Chapter 2
2
Aaron
If I don’t stop pacing this airport, I’m going to either wear a hole in the floor or get arrested for being too suspicious.
I have never been more nervous than I am right now.
Holly is Spencer’s sister, and there’s a very spoken rule that she is off limits. I’ve spent the better part of seven years trying to convince myself that I don’t care about Holly, that I definitely don’t want to be with her. Except if I’m honest with myself, I very much do want to be with Holly. And being away from her has done nothing to dim my desire.
I’m looking at the board again when a tiny body slams into my legs. I shoot out my hand to stabilise the little guy and his mum rushes over to me. She looks embarrassed at first, but then she just gawks at me before her husband comes to rescue the situation. I’m so used to women flirting with me and gawking at me that I don’t notice it anymore, but her husband certainly did. My phone rings, and I know who it is without having to look at the screen.
“Hey, Spence.”
“Howzit, bro. Is she through yet?”
“Not yet. But according to the board, she has disembarked.” I look up at the board again to confirm because the passengers following the crew out here have dwindled. Holly still hasn’t come through the doors, and neither has Celine, who is flying out to Scotland before going to LA or something.
“Great. Will you let me know when she’s through?”
“Of course.” I know Spencer has been worried sick since Holly boarded the plane in South Africa. I suppose it didn’t help that he watched Taken again a couple of weeks before she came out.
“And Aaron?”
“Yeah?”
“Do not try to fuck my sister.”
“I’m not going to fuck Holly. Jesus, how many times do I have to tell you that?”
“She’s changed in the last two years.”
“But the fact that she’s your sister hasn’t.”
Spencer lets out a sigh of relief. The fact that he doesn’t trust me with his sister stings, but he probably shouldn’t trust me.
“Good.”
When my family moved to South Africa, I was a bitter fifteen-year-old. The only consolation was that Willowmoore High had one of the top rugby teams in the country. I joined the team and Spence, being the captain, took me under his wing. We became fast friends, and I spent a lot of time at his house—more than at my own. At his house we could drink, or come home wasted, even when we were underage. We got away with a lot of shit. Spence’s parents didn’t have a million rules like mine did. At first, Holly was just my best friend’s annoying little sister, but as we grew up, she became cute as fuck and feisty. She also began to show me the real her. The person no one else saw because she hid herself in her notebooks and books. Holly lived in her own world, and I relished the moments when she shared that world with me.
“Can I ask you something?” I ask Spence.
“Yeah, sure.”
I hesitate. It’s one thing for Spence to think I want to fuck Holly, but if he even gets a whiff that I’m in love with her, he’ll fly over here and drag her back to South Africa. I can’t have that. Won’t have that. Holly deserves this holiday. “Would I be so terrible for Holly?”
“Yes. You fuck everything with a skirt, Aaron. My sister won’t be another notch in your belt.”
I try not to take it personally, but it hurts. Sure, when I was in SA, I partied a lot and fucked my fair share of girls. The thing is, I only did that to keep myself from thinking about Holly. Not that it helped. Fucking other women only highlighted how shallow my existence was, and how different things would be if I was with Holly. Things have changed since I recognised that, and we moved back to Scotland. My mum’s lupus got worse when we lived in SA and moving back here made more sense with the NHS. My piece-of-shit father couldn’t hack it and left, leaving me to run the inn and pub. So, even if I didn’t care about Holly the way I do, I don’t have time to be the playboy Spence is accusing me of being. And truth be told, I’m no longer interested in chasing tail.
When we hang up, I move to the barrier so she can see me when she comes out. I resist the urge to do a breath check, just in case she sees me. I take a look at the board one more time, as if it’ll tell me the exact moment Holly is going to come through the doors, and when I look back, my heart literally skips a beat. Because there she is, scanning the crowd.
God, even after a fifteen-hour trip, she looks as fucking stunning as always.
She turns to Celine and says something. Celine waggles her eyebrows. Holly laughs, and the sound of it hits me straight in the balls.
When she starts looking concerned, I realise she probably doesn’t recognise me in the cap. I make my way toward her and can’t stop the grin spreading across my face. A mixture of relief and something I can’t quite place flashes across her face.
“Hey, Trouble.”
“Aaron.” She rolls her eyes and tries to hide her smile but fails.
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. I-Like-To-Kidnap-People-And-Drag-Them-Away-From-Fun,” Celine says.
I smirk. “Celine.”
“So, are you going to hug me or what?” Holly asks.
“I don’t know. You’ve been on a couple of planes for the last fifteen-ish hours. I’m not sure I’m ready for the smell.”
