Benito looked at me. “Everything okay with your boss?”
I took a deep breath in and out. “Yeah. We just have differing opinions on how some things need to be handled. He’ll get over it.” Though I wasn’t so sure I would. “I’m sorry about how he acted. He can be a real asshole sometimes.”
Benito laughed. “No problem. I’ve had those bosses before. The trick is to nod a lot, then stand firm and do what you think is right.”
I forced a smile. “Yeah. Would you excuse me for a minute? I need to use the ladies’ room before we go. There’s wine and water in the fridge, if you don’t mind helping yourself.”
“Thank you. Take your time. I was early.”
I went to the bathroom and immediately stepped into the bathtub so I could peek out the window. The blinds were shut, so I adjusted them enough to see outside. It broke my heart to see Hollis getting into his car. He buckled himself in and started it, then stared up at the house for a long time. Then, he pulled away.
The entirety of what had happened began to bubble up, and I felt tears stinging my eyes. Every emotion raced through me—anger, sadness, disappointment, grief, relief. It became too much to keep bottled in, and my shoulders began to shudder as tears streamed down my face.
God damn you, Hollis.
God damn you.
In truth, I was angrier that he’d left than I was that he’d shown up at all. The man had a way of getting my hopes up despite all the pessimism I felt. And each time I fell for it, he crushed me, leaving me feeling like a fool once again.
I closed my eyes and took a few deep, cleansing breaths in and out. Once I steadied myself, I looked in the mirror. My face was red from crying, so I blotted on some skin-toned cream contour that hid anything. It was too bad they didn’t make this stuff for your insides. After I was done, I relined my lips in a bold red that matched my dress and spritzed on some perfume.
I had no desire to go on this date anymore. But I’d be damned if I was about to let Hollis ruin another night for me.
I was going to have a great time, even if it killed me.
***
Benito was actually more handsome in person. He was tall, with naturally tanned skin, almond-shaped eyes the color of honey, and great bone structure. He had an amazing smile that he shared often and a hearty, contagious laugh. If he hadn’t been unknowingly competing with Hollis LaCroix, I would have been thrilled about meeting a guy like him.
“How about some dessert?” he said.
I had eaten too much bread and drank two glasses of wine to calm my nerves. I’d been almost full before dinner even arrived.
“I’m pretty stuffed.”
He flashed a boyish smile. “So am I. I’m stalling because I’m not ready for our evening to end.”
How novel, a man who tells you what he feels.
That should’ve made me want to stay out longer, but I just wanted to go home and get into bed. I’d been struggling to put on a happy face ever since we left my house. Benito was great company; I just couldn’t enjoy it tonight. And for that, he deserved some honesty.
“You’re a great guy—”
Benito interrupted. He covered his heart with one hand like his chest hurt. “No, don’t say it.”
“Say what?”
“You were about to give me the but speech, weren’t you?”
I smiled sadly. “Sort of. I’m a little out of it tonight, and even though we just met, I feel like you know that.”
He nodded. “Your boss threw off your evening. I get it. It happens.”
What a nice guy. “Thank you for understanding. Do you think maybe we could skip dessert and try this again another evening?”
“Sure. I’d like that. I’ll get the check.”
I felt lighter after acknowledging I wasn’t myself tonight. Letting my guard down allowed me to be in the moment. We left the restaurant, and maybe it was only because I knew the date was ending soon, but I felt more relaxed than I’d been all day. Benito and I chatted as we waited for the valet to bring his car, and the conversation continued to flow freely during the drive to my house. When we pulled up alongside a young guy driving a clunker that had the rearview mirror duct-taped on, we laughed about our first cars.
“I had no air conditioning in mine, and a giant hole in the passenger floor,” Benito said and shook his head. “The hole was perfectly round and looked like the previous owner had cut it out with a circular saw or something. I had the biggest crush on this girl named Angie my senior year. A few days after I got my car, I pulled into the gas station to fill it up, and there was Angie with a car full of her friends. I tried to play it cool, but it was the first time I’d actually pumped gas. Angie came over to talk to me, and I got completely distracted and forgot to take the nozzle out of the gas tank when I was done.”
I covered my mouth and laughed. “Oh no. And you pulled away with it like that?”
Benito nodded. “I did. It had a quick release on top of the handle, so it didn’t make too much of a mess, but the tug of the hose line set off some kind of alarm. The entire gas station, inside and out, flashed lights and a high-pitched siren blared.”
“Was Angie still there?”
“Oh yeah. Laughing her ass off with her friends. The following day in school I admitted to her that I’d been trying to act cool and hadn’t known what the hell I was doing.”
“What did she say?”
“Crazy enough, she agreed to go out with me. It was a good lesson. I learned honesty gets you much farther with women.”
“You learned that pretty early compared to a lot of men. How long did things last with Angie?”
Benito pulled off the highway at my exit. “One date. It was pouring the night I took her out. I drove over a big puddle, not thinking about the hole I had in the floor on her side, and a giant spray of dirty water came through the bottom of my car.” He laughed. “She was soaked. The thing was like a geyser, I swear. I learned a second lesson that night. Women will only put up with you being an idiot once.”
