Chapter 10
Ten
A few hours later, they had finished their Mexican takeout, Shmoop was outside, and Holly was feeling completely serene.
The fireplace crackled softly in the background, casting a warm glow over the living room. The Scrabble board was set up in the center of the coffee table, surrounded by half-eaten snacks, a pair of oversized mugs, and a noticeable level of tension.
When Lucas suggested playing a board game after dinner, she thought he was crazy. Personally, she had hoped he’d just scoop her back up in his arms, carry her upstairs, rip off her robe, and ravish her again.
Not that stripping herself earlier was a bad thing, but this time, she secretly hoped he would do it for her.
But she supposed playing a game was a good way to pass the time before they got back to the sexy stuff.
Please let there be more sexy stuff…
Across from her, Lucas lounged on the floor, one knee up, casually sipping his tea.
Meanwhile, Holly sat cross-legged with the oversized robe tucked around her, her brow furrowed in laser-sharp concentration as she rearranged the letters on her rack for the fifth time.
And she swore she could feel him mocking her.
"Okay. Don’t rush me."
He smiled lazily. "I haven’t said a word in three minutes."
"Your breathing is impatient."
Lucas raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "You know it’s just a game, right?"
She shot him a look like he just insulted her dog. "It is not just a game. It’s Scrabble. A battle of intellect. A war of wits. A fight to the death—"
Now he smirked. "—using seven wooden tiles."
But she ignored him, suddenly lighting up. "Yes! Got it!" Picking up her tiles, she quickly slapped her word down with the flair of someone dropping a royal flush. “Quizzed! Ha! Top that!”
Lucas blinked before leaning in. "Triple word score?"
“Yup! Seventy-eight points. Boom!” Laughing, she wrote down the score.
Groaning dramatically, Lucas flopped down onto his back. "I was winning two minutes ago."
"Um…no. You were existing two minutes ago. Now you’re losing." She smiled sweetly at him. “I told you I’m competitive.” She tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth with the confidence of a champion as Lucas propped himself back up and narrowed his eyes at the board.
"You know, most people are fun to play board games with."
"This is fun! I know I’m having fun."
He chuckled. “I can’t even imagine what game night is like at your house. Do you have any brothers or sisters? Are they like this too?”
“Two brothers, one sister, and I never lose to them.”
He groaned.
She leaned forward, chin in her hands, absolutely glowing with triumph. Maybe she could lighten up a bit, but she had a feeling if they did anything that he excelled at, he’d be just as competitive.
"Your move, champ."
Lucas stared at his rack with yet another groan. “All vowels. How the hell did I end up with all vowels? Did you take all the consonants when I got up to get more tea?”
Her eyes went wide. “Are you seriously accusing me of cheating?”
All he did was sigh.
“I would never cheat,” she said primly. “I don’t know who you play with, but I was taught not to cheat.
“Okay, okay…I was just joking. Sheesh.” He sighed. “Can I just spell 'ouch' and surrender?” he looked positively miserable.
"I’ll allow it. But only if you admit I’m the superior Scrabble player."
"Fine. You’re the Queen of Scrabble."
She preened, giving him another sweet smile. "I know."
But her smile turned to amusement as she watched him pretend to pout, and without a word, she tossed him one of the chocolate chip cookies from their tray of snacks.
“What the…?”
"Consolation prize."
“Yeah. Great.” He took a bite, shaking his head. "Still tastes like defeat."
Winking, she said, “Aww…poor baby. Want some milk with that?”
But when she went to stand, Lucas somehow managed to get up and playfully tackle her to the couch. She squeaked with surprise and then delight as her robe fell open just enough that it made it easy for him to finish the job.
Yes!
Holly helped him get the robe off before returning the favor with the sweatpants he was wearing. It was sexy and playful and just…everything. She had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring, but for tonight, she was the happiest girl in the world.
“Lucas, I think I’m going to buy into this spa! They have memberships where I can come anytime I want and get any service I want. I’m emailing you the contract!”
He and Holly had just finished brunch and she was outside with Henry and his crew, overseeing the rest of the exterior lighting. Meanwhile, he was now dealing with his mother.
Again.
“And I’ve decided to go on a cruise for Christmas! Won’t that be fun?”
