Kevin spent the morning working on his house, purposely leaving Holly alone. Something had happened at the wedding reception—a switch had been flipped inside him. Holly was worth fighting for. Worth waiting for. They’d moved at light speed when they met, but he was willing to slow things down and prove this wasn’t just about sex. He wanted her. If he had to wait until after her big wedding to have her, he would simply bide his time.
In the meantime, he planned to court her.
Tyler and Matt were sure to get a good laugh over that.
By one o’clock he’d showered and changed, coming up with a lame-ass excuse to see her, finally coming up with settling the bet over Whiskers’ gender. Not that they’d ever come to an agreement about the particulars of the bet, but that could work in his favor since Holly had won. So he didn’t have all the details worked out—he’d just wing it.
He stood on her front porch and was about to knock when he heard Melanie’s angry voice inside.
“It’s not her anymore, Holly.”
“Sometimes it’s not,” Holly agreed. “But sometimes it is. And when it is, Grandma Barb asks for you. She misses you, Melanie.”
“I can’t do it!”
“You can’t run away every time we have this conversation, Melanie!” Holly’s voice rose. “You accuse me of running away from relationships, but you’re the one running right now.”
“You think I’m running?” Melanie responded in a hateful tone. “How about if I run to Kiera’s?”
The front door opened and Melanie stood in front of him, her purse slung over her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed when she saw him. “Holly, your booty call is here.”
He expected her to get in a few more jabs, but she bolted for her car and drove away.
Holly stood in the doorway, looking up at him in surprise.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You don’t look fine.”
She released a loud sigh. “I’m sad for my grandma. I’m not sure I can face the disappointment in her eyes when she asks about Melanie, but I can’t not see her.”
“You’re between a rock and a hard place,” Kevin murmured, studying her face.
“Yeah.” She walked back in and snagged her purse off the table.
“I take it that you’re headed to see your grandmother now.”
“I thought I could give her one of the centerpieces from the wedding and then the nursing staff could maybe pass out the rest or put them in the dining hall. The residents really love it when they get flowers.”
It was so much like something she would do, it didn’t surprise him. “Need help when you get there?”
She glanced over at his house and smirked. “Trying to get out of working on your house?”
“Is it that obvious?” He laughed. When Holly looked uncertain, he added, “Have I mentioned how awesome I am with older people? You saw me with my Gram.”
“Why would you want to come?”
He hesitated, worried his answer would scare her off. “The truth?”
“Yes.”
He studied her face. “I want to meet the woman who is so special to you. I want to know the woman you’re talking about when you mention her with so much love in your eyes.”
Her eyes glistened with tears. “Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and gave him a soft kiss. “Thank you.”
He’d do just about anything to see that look of happiness in her eyes.
They took her SUV, Holly driving and telling him about some of the residents in the home until she pulled into the nursing home parking lot. Then suddenly her gaiety faded to seriousness.
“It’s hard for you to visit?” he asked softly.
“Every time I see her, I’m flooded with guilt.”
“Why?”
“I put her here.”
The devastation in her voice rocked him to his core. “Holly, from what you told me, you didn’t have a choice.”
“It still doesn’t make it easier.”
“How often do you come to see her?”
“I try to come every day, but sometimes I miss a day, like I did yesterday.”
He stared at her in surprise. How had he known her a week and a half—seeing her almost every day—and not known this?
She looked over at him with tears in her eyes, reading the shock on his face. “You couldn’t know. I don’t talk about it. It’s too hard.” Then she opened the door and climbed out.
Kevin met her at the back of the car and pulled the box out of the back while she swiped at her eyes.
“Is my mascara smeared?”
“No, Holly. You look beautiful.” And she did. She was wearing a pink summer dress that made her pale complexion rosy. Her hair was in a ponytail, high on her head. If she heard the longing for her in his voice, she didn’t let on.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
He followed her through the front door, waiting for security to buzz them through the second door. She glanced over at him. “She has her good days and her bad. If it’s bad, we probably shouldn’t stay long. You might confuse her.”
“Okay.”
They walked past a sunny room with several older people playing board games and making art projects before they went down a hall and then stopped at a door that had the name Barbara on it. There were pictures of an older woman decorating the door, and he noticed that Holly was in several of them.
