presses, staring at me as I stand with a half grin on my face.
Don’t say it, Holt. Don’t fucking say it.
“Bonnie.”
He laughs, and I give a tight, slightly embarrassed smile back. Fuck it. I’ve dug the hole, might as well bury myself in humiliation.
“Petite, blonde curls, feisty.”
He points a knowing finger at me. “You must be Clyde.”
She talked about me. I open my mouth to speak, but before I can say anything, a startled voice comes from behind him. “Oh my God. This isn’t happening.”
I lean to the side, peeking around the half-naked butler to see a roasted version of the girl I met earlier. She looks horrified, and I can’t help but laugh. Her head drops, probably realizing she’s in a towel, and then looks back to me before she spins around and takes off out of the room. Shit.
“Hold on,” I call out, shoving the tea at the guy. “For you. From my momma.” And I push past him inside the house. “Wait a minute.”
She barrels through the room, heading for a door, but by the time I close the distance, she shuts it in my face.
“Hey,” I say quietly, softly knocking on the door. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m sorry I laughed. It’s not too bad. I’ve had worse.”
Silence.
“Come on, Bonnie, how ya gonna do me this way? We’re partners, remember.”
Nothing.
“Hey, you should know, I’m not that easy to get rid of. Give me something—I tracked you down, after all. That deserves something, right? You have to admit this’s an epic move.”
“More like stalking. Which is illegal,” she yells. Bingo! She speaks.
“Well, I’d argue since we only just met this afternoon that you haven’t given me the proper amount of time to become obsessed with you.”
The guy from the front comes up and hands me a tube of aloe, mouthing, “Good luck,” as he motions his head to the door before he walks away. I stare at it for a minute, using it to knock again.
“Give me a chance, Bonnie,” I plead, hoping this last part makes her take the bait. “I’ve got aloe.”
Seconds tick by, making my throat dry. But I finally swallow when the springs in the handle creak, and the door pulls open ever so slightly. Her bright blue eyes show themselves through the cracked door.
“It’s Ava. Not Bonnie.”
“Nice to meet you, Ava. I’m Holt Price.”
Ava
“You’re right. This does feel good.”
“Told you. Now sit still,” he chastises, applying more aloe to my shoulders as I shrug.
Once I got over my embarrassment, I threw on some leggings, kept the towel, and followed Holt to the porch swing. We’ve been sitting for the last hour, indecently flirting, talking about his love for a good burger, and laughing over our mutual obsession with TikTok. It’s comfortable and nice. And each time he looks at me with those bright green eyes, I kind of want to melt like ice cream on a summer day.
“Thank you,” I breathe out, as the wind tickles over my skin with every sway of the bench. It makes the aloe feel like ice on my burn, and that feels like heaven. My fingers stroke the condensation on the glass of sweet tea I’m holding on my lap.
“So let me get this straight. You and that girl weren’t even dating? Not even a little?”
He’s filled me in on all things Lilibeth, but the more he talks, the more I like him, so I want to confirm it again.
“No. I told you, not really. Today was my effort to secure more.”
I smile, staring out at the dark weeping willows in the front yard. More? He means to sleep with her. She was a challenge.
“Why are you smiling?”
He’s staring at my profile. I know he’s staring because my stomach gets all flippy, and I have to bite my top lip so I don’t smile.
“Because”—I turn my face to meet his—“you’re a ‘big risk equals big reward’ kind of guy. But I have a pretty good idea that you like the challenge. I’m also positive you weren’t thinking about her heart with that basket of goodies today.”
His eyes dart down to my mouth and back up. “You have pretty lips.”
My own grow wide, because he’s not embarrassed about being called out, and he’s undoubtedly unapologetic about the truth. I don’t mind either. But I still turn away, because he’s intense—like a missile toward a target.
“How long are you in town?”
He’s playing with a piece of my hair as he says it, and my legs squeeze against the cold