to worry no matter how long the storm lasts.”
“Of course, she can stay here. I was already planning on asking her if she was okay with that.” I look over and Holly is looking at me with surprise. I’m not close enough to tell if she is happy about being stuck with me or if she wants to be anywhere but here.
“Why wouldn’t she be okay with it? You’re basically another big brother.”
There is nothing I can say to that. “Do you want to talk to Holly?” I ask, but she shakes her head no. Quickly, before Dax can answer, I continue, “Never mind, she just went to the bathroom. I’ll tell her you called and checked on her and think it’s best if she stays here. She can call you back if she wants to, but she’ll be fine here.”
Dax talks for a few more minutes and we hang up. Holly is sitting at a table on the far side of the bar with her head hung low. So different from the usually confident woman she is. I watch her for several moments - she stays so still. Is she thinking about how we almost kissed? I wonder if she feels like I’m her big brother. Maybe it was a good thing that Dax called when he did.
“Holly?” I call across the bar, louder and harsher than I intended to. When she looks up at me, I continue, “Dax and I agree that it’s best if you just stay with me tonight. I hope that’s okay with you.”
She nods and still doesn’t say a word. Slowly she stands and walks toward the door that leads to the stairs that lead up to my loft above the bar. I meet her at the door. When she turns to face me, I can see there are tears in her eyes. It’s a punch in the gut.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I ask, putting my hand on her hip in a way I’ve always wanted to touch her, but never have. I feel a shiver run through her body. Was it my touch that made her feel that way or is she cold from the snow? Please let it be me.
“Nothing, Bear. I’m just tired.” She turns her body, so I’m no longer touching her.
She doesn’t want me to touch her.
I don’t think I could have gotten a clearer signal than her literally turning away from me. I rub the middle of my chest. I’ve always known Holly couldn’t be mine, but I guess part of me still thought she was.
???
Holly
Bear touched me. Bear almost kissed me.These two thoughts are running through my head at warp speed as he follows me up the stairs to his loft. On the landing, I step to the left so he can unlock his door and follow him inside.
I’ve been in the loft many times. We’ve had game nights here and I’ve even crashed here with Piper and Oakley once after a bit too much fun downstairs. Being here alone with Bear is very different. I look around and see so many little things that make me smile. There are pictures on the mantle of him and Dax as kids, one of the whole group of us, and one of his family. I see a blanket that I got him for Christmas one year on the back of his sofa.
Bear is a good man and that makes all of this worse. I want him with everything in me, but I know it will never be that way for us. He thinks of me as a kid. Whatever happened downstairs couldn’t have been what I thought. That just isn’t how it is. It doesn’t matter. I’ll always be Dax’s little sister and that has to be okay.
“Holly?” Bear is watching me as I look around the room. “Are you okay?”
Am I?I ask myself. Probably not, but I can’t answer him truthfully. “Sure,” I say instead. Maybe we’ll just go to sleep tonight. Then tomorrow I’ll go home and go back to my grumpy, unrequited love thing. That sounds healthy and fun.
“Do you want to watch a movie or something? I have some soup we can heat up if you’re hungry.” Bear walks closer and I have to fight the urge to step back. He’s not some predator coming after me.
“A movie sounds like fun and you know I’m always hungry.” I smile at him. I will get through this. “Can I borrow something to wear. These clothes are a little damp and uncomfortable.”
“Of course, Holly Berry, come with me and I’ll get you something. You can take a shower if you want to while I heat up the soup.” He gets close enough to touch me and I think he reaches out to guide me with his hand on my back but pulls it away and never makes contact. I follow him to his room where he hands me sweatpants and a big T-shirt. “These will be huge on you, but it’s all I have.”