We laughed, and Benito navigated through the side streets on the way to my house. I’d really relaxed. It was too bad it hadn’t happened on the way to our date, because he was good company. We made the last left, turning onto my block, and my heart skipped a beat.
Hollis’s Mercedes was parked outside my house again. When we pulled closer, I saw that he wasn’t waiting inside it. His imposing frame sat on the steps of my front porch. He stood when we slowed, and my date noticed him for the first time.
“Is that…”
I nodded. “My boss.”
Benito pulled to the curb and put the car in park. We looked over at the porch once again. I was relieved Hollis had waited there and didn’t come over to us.
“Do you want me to tell him to take a hike?”
Yes.
No.
Maybe?
I shook my head. That would most definitely not be a good idea. “No, I’m fine.”
Benito’s brows drew down. “Is he…more than your boss?”
I sighed. “It’s…sort of…complicated.”
He frowned. “Okay.”
“I’m really sorry about tonight. You are such a nice guy, and I didn’t mean to ruin our date.”
“It’s fine. Another night, maybe?”
He’d said it to be polite. In that moment, both of us knew there wouldn’t be any other nights. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“Sure. Thank you so much for dinner, Benito.”
He nodded. “I’m going to stay until you go inside.”
“Thank you.”
Butterflies swarmed in my belly as I strode up the walkway. I freaking hated what this man did to me. He made me feel inside-out.
“Are you happy?” I said quietly as I approached. “You ruined my date with a perfectly nice guy. Probably the first one of the species I’ve met in years.”
Hollis looked down. “I’m sorry.”
I rolled my eyes. “No, you’re not.�
��
Digging my keys from my purse, I unlocked the front door. Hollis waited as I walked inside. “Benito is a gentleman. He’s going to sit there and make sure everything is okay. So you need to come in.”
He nodded and followed me inside. I waved to Benito before shutting the door.
“I’m going to need wine for this.” I walked to the refrigerator. “Would you like a glass?”
“No, thank you.”
I poured almost to the brim and took the seat on the chair across from the couch, not wanting to sit too close to Hollis. He sat across from me and watched as I sucked half the glass down in one big gulp.
“Go ahead.” I shrugged. “Say whatever it is you need to say. It’s been a long evening, and I’m tired.”
I waited forever for him to pull his thoughts together—at least it seemed like a long time.
Hollis dragged a hand through his hair, which looked like he’d been doing that a lot tonight. A five o’clock shadow peppered his sharp jaw, and it pissed me off that I sat there thinking how good messy looked on him.
“I’m not the right man for you, Elodie.”
I set my wine down on the coffee table and stood. “I don’t need a gentle letdown, Hollis. You wasted a trip to Connecticut.”
“Sit,” he barked.
I folded my arms across my chest. “No.”
“God damn it, Elodie. I don’t want to have a battle of wills with you. We both know you’ll win. Can you just sit the hell down and give me five minutes?”
His admitting I’d win softened me. “Fine. Five minutes.”
Hollis waited until I sat and then looked away. “Thank you.” He blew out an audible breath. “As I was saying, I’m not the right man for you. You’ve been hurt, and yet underneath all that armor you wear, you still believe Prince Damn Charming is out there. I’m no Prince Charming.”
I tilted my head. “Well, at least we agree on something.”
Hollis chuckled. He took one more deep breath and finally looked me in the eyes. “You deserve Prince Charming. But I’m a selfish enough bastard that I don’t give a shit what you deserve.”
My heart fluttered. My head knew it was dumb, and that the other shoe was probably about to drop, but I had no real control over the giant muscle in my chest.
“Can you just spit out what you want to say? The push and pull is exhausting.”
“I want to try, Elodie.”
I had to be misunderstanding. “Try what?”
“To be together.”
I squinted at him. “You mean, you want to fuck me?”
“No. Yes. No. Well, of course, I do. But that’s not what I’m trying to say.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“I want to…I don’t know, date you?”
Well, this was a turn of events I hadn’t expected. I couldn’t help but be suspect.
“You want to date me?”
“Yes.”
“And what does that entail?”
“I don’t know. Dinners. Spending time together…”
“What if I said I won’t have sex with you? Would you still want to date me?”
His brows rose. “Forever?”
I smiled. “No. Not forever. But…I’m not sure I believe you want to date me, Hollis. I think you’re frustrated and know that’s the only way it’s going to happen between us. It’s a means to an end for you.”
He frowned. “Not to be a dick, but if getting laid was all I wanted, that isn’t too hard.”
I wanted to believe him so badly, but it wasn’t that easy. “Why? Why the sudden change of heart? The other day our kiss was a giant mistake, and you regretted it. Today I go out with someone else, and you miraculously figure out you want to date me?”
Hollis leaned forward on the couch and looked directly into my eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you. That probably is what got me off my ass. But does the reason I pulled my head out of my ass even matter?”
