Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Hollis nearly misses the turn into the parking garage. The tires squeal as he makes the hard right. He barely has the car in park before he jams the release on his seat belt, spears his hands into my hair, and takes my mouth in a searing, bone-melting kiss.
When I reach for his belt buckle, he covers my hand with his. “As much as I want your hands on me, Roman is finally talking to me again, and being caught getting a handy in my car when we’re an elevator ride away from a bed seems unnecessary.”
“Fair.” I back off, and Hollis rearranges himself before we exit the vehicle. The elevator takes forever to arrive, but it’s empty, so he backs me into the corner. “I can’t wait to get my hands all over you,” he murmurs as he kisses a path up my neck.
The elevator dings, and he puts distance between us as the doors slide open. Which is good because my dad is in the hall, holding a giant gift bag with the word Congratulations written across the front in cursive.
“Oh, hey. I tried to drop this off, but you obviously weren’t there, and the safety latch was on, so I guess Rix and Tristan are.”
“That’s a safe bet.”
He nods, and his gaze shifts between me and Hollis. “I thought you’d want to celebrate a little, but uh…maybe later?”
My heart squeezes. He’s really trying. Do I want to celebrate by getting naked? Yes. But I want to help repair my dad’s relationship with Hollis first.
“I was supposed to meet the girls at the Watering Hole in a couple of hours, but we could head over now?” I suggest.
“I don’t want to interfere with whatever plans you’ve made.” He looks so unsure of himself, and sad.
“You’re not interfering, Dado. This is a big deal and a big day. I want you to be part of it. We both do.” I squeeze Hollis’s hand.
“Come on, Roman.” Hollis pulls my dad into the elevator with us.
I hit the button for the lobby and send a group message about the slight change in plans.
When we step out of the elevator, Hollis laces my fingers with his, and we walk down the street together. We grab our favorite table, but instead of sliding into the seat beside my dad, Hollis takes the spot beside me and stretches his arm across the back of my chair. Our regular server pops by, and Hollis orders me a martini the way I like it and beers for him and my dad.
Dad looks between us. “You picked Aurora up from her exam?” He’s started calling me Aurora recently. I’m not a hundred percent sure I want him to anymore. I don’t feel like I’m fighting to be seen as an adult the way I used to.
“I did,” Hollis says.
My mouth is suddenly dry. I’m not sure where this is going.
“You take your SUV or the Audi?” Dad asks.
“The Audi.”
He nods and rubs his bottom lip with his thumb. “How long before you got mobbed?”
Hollis laughs. “As soon as I got out of the car.”
“That was a rookie move.”
“I wasn’t thinking.”
“Don’t you remember when we picked Aurora up from one of her high school dances in my Porsche?” Dad asks.
I slap the table. It was green and over the top and impossible not to notice. “I was so freaking embarrassed! And then I had to cram myself in the back seat!”
“Shit. I do remember that. You were pissed at us.” Hollis laughs.
“You were all my friends talked about for weeks. It was so annoying.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling. It wasn’t long after that when I flubbed my math test and tried to make Hollis my tutor. Never in my wildest dreams did I actually believe we’d end up here.
“I’m sure it was frustrating.” Hollis gives me a knowing smile.
I elbow him in the side. “Oh my God, check your ego.”
“I gotta use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Hollis kisses me on the cheek and slides out of the booth.
“I can’t believe I didn’t see it,” Dad muses.
“See what?”
“The way you look at each other.”
“We were trying to hide it for a long while. And I’m sorry for that.”
He shakes his head. “I would have had a hard time no matter what, Pe—Aurora. I know you’re an adult, but you’ll always be my baby girl. And Hollis is my best friend. There wasn’t an easy way around this.”
“He’s still your best friend?” I ask.
“Yeah. It’ll take me a while to get over this, but I see how he is with you. How he feels about you is written all over his face. That he was able to hide it for as long as he did is a freaking miracle. No one was ever going to be good enough for you, but if there’s one person I trust to put you first, it’s him.”