Only You

by Denise Grover Swank

  “That hardly seems like the same thing as our situation.”

  “Believe it or not, it’s not that different. I watched you two yesterday.”

  “Can we drop this subject? Please?”

  “No. He really likes you, Holly. This is big. You’re different than all the other girls he’s ever dated.”

  A sharp pain shot through her heart. “Like boring? Not sexy?”

  Megan blinked at her in shock. “I’m sorry. I thought we were talking about you.”

  “I’m serious, Megan. I’ve known plenty of guys like Kevin. They date sexy women with sexy long legs, sexy smiles, and sexy hair.

  Megan grinned. “Wow. That’s a lot of sexy.”

  Holly frowned. “You know what I mean.”

  “If you’re suggesting that Kevin’s dated a lot of flashy and superficial women who care more about whether my brother has a six-pack or an eight-pack than getting to know the person inside my brother’s body, then, yeah. He’s dated a lot of sexy women. And he’s been miserable with every single one of them. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s making a play for you at all. Before he moved here, he told me he’d sworn off women altogether.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  She shook her head. “No, his last girlfriend burned him bad, although he refuses to tell me what she did. But she was just the last in a long string of self-absorbed women he’s paraded in and out of his life. Maybe that’s part of the reason Mom fixed him up with Bethany. Maybe she thought that was his type.”

  Holly sighed, suddenly confused and uncertain about her decision.

  Megan leaned forward. “Holly, life is too short not to take chances. Not to take risks. Don’t throw something with Kevin away because you’re scared.”

  Holly’s phone rang and she reached for it, but Megan covered her hand with her own. “You only live once. You never know how much time you have.”

  Holly’s back stiffened. “I know that all too well, Megan.” She was surprised she sounded so angry, but all the disappointment had compounded, and Megan was pushing Holly to her limit.

  Megan’s eyes widened with realization. “Oh, God. Your parents. Of course you do. I’m sorry.”

  She looked at her phone and saw Miranda Johansen’s name.

  Her anger softened. She couldn’t hold a grudge when Megan meant well. “I know you are, but I need to take this call.”

  And with any luck at all, this wedding would open the door to start her own business. Then she wouldn’t have to worry whether Nicole Vandemeer gave her blessing on Holly’s love life.

  The real question was if it would make a difference.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  You said what?” Kevin shouted into the phone, drawing the attention of the work crew around him. He had found an issue in the books that he needed to bring to Matt’s attention right away, so he’d headed down to the job site to find him. But when he saw his sister’s name on caller ID, he’d panicked. Megan usually texted.

  Megan sounded distraught. “I didn’t mean to upset her, and I never would have mentioned it to you at all, but I’m worried Holly will hold what I said against you.”

  Kevin took several breaths, trying to think this through. He was eager to move past this friendship and into something more, because if he was sure of anything, it was that he wanted to have her in his life. But she was shying away from even being friends. Megan might have pushed her too far.

  “I can talk to her,” Megan said. “I’ll apologize.”

  “No. You need to stay out of it.”

  “I’m really sorry, Kevin. She seemed so happy yesterday, and then today we tag-teamed Bethany and sent her running. I never would have suspected Holly had it in her.”

  “Whoa. Back up. What do you mean you tag-teamed Bethany?”

  “I went to Mom’s office to tell her off for trying to set you up with Bethany, and, lo and behold, she was there, crying about you.”

  Kevin ran his hand over his head in frustration. “What happened?”

  “Mom had to go to lunch with a client, so I offered to have lunch with Bethany. I went and picked up something for lunch and we ate in the office. Then I told her that it was good to have lunch out while we could, since all the babies would keep her busy.”

  “Excuse me? Did you say babies?”

  “Yeah, all eighteen of them. With names that start with Q. Then Holly and I offered some name suggestions and Holly said all twenty of you would be happy in your tiny house. I helpfully suggested that Bethany start fertility treatment so she could have multiple babies at once and get all that birthing over with.”

  “Oh, my God.” He groaned, horrified. “You didn’t.”

  “The clincher was when Holly offered to set up an egg-testing appointment and asked which day worked better for her.”

  “You’re kidding. My sweet little Holly?” He’d suspected she had an ornery side, but he wished he’d been there to see it.

  Then he realized what he’d said. She wasn’t his, no matter how much he wanted her to be. But he refused to give up hope. He had to find a way to make this work. “I’m going to talk to Mom. Make her realize I can date whoever I want.”

  Megan was silent for several seconds. “You can’t. She’ll never approve. You know it, and normally I’d say too bad for her, but you’re screwing with Holly’s life more than your own. She needs that job.”

  “I know.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  He sighed. “Wait, I guess. What else can I do? I’m not planning on dating anyone else. You know I hadn’t even planned on dating her. She just landed on my front porch.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Kevin looked around the lot, his gaze landing on his friend. Matt had been talking to a small group of his crew. He noticed Kevin and waved, about to walk over, but Kevin lifted his finger to tell him he’d be done in a moment.

  Kevin sighed. “I have to trust that it will all work out. In the meantime, I hope she’s still willing to go this friend route, because I like having her around.”