“Jerk.” She punches me in the shoulder. Fuck me, she could always pack a punch. Not only is she more gorgeous with age, but she’s definitely defined her skills. I refuse to give in to the urge to rub at the spot where I’m sure a bruise is now forming. She steps in and wraps her arms around me, and I breathe her in. Holly and I have hugged a million times, and I’ve never taken one of those hugs for granted because every time it feels like home.
I lied about her scent. She smells incredible. Like apple shampoo and flowers. Do not sniff her hair. Do not sniff her hair.
I take a step back just to be safe. “Yeah, I was right. You smell like stuffy airplane.”
I brace for another punch, but she smiles at me instead, and it nearly drops me to my knees. “I missed you too, Aaron.”
I’m so dead. I’m walking a tightrope with no balancing beam or net. If Spencer could read my thoughts, he would kill me.
“Coffee or head straight to the inn?”
“Straight to the inn so I can rinse off my stink.”
“Good choice.” Fuck, I’ve missed this. I’ve missed her. “Where are your bags? If you tell me that backpack is all you have for the next six weeks, I’ll need proof you’re the real Holly.”
“Ha ha. My bag didn’t make it on the connecting flight, but I’ll have them in a couple of days.”
“Oh, that reminds me. Take some of my clothes,” Celine, who has been standing by silently, says. Well, I assume she’s been standing silently by. My world has gotten really small, and all I can see is Holly.
No sooner has Celine finished her sentence than she’s surrounded by enough people to make up a rugby team. Holly takes a step back from the crowd. It’s a small step, but her discomfort is clear. So is the small flicker of pain that flashes across her face.
Holly’s parents moved to South Africa when Carol was pregnant with Spencer. One night, at one of our family’s gatherings, Holly let it slip how she wished we were her genuine family. I don’t blame her, since Celine and I are the only connection she has to “family” outside of her parents and Spencer. But to be honest, I didn’t like the idea of us being anything near family.
I touch her elbow. “You want to get out of here?”
Relief washes over her face. “Yeah, I can’t wait to see Mary.”
Celine breaks away from her family. “Let’s get you to a quieter spot so I can give you some clothes.”
Holly shakes her head, a wide smile replacing her earlier pain. “I’ll be fine. I have some underwear. I can just wear these.” She indicates to the jeans and sweater she has on under her jacket.
“Cece, come on.” A kid from Celine’s family tugs on her arm. A baby howls, and its suddenly chaos around us. The baby’s mum jiggles the kid and looks eagerly at Celine.
“Go, I’m fine. I’ll recycle.”
I don’t know what she means, but I’ll sell a kidney and half my liver to see her in my clothes, so she really doesn’t need to worry about clothes for a few days. Even if she has to roll my pants up and use a belt, I’ll make it work. Now if things were different… I shake the thoughts from my mind. Don’t go there, Aaron.
Celine looks at me. “Be nice to her, Aaron, or I’ll make the hardest tackle you ever experienced look like a tickle fest.”
I suppress a laugh. Celine and Holly are about the same build, and while I have no doubt some damage will be done, I think my six foot four, two-hundred-and-forty pounds might give me a fighting chance. But I suppose I deserve that. When I dragged Holly away from the party at Harties, I’d acted like a protective dick. But there was no way I would have let Ollie grind on her for another second. Even if the guy wasn’t the poster child for STDs, I didn’t want to see anyone touching Holly when it was quite literally every one of my fantasies.
“Need a hand with that?” I reach for her backpack.
Holly repositions it on her shoulder. “I’m good. You’re going to like what I have in here.”
“That so?”
“It’s a care package from Mum.”
“In that case.” I launch for the bag, but she side-steps me, so the bag is out of reach. Damn, I’m losing my edge. I shouldn’t be surprised. Since we came back to Scotland, I haven’t had the time to seek out a club. All my spare time goes to studying online to complete the BSc I started in South Africa. Going for a run every morning and lifting crates of booze isn’t the same as two to three hours of training a day. I used to wish things were different, but I’ve adapted to my life and come to terms with how things need to be. And playing with our small-town team every Sunday morning fills the gap. Almost. Shrugging off thoughts that are neither helpful nor productive, I cross my arms. “When did you become so cruel? Maybe I should let you walk home.”
“No problem. I’ll just ask that guy for a lift.” She points to a mean-looking dude with face tats. “I’m sure he’d love to try a Peppermint Crisp.”
“Not a fuck.” Peppermint Crist is the one sweet I miss the most from South Africa, but I don’t care about that. There is no fucking way Holly is getting in anyone else’s car but mine. Holly shoulder-checks me. Spencer’s right, she’s different. There’s more confidence to her now.
“Let’s go.”