might even be worse. But I didn’t want him to see that, so I lifted up my chin and continued reminiscing, “You told me to show you how to do the dance.”
“Yep.”
“And you stayed at my house, learning the waltz routine, until after ten o’clock.”
“Yep.”
“You only left because your dad came to pick you up.”
Holden’s smile turned wistful. “He was upset because I had a competition in the morning in Amarillo.”
“You do remember.” I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread on my face.
“Of course I remember.” There was a tenderness, a vulnerability that I didn’t see in Holden’s eyes very often. Not that I’d spent a lot of time gazing into his eyes lately, but even from a peripheral view, I hadn’t spied it.
I sensed that he had more to say, but he remained quiet. As we glided across the floor, I couldn’t help but feel like I was living out another one of my fantasies. I’d dreamed about dancing with Holden almost as much as I’d dreamed about him showing up and confessing his undying love to me.
Being with him here, like this, felt like a dream. Whenever we were together, no matter who we were around it always felt like it was just the two of us. That was exactly what it felt like now. Like we were the only two people in the world.
“Why are you dating that asshat?”
The harshness of his tone and the crassness of his question snapped me out of the bubble I’d been floating in.
I straightened my shoulders. “Date. Singular. Not plural.”
“He’s not good enough for you.”
I wasn’t sure if his objection was coming from a brotherly place, and he was trying to protect me because I was Bentley’s little sister. Or if it was jealousy. I knew it wasn’t very enlightened of me, but I really hoped it was because he was jealous.
“He’s a lawyer,” I defended Matthew just like I had Tyler and David and Brad and every other guy I’d dated in the past few months.
Holden’s jaw tensed. “I don’t care if he’s the fucking pope, he’s not good enough for you.”
Holden hadn’t ever been what I would describe as warm and cuddly, but I’d never seen him look this pissed off. I wanted to find out what was motivating him to be so agitated and vocal. Even during the years he’d spent ignoring me, he hadn’t been angry, just indifferent. As unhealthy as it was, I couldn’t help but love seeing some emotion from him.
“He’s not that bad.” He was, but I didn’t want to admit that.
“He’s been checking out every female under fifty that walks into his line of vision.”
I didn’t care if Matthew had an orgy with every woman in here. I knew within sixty seconds of meeting him that it wasn’t going to happen. I was just going through the motions. “Well, I mean, there are a lot of pretty women here tonight.”
Tension radiated off from him in waves. “Are you defending him?”
I shrugged. “I’m just saying, it’s our first date. It’s not that serious.”
“First date. Does that mean you’re going to have a second date?”
Hell no, but there was no way I was going to tell him that. I was enjoying this way too much. “Maybe.”
“I hope you’re fucking around because if you are serious, then you need to set higher standards for yourself. Maybe you should invest in some therapy or self-esteem books instead of going out with a different guy every day of the week.”
His words felt like a slap in the face and I stopped dancing and just looked at him. I couldn’t believe that he had said those things to me. I could see that he was frustrated and upset but I didn’t care. He’d shut me out of his life for years, and he couldn’t just waltz—pun intended—back into it and call the shots.
The music stopped and I pulled out of his arms.
“Thanks for the dance.” I walked back to the table, where Matthew was speaking to a woman I didn’t recognize.
I didn’t look back to see if Holden was watching me, but I could feel that he was.
“I’m ready to go,” I announced as I approached the table and grabbed my purse.
Matthew’s eyes lit up. I could tell that he thought something was going to happen between us. He was wrong.
Chapter 15
Holden
“You make mistakes, mistakes don’t make you.”
~ Maggie Calhoun
I paced back and forth in the front room and it wasn’t because my back hurt so much that