Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 489(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“Sorry to disrupt your plans.”
“Feel free to disrupt the rest of my life.”
A breath of a laugh found me as my cheeks heated, something about the permanence of that joke making my stomach erupt with butterflies.
“Come here,” Holden said, and he tilted my chin with his knuckles until I lifted my gaze to his. Those knuckles brushed against my cheek then, his green eyes a brilliant hue of emerald in the bright afternoon sun overhead. He swallowed, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, and then closed it again.
“What?” I breathed.
His jaw was tight, but then he let out a little breath, shaking his head. Instead of saying another word, he lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me as his brows furrowed like it pained him to do so.
I didn’t know what he was going to say, but I felt it, too — whatever it was. The heaviness, the weight of something both of us were a little afraid of, just as much as we were enamored by it.
But it didn’t need to be put into words right now.
Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in closer, my fingers tangling in the hair at his nape. He crushed me to him, both of us sighing contently at the connection.
Kissing him felt natural, inevitable, like it was the one thing in this world I was always meant to do.
And on a freezing cold day in early December, on a little bench in a garden his hands built, Holden Moore claimed me in every way there was to be claimed. I melted into him, surrendering, letting the unfamiliar, all-encompassing joy wash over me and take me under.
My eyes fluttered shut, mind clearing and body desperate for the hour when the party would be over, and everyone would be gone, and I could sneak into his bedroom — the same way he had snuck into my heart.
For that moment in time, in Holden’s arms, everything was perfect.
Until I opened my eyes and found my father standing behind him.
Holden
I stared at my hands clasped between my knees and tried not to shit myself.
The house had been cleared, the team told enthusiastically by Coach to go out and celebrate. I knew without him having to say it that he meant everyone but me.
He’d held his smile, his composure, until the last teammate was out the door. Then, he’d told Julep to go home without so much as looking at her.
Clearly, he had intentions of dealing with me first.
Now, it was just the two of us in the living room, trash and food left everywhere from the team. The TV was still on, the analysts going on about their bowl predictions. Coach found the remote and muted it before he stood on the opposite side of the room from where I sat, his arms folded, jaw clenched shut.
I didn’t know if he wanted me to speak first or wait to be spoken to. The latter seemed more probable, so I waited, trying to come up with a game plan. There was no use in lying, in trying to make excuses. He’d caught us red-handed.
At this point, the only thing I could do was apologize, ask for forgiveness, and explain the truth.
When another few minutes passed without him saying a word, I cleared my throat. “Sir, I—”
He held up a hand to silence me.
I swallowed, and another minute passed before he let out a long breath and finally looked at me. “I wish I could say I’m surprised.”
He let the weight of those words settle over us, his glare severe. He meant it as an insult and wanted to make sure it landed before he moved on.
“I had one rule,” Coach said. “One. I didn’t care if the team partied. I didn’t care if grades slipped a little, if we needed to pull some strings to keep the guys on the starting lineup. I knew coming in as a new coach that the team would be stressed out enough as it was, so I did everything I could to make the environment one where everyone could let loose a little, where they could focus on the task at hand. One rule,” he said again. “That was all I asked for.”
I knew better than to try to speak again, but I didn’t waver where I held his gaze. I fought the temptation to look back down at my hands.
Coach shook his head like I disgusted him.
“I don’t want to be in this house with you any longer than necessary,” he finally said. “So let me just tell you what’s going to happen next so we can both move on. You are going to leave Julep alone. You are going to call whatever this thing is off. And you’re going to do it today.”