“Wait…you’re going to go on a cruise? I thought you were going to—”
“I know, I know, but I changed my mind. My good friend Barb talked me into one of those adults-only cruises. No children allowed. And honestly, it sounds too good to be true! There’s going to be all kinds of games and contests, and I heard they give away some fabulous prizes!
My goal is to win either a trip to Hawaii or something comparable. ”
They were really going to be the death of him.
“When did you get so…so…”
He wanted to say greedy, but it just seemed wrong.
And perhaps a little disrespectful. She may frustrate the hell out of him, but she was still his mother.
“So…what?” she asked. “What exactly are you getting at?”
“Why are you trying to win a trip to Hawaii when you can clearly afford to pay for that on your own? I just don’t understand when you and Dad became this obsessed with being…
I don’t know…prize chasers! And why are you so against seeing me, Katherine, and Anna for the holidays?
You started all these traditions and made a big fuss every year about us keeping them and now you’re just taking off on some singles’ cruise! And you’re not even single!”
“I will be soon. You know, you still haven’t gotten back to me on those papers I sent you. You’re typically not that busy this time of year, so I don’t know why you’re dragging your feet. The sooner I can get the ball rolling, the better. Then maybe I will be single for the cruise!”
“I refuse to help you do that,” he said firmly. “I am not getting involved. If this is something you feel you need to do, then you’re going to have to hire your own lawyer and deal with Dad yourself. I’m tired of being in the middle.”
“Lucas! How could you? You said you’d help!”
“Um…actually, I didn’t. You just started sending me papers and then claimed that I was your attorney.
But I’m not a divorce lawyer. I’m a corporate lawyer.
They aren’t the same. I don’t deal with divorces or even know the laws about them.
So if you are going to go through with this, you have to do it the right way.
Honestly, I wish you and Dad would just sit down and stop chasing these silly, pointless prizes and games and be reasonable adults. ”
“I’m not the one…”
“And I’m not doing this anymore!” he interrupted. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have plans this afternoon. Enjoy your spa, and good luck finding a lawyer.”
“Lucas, don’t you dare hang up! You need to…”
He hung up.
And turned off his phone.
Hell, he should never have answered it in the first place.
The day had been going so freaking great.
He and Holly had slept in—mainly because they hadn’t slept much last night—and then they’d taken Shmoop for a long walk.
When they got back, Holly told him she was going to make them something to eat, and they had worked together to make Belgian waffles with bacon and fresh fruit on the side.
It had been the most fun he’d ever had cooking anything.
When the crew showed up to finish the lights, Lucas had gone outside with everyone just to be knowledgeable about what was going on.
Holly was really the one in charge, but he figured he should take an interest in it too.
Henry said it would probably take the rest of the day for them to get it all done, but he brought a few extra guys to make sure it was finished today.
So he’d left them all to it and went inside to clean up the dishes. The dog had followed him and he was pretty sure Shmoop was hoping for food to drop on the floor.
“I’m on to you, dog. But you and I both know that Holly would kill me if I let you eat any table food. She’s a little obsessed with you sticking to your diet.”
Shmoop tilted his head, listening intently.
“She must have her reasons, so I’m not going to go against her wishes. So you just have to accept the fact that I’m not an ally, okay?”
The dog actually responded with some sort of language of his own, but to Lucas, it sounded something like, “Come on.”
Which was rather amusing, but it still wasn’t going to work.
After the kitchen was clean, he went upstairs and cleaned up the room they’d slept in last night.
Holly already told him she needed to go home tonight because she was going to need clean clothes for work tomorrow, so that meant he needed to strip this bed and wash everything.
He could wait for the cleaning crew to come, but he was more than capable of doing it himself.
It didn’t take all that long and then he was left wandering around looking for something to do.
Sadly, he didn’t have to wait long because his boredom got the better of him and he turned his phone back on just as his sister Anna was calling.
“Hey, Anna! What’s up?”
“What the hell did you say to Mom?” she demanded. “She is positively freaking out right now!”
With a weary sigh, he went and sat down on the living room sofa. “And did she tell you why she was freaking out?”
“Something about a cruise and wanting to buy a timeshare at some resort in Palm Springs? I think? I don’t know. She was saying so many things and the kids were chasing each other around with bubble wands, so it was hard to hear.”
“She’s upset because I told her I would not act as her divorce attorney. It’s not what I do and…”