Holly took a deep breath, steeled her shoulders, and walked in.
An older woman sat by the window, looking out onto a small garden.
“Good afternoon, Grandma!” Holly said in a cheerful voice. “I brought you presents!”
The woman turned to face them, a bright smile on her face. “There’s my Sunshine.”
Holly leaned over and gave her a long kiss on the cheek, then glanced out the window. “Oh. The yellow roses in the garden are fading.”
“It’s a wonder they lasted this long.” Her grandmother looked up at Kevin. “I see you’ve brought a young man with you. I approve.”
Holly laughed. “Grandma, there’s nothing to approve. Kevin moved in next door.”
“Did the Fergusons move?”
“No, the other house.”
Her eyes widened. “You moved into that rat trap?”
He laughed, shifting the box to his hip. “It’s a long story, but yes.”
She shook her head and looked at Holly with pity. “So your new friend’s crazy.”
Holly laughed, then graced him with a dazzling smile that stole his breath. “Yeah,” she told her grandmother. “One could argue that he is, but I’ll keep him around.”
Holly tried to take the box, but Kevin held tight and asked, “Where do you want me to put it?”
“I can take it, Kevin.”
He still held on. “I know you can, but there’s no need to when I can put it wherever you want it.”
“Fine,” she said, sounding exasperated. “On the table.”
Kevin set the box down and turned in surprise when he heard Holly’s grandmother chuckling.
“I see you finally met someone you couldn’t boss around.”
Holly rolled her eyes. “What are you talking about? There’s plenty of people I can’t boss around. My boss. Melanie. You.”
The older woman waved off her statement. “I’m talking about the men in your life. All a bunch of spineless ninnies.”
“Grandma!”
Kevin laughed. “She bosses me around plenty. Sometimes I obey her and sometimes I don’t.”
The older woman laughed again, then broke into a phlegmy cough. When she settled down, she winked at him. “Choosing your battles, young man? Wise.”
He nodded with a grin. “Yes, ma’am. My own grandmother taught me well.”
“So why aren’t you dating this handsome man?” she asked Holly.
Holly reached into the box. “Because that’s not an option, Grandma.”
“Well, why the hell not?”
“Grandma!”
She narrowed her eyes at Kevin. “Why aren’t you dating my lovely granddaughter?”
He paused, certain that Holly didn’t want her to know the full reason. He turned his questioning gaze to Holly.
“Grandma, men and women can just be friends. Sometimes they work better that way.”
“I call that bullshit, but I’ll let it drop”—she pointed her finger at Holly and then Kevin—“for now.”
Kevin laughed, but Holly groaned. “You’ll be just disappointed with my answer next time.” She grinned. “Now behave, or Kevin won’t ever come back to see you.”
Kevin tried to hide his surprise that she was considering bringing him back.
The older woman’s face lit up. “What’s in the box?”
“Something pretty for your room.” Holly handed her a vase with the roses, and the older woman set it in her lap, tears filling her eyes.
“They’re beautiful.”
“They’re left over from the wedding reception yesterday. Remember the Murphy wedding?”
Her grandmother’s eyes lit up. “I should have recognized them from your notebook. They look just like you planned.”
“Well, the bride’s mother didn’t want them, so I decided to bring them to you. I was so happy when the bride picked them out. I know they’re your favorite rose.”
“Pashminas,” she whispered, lifting the vase up to her face, then looking up at Holly. “How are mine doing in the yard?”
Holly shot Kevin a panicked look. While she hadn’t told him the Pashmina roses hadn’t done well, it wasn’t hard to figure out they were included in the group of suffering plants.
“They’re gorgeous,” Kevin said, leaning against the wall. “Stunning.”
“Really?” she asked, looking relieved. “My husband gave them to me when we were first married. A wedding gift.”
“What?” Holly asked. “You never told me that.”
The older woman didn’t answer, just looked at the flowers on her lap.
Holly looked upset, and Kevin resisted the urge to pull her into a hug. Instead, he turned his attention to her grandmother. “How long were you married?”
“Thirty years. Not long enough before his heart attack. And then my two boys were killed a year later.” Her eyes filled with tears again, and she wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “My Sunshine and Storm Cloud got me through the pain. I don’t know what I would have done without them.”
