“Wanna nap?” Holly laid her head on my shoulder as she snuggled into me on the couch. “I know you drove all night. You have to be exhausted.”
I smiled and wrapped my arm around her. I couldn’t nap. I couldn’t miss any of this.
“Come upstairs with me,” I said, grabbing my bag. “Help me unpack.”
She smiled and nodded as we set down our mugs together. Brody and Lincoln didn’t even look at us as we left. They were too busy arguing over the best way to untangle the tree lights.
We entered one of the guest bedrooms, made up as nicely and clinically as a bed and breakfast. It was amazing how easily you could tell when a room was actually lived in, as opposed to when it was not.
“Something up?”
I looked up to find he
r leaning against the doorway, looking all breathless and sexy without even trying. I dropped my bag without unzipping it.
“Yes,” I said, pulling her into the room. “Come here.”
Her mouth went suddenly serious, her expression laced with concern. Even so, she melted into my body. Didn’t resist as my arms slid around her, and in fact, pulled me into her own space as well.
“What is it?” she breathed, our faces so close we could kiss at any moment.
For several long seconds all I could do was stare at her, admiring her beauty. Her perfect, angelic face. Her almond eyes, shining tiffany blue.
“Donovan tell me,” she whispered. “What is it?”
“It’s you,” I breathed.
“Me?”
“I think I’m in love with you.”
It came out as a sigh. Not of disappointment, but not of abject happiness either. Of somewhere in between.
It was a sigh of longing.
My hand came up, and I held her by the chin. My thumb brushed her lower lip, ever so lightly.
“Before you say you something,” I whispered, “you need to know I don’t expect anything in return. I know your position. I can’t even imagine what’s going on in your head, but I realize—”
“Hey…”
Holly took my face in her hands. She cradled it gently and leaned forward, until our foreheads were touching.
“I love you too,” she breathed. “Totally. Completely. Every bit as much as you love me, Donovan. My feelings for you are all there.”
She kissed me, and a fire passed through her lips. I felt it surge from her body into mine, consuming me, lighting me up from within with all new hope and love and reverence.
It made me feel alive.
“I’m not expecting you to give yourself to me,” I added quickly. “Or make your decision, or feel any differently about the others.”
Her expression changed. It grew deeper, maybe a little sadder. But it still held the same amount of love.
“I appreciate that.”
“Because I know,” I went on, “that we put you in this position ourselves. That in not asking you to choose, we’ve actually been selfish.”
“No…” she murmured, stroking my face. “It’s not like that.”