Chapter 4
Ford
“Um…”
Fuck. I know what she’s about to say. I can feel it too, my cock practically burrowing its way into her.
“Just ignore it, Holly. Please.” My voice is strained, but I just want to hold her. “It means nothing. I’m a guy and it’s the middle of the night. You’re scared and sad. Just let me hold you for a second.”
And then she says the unexpected. I thought maybe she’d pull away or say something awkward. Nope. She simply asks, “How do you know I’m sad?”
And like a grade-A asshole, I state the obvious. “I would have bought you pink flowers.” I shouldn’t say it. It’s too intimate. It’s too revealing. But I can’t help myself.
Her voice is quiet in reply, muffled against my chest. “Why would you say that?”
“They’re your favourite.”
With that little tidbit, she pushes back. I said too much. Way too much. Damn. I shouldn’t be saying this to my friend’s girlfriend. No matter how much I’ve grown to dislike the dude.
“Um, I should—” her eyes bounce from mine to the floor “—call Damon.”
“Ya.” I let her go. I have to. I start to back away and make my way to the door when she calls my name, and like the besotted fool that I am, my heart soars.
“Ford?”
“Ya?”
“Can I…um…use your phone?”
Yup. That’s my life. Letting the girl I’ve been crushing on use my phone to call her douche canoe of a boyfriend. “Sure.”
We walk downstairs together like we’re heading into a funeral, all solemn and sad. But that’s probably just me. As I hand her the phone, I take a seat on the couch. She doesn’t go far and I hear the phone ring.
“Hey man what’s up?” Damon’s clear voice rings through but is quickly cut off by a woman.
“Give me that,” the woman on the other end obviously says to Damon, and then begins her interrogation.
“Who are you and why are you calling my boyfriend in the middle of the night?” Only it’s not an inquisition and she starts giggling.
My heart launches itself into my throat as I watch Holly’s face crumble.
Without a word from Holly, Damon jumps back on the phone thinking he’s talking to me. “Gotta go, man.”
Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. My heart is swelling up in my throat and I have no words. No idea what to do or what to say. If Damon was here I’d throat punch him, but I have nowhere to channel my adrenaline.
My phone is sitting in Holly’s hand, and she’s frozen in time.
“Shit, Holly. Are you okay?”
She just looks up at me with a blank look and then tears start to pool in her eyes. The raging hard on I had has disappeared, so I think it’s safe to hold her again but I don’t know if that’s what she needs.
I go up to her anyway and put my arms around her. Her body’s stiff, but she drops her forehead to my chest.
“You’re gonna be alright, Holly. It’s okay.” I start to say shit that makes no sense and is super cliche, but I’ve got nothing else to offer her. Well, nothing appropriate.
Her sniffles have me looking around for some tissue paper, and I—begrudgingly—remove my arms from around her to grab some.
“I’m sorry, Holly—”
“Why are you apologizing?” she chokes out.
I grab the back of my neck, not sure what stance to take here. “I dunno. I’m Canadian?”
Her half sob half laugh tells me that was the right answer.
“I’m sorry you’re sad. I hate to see you this way.”
“You do?”
“Ya.”
We just stare at each other. Her eyes are searching me, though I don’t know what for. Finally, after my heart has thumped out several dozen more loud beats, she says, “You know what the crazy part is?”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not sad for the reason I probably should be.”
“What does that mean?”
“I should be sad that my boyfriend’s a cheating asshole, right?”
I just nod. That seems like the right answer here.
“But I’m not sad about that.” She shakes her head, almost in disbelief. “I’m mourning my morality.”
At that confession, she must read confusion on my face because she goes on to explain, “I’m sad that I’m relieved.”
“What are you relieved about?”
With a deep inhale, she straightens her shoulders a little and looks me dead in the eye. “I’m relieved that whatever that relationship was is now over. It hasn’t been…anything healthy for around six months. We haven’t even had…” she drops her gaze and I take a step closer.
“What, Holly?” We’re toe to toe, and I’m desperate to touch her. Waiting. I don’t want to look too eager. She’s literally breaking up with a guy this minute. What does that make me? A vulture? Damn. But I’m gone for her. I’ll do whatever she needs.
My hands are on her waist, loosely, and when she settles her hands on my forearms, I realize that this is what she needs right now. I’m moving at her pace.
Her eyes meet mine and pin me in place. I couldn’t move if the business my five brothers and I own, Briggs Construction Company, arranged for a demolition crew to come in and start knocking down all the walls around us.
“He touched me more tonight, in front of you, than he has in months.”
I wait.
“I don’t know why I stayed with him. It wasn’t a good time to break up because he said he was stressed at work, so I thought it would pass. But as I waited, my feelings for him slowly leaked out. Tonight was way past the final straw. Even before that phone call. When…”
“When he came back with those flowers?”
“How did you know?”
“I could see it all over your face, Holly.”
“But…you don’t even like me. Why would you notice that?”
A cough resembling an unamused chuckle huffs out of me. “You don’t think I like you?”
“No. You never come around. If you do, you’re always grumpy. You don’t look at me—”
“Check my phone, Holly.” I have to tell her. This move is sink or swim, but I have to try.
“What?”
“Here.” I unlock my phone. “Look at my photos.”
She clicks open the photos and sees the recent shots of her.
“You were supposed to delete those.”
“You think I’ll ever delete those?” I pull her in a little closer, leaving a small wisp of a gap between us.
“You won’t?”
“No, Holly. I’m keeping those. You in that tiny, hot pink bikini got me so hard—”
My phone clatters to the island as she reaches up with both hands. She doesn’t have to drag me down for a kiss. My arms tighten around her and our lips crash together.
Finally. She’s mine.