“No more of that kind of talk. Mel and I…” Holly sniffed, looking dangerously close to crying. She took a breath and pulled out another vase. “I have fourteen more of these. What would you like to do? I can set them up around your room so you’re surrounded by them.”
Her grandmother shook her head. “That would be selfish of me. Let’s share them. Help me up.”
Holly smiled and looked toward Kevin. He picked up the box and followed them through the halls, giving out flowers to her grandmother’s friends like he was Santa. The residents squealed in delight and Kevin was filled with more contentment than he’d felt in ages. When they’d finished, they went outside and sat in the garden while Holly told her grandmother about last night’s wedding reception, answering her many questions. Kevin piped up from time to time, adding details that Holly glossed over.
“I wish I could have been there to see it,” the older woman said.
“I would have taken pictures with my phone, but I was too busy,” Holly said, sounding apologetic.
“But she’ll have some next time,” Kevin said. “I’m her new assistant, so I can take them.”
Both women gaped at him, Holly looking more surprised than her grandmother.
“That was a joke, Kevin.”
“Not to me.” Then he changed the subject, telling the older woman about his Gram and her current career as a yoga instructor.
“I wish we had something like that here,” she said with a frown. “Something other than painting.”
Kevin grinned. “I bet Gram would love to teach a class before she goes back to Wisconsin or wherever she’s going next. But I have to warn you. My Gram’s a wild one.”
The older woman clapped her hands together. “The wilder the better.”
They walked her back to her room and she cast a glance at Kevin, then pulled Holly into a tight hug. “You remember what I said. You hear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she said dutifully as she stepped back.
The older woman reached for Kevin and gave him a hug.
“It was wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Greenwood.”
“None of that Mrs. Greenwood nonsense,” she said. “Either call me Barb or Grandma.” She patted his face, searching his eyes. “Promise me I’ll see you again.”
His smile fell and he turned serious. “I promise.”
“Good.” Her hand dropped. “Now I’m exhausted, so help me to my chair.”
They got her settled and her eyes drooped.
Holly was silent until they got into her car, and then she turned to him, looking angry. “Why would you promise her such a thing?”
“That I’ll come back? Because I will.”
“But…” She frowned. “Why did you tell her you were my assistant and that you’ll take photos for her?”
He said patiently, “Because I asked if I could try out for your assistant position.”
“There is no assistant position.”
“Well, there should be. That’s too much for one person to do. I plan to talk to my mother tomorrow.”
“What?” Panic filled her eyes. “You can’t do that! She’ll think I’m incompetent.”
“That’s ridiculous, Holly.”
“You can’t say anything. You have to stay out of it.”
“Fine, but you have to let me help you with your next wedding.”
“That’s my big one. The Johansen wedding.”
“The wedding-dress designer?” he asked. When she looked surprised, he grinned. “I pay attention. And if there was ever a wedding you needed help with, it’s that one.”
“You can’t be my assistant, Kevin. There’s no pay.”
“I know, but let me help you anyway.”
“Why?”
“The truth?”
She looked flustered. “Of course.”
He turned in his seat to face her, taking both her hands in his. “I like you, Holly. I’m not sure you fully grasp how much I like you. I want to have something with you. I want to see where this goes.”
She pushed out a groan of frustration. “You know I can’t—”
“Yes, I know all too well about my mother. But you told me there’s a light at the end of your indentured servitude: the Johansen wedding. When you pull that off without a hitch, you should get enough referrals to start your own business, right?”
“A lot of things have to fall into place. …”
“You don’t want to date me while you work for my mother.”
“She’ll fire me, Kevin.”
“So we spend the next two weeks as friends, and then, after the wedding in two weeks, we can be out in the open and we can give this a real try.”
Wariness filled her eyes. “You would wait two weeks?”
“Jesus, Holly.” He grinned. “You make me sound like a horn dog.”
She laughed. “Well, aren’t you?”
“When it comes to you,” he leaned into her ear and whispered, “I think about sex with you All. Day. Long.”
She sucked in a breath, and he started to get hard, thinking about taking her to bed.
“But I’m willing to wait,” he said, nibbling her earlobe. “Because the prize at the end is more than worth it.”
“I thought we were waiting.” Her voice was breathless, turning him on even more.
“We are,” he murmured against her cheek as he trailed kisses to her mouth, then sucked her bottom lip between his teeth.
