“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?”