  “If I can do anything go help, let me know. Okay?”

  “Yeah.” He hung up and stuffed the phone back in his pocket as Matt approached. “Emergency call from my sister.”

  “Everything all right?” Matt asked. “Megan and the baby okay?”

  “Yeah, it was an emergency of another type.”

  “Your mom?”

  “Yeah, but not how you think.”

  “Holly.” When Kevin didn’t say anything, Matt laughed. “Dude, don’t look so surprised. You two aren’t exactly subtle. But I have to say, I expected Tyler to be the one to cave first on the Bachelor Brotherhood.”

  Kevin released a shaky laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I know this sounds cliché as hell, but Holly’s not like the other women I’ve dated.”

  “Yeah, she works for your mother.”

  Kevin pushed out a breath. “You think there’s a chance Mom will approve of us dating?”

  Matt shook his head. “There’s no way in hell she’ll approve.”

  The hair on the back of Kevin’s neck stood on end. “You think she’s not good enough.” His words came out in a low growl.

  “No, you idiot, because Holly’s her employee. How awkward would it be if you two break up? It’s the same reason I won’t let Carly date any of the work crew. It’s a recipe for disaster.” He grinned. “Dude, you were about to jump me. You have it bad for her.”

  Kevin grimaced.

  “No denial?”

  He shrugged. “You said it was obvious.” He had no idea what he was going to do, especially since he could see Matt’s point. “I actually came over here for a reason.”

  Matt groaned. “I’d like to think that frown is solely because of Holly, but I suspect you have some bad news.”

  Kevin nodded. “You mentioned that you had a bookkeeper before Carly.”

  “Yeah.”

  There was no easy way to break this news. “I think she was
embezzling from you.”

  Matt’s eyes flew open. “What?”

  “The books say she was paying bills; the bank account says differently. I think she was pocketing the money. I’m still digging, and I’d like to have an auditor look things over. We can go after her and have criminal charges brought against her, but I doubt you’ll ever recover all the money you lost. You might not recover any of it. Tomorrow I’ll start calling your debtors, let them know the situation, and work out a payment plan. But I wanted to give you a heads-up.”

  Matt put a hand on top of his head and turned to look at his crew. “How bad is it?”

  “Honestly? It’s pretty bad.”

  “Shit.” Matt took several seconds to take in the information. “Am I going to lose my business?”

  Kevin hesitated. “I think you can save it, but you’ll have to cut back on things. Maybe have some layoffs.”

  “Fuck. I can’t afford to lose anyone.”

  “You might want to give it a thought and start coming up with a list.” He didn’t tell Matt he’d started a list of his own. And Kevin’s name was at the top.

  “How soon?”

  “Less than a month.” He hated this. “I’m sorry.”

  Matt gave a quick nod, then studied Kevin’s face. “You’re not blowing sunshine up my ass? I can save it?”

  “I wouldn’t give you false hope. But it might hurt for a while.”

  “I’ll do what needs to be done. I’m not willing to let it all go.” Matt started back to the job site, then turned back to Kevin, looking flustered. “Hey, I almost forgot. I saw Ken Douglas yesterday. He’s getting married this weekend.”

  Kevin hadn’t seen his high school friend since college. “Wow. To anyone I know?”

  “Michelle Murphy. I think she might have been in Megan’s class.”

  Kevin shook his head. “Don’t remember her.”

  “Ken asked if I was bringing a date to his wedding and when I said no, he suggested I bring you. He said it’ll be like a mini–class reunion.”

  “Go as your plus-one?” Kevin teased, hoping to help ease the sting of his news.

  Matt grinned and held out his hands. “Why not? I’m not handsome enough for you?”

  Kevin gave him an appraising glance that suggested Matt was lacking.

  “Fine, then you can be Tyler’s date. He’s going, too.”

  “Tyler’s going? Then how can I say no? The Bachelor Brotherhood, banding together at a wedding, no less. Seems poetic. Especially since it looks like I’m not revoking my membership anytime soon.”

  Matt clapped his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “You’re in good company, my friend.”

  * * *

  The house was hot as hell when Kevin got home, since the temperature had gotten up into the midnineties. He opened all the windows and set up the fans before he headed to the basement to check on the cat, which he’d started calling Whiskers. The kitten was happy to see him, mewling when Kevin picked it up and cuddled it to his chest. He went upstairs, wishing he’d gotten a cold beer from his minifridge in the upstairs bedroom, but he hadn’t even made it upstairs to open the windows, knowing it was probably ten degrees hotter up there.

  He sat on the back steps, setting the playful kitten on the grass and wondering how in the hell how he’d gotten here—in a shitty house, about to lose his job, and hung up on a woman who wasn’t interested in a relationship with him. The last part was a partial truth, but he saw no way to resolve it, nonetheless.

  “I’m in a world of shit, Whiskers,” he said, leaning over to ruffle the kitten’s head.

  But one problem at a time.