I searched his eyes. He seemed so sincere… Yet so had Tobias when he said his vows at our wedding. This man could easily crush me. But let’s face it, I’d already given a piece of my heart to him, and it was going to happen whether I dated him or not. I suppose I might as well get a few good dates out of it.
“Fine. But I want to eat at the restaurant in the Mandarin Hotel. When I worked for Soren, I had to meet assholes at the Aviary bar there, and the restaurant always smelled so good. It’s out of my price range.”
The corner of Hollis’s lip twitched. “Done. Anything else?”
Hmm… As long as he was asking…
“I’ve never taken a carriage ride through Central Park.”
“We can do that.”
“Or gone ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza.”
That lip twitched again. “It’s July, but maybe at Christmastime.”
My heart swelled. Christmas was a good five months away. That simple answer told me he wasn’t planning a short fling—not intentionally, anyway.
“Anything else?” He raised a brow.
I tapped my finger to my lip. I’d been teasing, but something important did come to mind. “We don’t tell Hailey what’s going on between us—not at first, anyway. She already wants us to be a family, and I don’t want to disappoint her if things don’t work out.”
Hollis’s mouth formed a straight line, but he nodded. “That’s fine.”
I picked up my wine and drank a sip. “I guess we have a deal then.”
Hollis’s eyes sparkled. “Not yet. You haven’t heard my terms.”
My brows jumped. “Your terms?”
He smirked. “That’s right. Don’t I get terms?”
“I guess that depends on what they are.”
Hollis reached out and took the wine glass from my hand. He lifted it to his lips and proceeded to gulp the remainder. Setting it on the table, he extended his hand to me.
I hesitated, but eventually placed my hand in his. The second I did, Hollis yanked hard, and I was out of my chair and onto his lap. He cupped my cheek. “Number one. No other men. Especially not Benito.”
I pretended to deliberate and then shrugged. “I guess so.”
He scooped a hand under my ass and squeezed. Hard. “Cute. Number two, if we’re not going to be having sex for a while, you’ll need to wear something other than lace panties.”
I pulled my head back. “You don’t like my lace panties?”
“I love them. But since I’ll have to take care of myself for the time being, you’ll be leaving your panties behind at the end of our dates. The lace can be chafing.”
My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe he’d just told me he rubbed my panties against his dick so hard that it chafed him.
“I’ll need to amend my conditions, please.”
He arched a brow.
“I’ll need some new panties. I only have one or two pairs that aren’t lace.”
Hollis flashed a wicked grin. “That would be my pleasure.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Are we done?”
“No. I have one more condition.”
“Shoot.”
He looked me up and down. “Don’t wear this dress on any of our dates.”
I pouted. “You don’t like my dress?”
“Just the opposite. I fucking love it. If you wear it, I won’t be able to stop myself from ripping it off you and fucking you up against the wall at some point.”
I swallowed. Oooohhh. Up against the wall. That sounds really good.
Hollis growled. “I need a fourth condition.”
“What?”
“Don’t look like that around me.”
“Like what?”
“Like you really want me to fuck you up against the wall.”
My eyes softened.
Hollis pulled me against his chest and pressed a sweet kiss to my forehead. “Are we good?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
‘Then I better go.”
“Go? Why?”
�
�Because your ass is sitting on my dick, and I’m going to try to break rule number one in the next five minutes if I don’t, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. I liked that.
Hollis brushed his lips with mine. “Tomorrow night. Seven o’clock.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
“Get some sleep.”
I walked him to the door.
“Be careful driving.”
He’d made it a few steps out of my house when I called after him. “Hollis?”
He turned back.
I reached under my dress and slid my panties down my legs. Stepping out, I picked up the black lace thong and tossed it at him. “Sorry. You’ll have to deal with a little chafing tonight.”
He caught my thong and lifted it to his nose, taking a deep whiff. “Mmmm… Missed this.”
The sight of him smelling my underwear was so damn erotic. Apparently Hollis might not be the only one handling himself tonight.
Seeing my face, he winked. “I’ll pick you up some batteries when I get your new panties.”
Chapter 27
* * *
Hollis
“Can I help you, sir?”
A clerk caught me in the act of rubbing a pair of silk panties along my cheek. Yeah. That isn’t fucked up. Seriously, what had my life come to?
I’d gone to a high-end lingerie store to make good on my promise. I hadn’t originally planned to use my face as a testing mechanism. I’d just gotten carried away, imagining Elodie in them.
“No, thank you.”
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Uh...soft panties, particularly thongs,” I said in a low voice.
She walked to the other corner of the room. I followed her, briefly looking over my shoulder.
The woman opened a drawer and took out a lavender silk thong before handing it to me. “This is definitely our softest material.”
Threading it through my fingers, I said, “I’ll take one in every color.”
She leaned in and whispered, “Are they for you?”
Caught off guard, I said, “For me?”
“Yeah. You know, some men actually like to wear them on the downlow.”
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