She pulled her hands from his, linking them behind his neck. “This is waiting?”
“I never said we couldn’t kiss,” he said against her lips. “We’ll just stay at first base until the Johansen wedding. It seems like a good compromise.”
She laughed. “You think you can stay at first base for two weeks?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you. Now, I need to ask a favor.”
“You know you have me at a disadvantage, right?” she said breathlessly after he kissed her again. “I’d agree to just about anything.”
“I need to go to the grocery store. I want to grill for you.”
She grinned. “Sounds like I’m getting the better end of the deal.”
They drove to the grocery store, and after they got a cart they headed to the produce department. Holly checked out a display of strawberries while Kevin looked for the ingredients to make a salad. He was grabbing an onion when he heard a man exclaim, “Oh, my God. Holly Greenwood. Is that you?”
“Tony!” she said, sounding excited.
Kevin stood back, getting pissed at the jealousy rising up when he noticed the guy standing a little too close.
“You look really good.” Tony’s gaze stayed on her legs and chest longer than appropriate.
“Thanks.” She swiveled to look at Kevin, but he pretended to be interested in the potatoes as he waged a massive inner battle not to go over and stake his claim.
“What are you up to?” Tony asked. “Still at the Marriott?”
“No,” she said with a shy smile. “I’m working for an event planner. I mostly work on weddings.”
“No kidding. I remember you used to give the brides advice when they booked the reception room at the hotel. Glad to hear you’re getting paid for it now.”
She cocked her head. “Yeah. Mostly.”
Mostly. What did that mean?
“So does that mean you’re busy most weekends?” he asked.
“Some. I don’t have that many weddings scheduled yet. Most are booked out into next fall and winter. What are you doing back in town?”
“I’m working for a stockbroker in Kansas City now. And Mara and I broke up.”
“Oh.” Then a second later it seemed hit her. “Oh.”
“You still at the same number?”
She looked flustered, and it took everything in Kevin not to walk over and tell the asshole she was taken, but he wouldn’t. Because she wasn’t. Not officially. And that pissed him off so much he literally saw red.
But Mr. Oblivious caught none of it. “Great. I’ll give you a call sometime.”
“Yeah…”
“It’s really great to see you, Holly. You look really good.” He pushed his cart toward the bread section and Holly’s gaze followed him, making Kevin even angrier.
Was she interested in him?
“Who was that?” he asked, trying hard to sound casual and nonchalant but failing miserably.
“Tony. We used to work together at the Marriott.”
“So he broke up with his wife?”
“Girlfriend.”
“He moved away somewhere with her?”
“Wichita. She was in grad school.”
“And now he’s back and wants to take you out on a date.”
“No.” Wariness filled her eyes. “He just wants to catch up.”
“He wants to catch up, all right. He wants to catch up on your legs.”
Her eyes flew wide and a middle-aged woman picking up a head of lettuce next to them stopped and stared open mouthed.
“What are you talking about?” Holly asked, her hands on her hips. “He’s an old friend that wants to catch up. You know…talk.” But she seemed less sure.
“I saw him checking you out, Holly. He wants to do more than talk. Much, much more.”
“You don’t know that.”
“He’d have to be a fucking idiot to not want to. Do you even have any idea how gorgeous you are?”
“Why are you getting so mad?” she asked, getting irritated herself. “We worked together for three years. I haven’t seen him since he moved. We just said hello. That’s it.”
He counted three full seconds before he said, “I don’t like that guy.”
“Why?”
He swallowed and asked in an even tone, “You want to go out with that guy?”
Her eyes blazed with anger. “No, you moron. You really think I’d make out with you ten minutes ago, then arrange a date with someone else in the grocery-store produce aisle with you standing four feet away?”
She was right. He was an idiot, but he hesitated long enough that she mistook his silence. “Find your own way home.” Then she spun around and stomped out of the store.
The woman who had been eavesdropping moved closer to him. “I hear picking up women in the produce aisle is the new dating trend.” Then she batted her eyelashes. “I’m available.”
“Thanks,” he told her, “but we’re going to work it out.” He hoped.
Sighing, he pulled out his phone, trying to figure out whether to call Megan or Matt—which one was less likely to give him grief over this?
The answer was easy: neither. He was better off walking home.