  The job issue was a huge blow he hadn’t seen coming. Matt would fight him on it, but it made the most financial sense. At least for the short term. Matt needed to pay off his debt, and he was paying Kevin a large enough salary to make a difference, not to mention he was the most recent hire.

  But if he was about to lose his job, he had no idea how he was going to pay for his remodel, and yesterday he’d ripped out his kitchen. He really was in deep shit.

  His phone rang and he answered it, surprised to see it that was Tyler.

  “Matt called me about his bookkeeper,” Tyler said as soon as Kevin answered. “I know you talked about criminal charges, but I can file a civil suit. As soon as you have anything concrete, I want the two of you to come to my office.”

  “If I’m still working there.”

  “You think Matt’s going to fire you for this?” Tyler sounded incredulous. And angry.

  “Matt? God, no. In fact, I expect him to fight me when I suggest that I’m on the top of the list of the people he lays off.”

  “Whoa,” Tyler said. “Matt mentioned that you suggested layoffs, but he never said anything about laying off you.”

  “I didn’t tell him yet. I need to get everything together first. I won’t leave him in the lurch, but once I’ve got everything straightened up, he could hire a bookkeeper to take over for a lot less money.”

  “You really think he’s going to do that? Sounds like his last bookkeeper was the one who got him into this situation.”

  Kevin sighed. “Even so, I think it might be a good idea for me to put some feelers out for another job. Which might mean relocation.” Which bothered him more than he expected. He was happy he was part of his sister’s life again, despite her meddling. He was happy he could see his two best friends more often than once every couple of years. And Holly—he wasn’t ready to leave her or the possibility of something with her.

  “You just got back. What about your shit hole of a house?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now.”

  “Don’t do anything rash. Don’t make any decisions before we’ve figured everything out.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Matt’s money problems aren’t the only thing we discussed.” Tyler’s voice turned teasing. “Matt said you’re going to Ken’s wedding.”

  “Yeah. He said it would be a mini–class reunion.”

  Tyler chuckled. “So are you going as my date or Matt’s?”

  “I can ride with Matt since he’s closer, but I’ll keep my options open. I might find some other fella to make my own.”

  “Just save me a dance, big boy,” Tyler teased. “I’ll make it worth your time.”

  Kevin laughed. “Just be warned you’ll have to buy me dinner before I put out.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m pretty sure I have a coupon to Red Lobster in my junk drawer at home.”

  Kevin shook his head and grinned. “I bet you haven’t been to Red Lobster since we went on a double date our junior year.”

  “You’re just that special.”

  Kevin hung up feeling better about everything—everything but Holly. He was in the process of coming up with a lame excuse to go to Holly’s house when she pushed open his fence gate and poked her head around the corner.

  “Kevin?”

  She’d come to him. Again. This had to be a good sign. He stood. “Hey, come on back.”

  She was still in her work clothes, today a fitted black skirt, a sleeveless white shirt that clung to her curves, and black heels that did incredible things to her legs. Her red-painted toenails peeked through the open toes. They’d been pink on Friday night.

  Keep it together. Act like a friend. Even though his hands were aching to touch her. “I haven’t been home long. I opened the windows, set up the fans, then brought Whiskers outside.”

  “Whiskers, huh?” She looked down at the cat with a soft smile. “Do you like your new name, Mr. Whiskers?”

  “Mister? You’re convinced it’s a boy?”

  “He looks like a boy to me.”

  “Want to place a bet on it?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’m not sure yet. But it has an appointment at the vet on Thursday afternoon, so we’ll know for sure then.”

  Her smiled wavered and he knew he was in trouble. Quick, c
ome up with something. Then it hit him. “I need to ask a favor of you.”

  She hesitated, a war waging in her eyes. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “You don’t even know what it is yet.” When she didn’t stop him, he forged on. “I need to come up with a list of projects I need to complete in the house and how much money they’ll take, so it would be helpful to have things like the cabinets and appliances for the kitchen and bathroom picked out.”

  She watched him for a second, fighting a smile, then she finally said, “You’re putting appliances in the bathroom?”

  He laughed. “Do a toilet and a tub count as appliances?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Then I prove my point: I’m completely clueless about these things. I need you to go with me and help pick them out.”

  “Surely Megan can help you. She’s the one who got you into this.”

  “She’s busy and I need to have the total within the next couple of days.” He felt like an ass as he watched her want to tell him no yet not being able to turn away.

  She looked down at her feet, then back up at him. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  She looked directly into his eyes. “I’m not going to date you, Kevin.”

  “I know. We’ve already agreed on that. I’ve moved on.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Are you saying you’re still hung up on me?”

  Her mouth parted but she didn’t respond. He added, “We would never work as a couple. You have a vicious dog who wants to eat my cat.”

  She started to protest, then stopped when she saw the grin spread across his face. “Killer isn’t even my dog.”

  “Still wouldn’t work.”

  She laughed.

  He took several steps toward her. “But I really meant it when I said I wanted to be friends.” He shifted his weight. “Look, I had fun yesterday, and I think you did, too. Didn’t that prove we can hang out and have fun without the fringe benefits? I’ll promise to pay you with more food.”