Page 36 of Charmed and Alarmed

“Are you bringing a date? To Honor’s thing?”

My eyes snap open in surprise. At this angle, I can’t see his face, but my heart is in my throat as the question sinks in.

“No,” I admit, willing my voice not to waver. “Would you mind? If I did?”

Snip.

Holden moves out of sight, and while I keep my eyes on the microwave, I can see long chunks of dark hair that have fallen to the kitchen floor. “Yes.” His voice is calm but grave. “I would mind.”

Snip.

Every breath seems to come with so much more effort than usual. I’m just sitting here, not moving, and yet my heart is suddenly thundering in my chest. This is the conversation I’ve been afraid to broach, still so shaken by the feelings this man has pulled out of nowhere and into vivid, inescapable existence.

“What about you?” I question him gently, “You’re not one to go to these things alone.”

Snip. Snip.

In the corner of my vision, I can see half of Holden’s face now. His eyes are narrowed, focused on the task at hand, and yet I’ve never seen him look so grave. “You’re the only one I want to go to these things with.”

It feels like my heart is going to break free from my chest and go skittering off across the floor to hand itself over to him. Holy hell. Oh god. We’re really talking about this.

Holden Ellinger, notorious bachelor and my father’s business partner, is standing in my kitchen, cutting my hair and telling me he doesn’t want me going on dates with anyone other than him, and that he doesn’t want to go on dates with anyone other than me.

Snip.

Holden moves in front of me now, and sitting on the stool, our eyes are at the same level. He stares at me, serious and unsmiling, and I stare back. A thousand problems hang in the air between us, andgod, it’s never been so clear thatI don’t care. This is worth it.Weare worth it.

The hand holding the scissors falls to his side. “Len,” Holden murmurs, his voice a low, raspy plea. “Put me out of my misery, here. Tell me I’m not alone in this.”

I laugh because I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. “You’re not alone in this. Not even a little bit.”

Something flickers to life behind Holden’s bright eyes, a fire that’s different than the usual life I see there. Slowly, with obvious difficulty, he lifts the scissors again, returning his focus to my hair.

Snip.

“It wasn’t supposed to go this way,” I recall with a feeble, watery little laugh.

His answering smile is soft. “Yes, it was.”

“No!” I scoff, struggling to hold still as he returns to my hair. “Are you kidding? I doubt you went into this thinking there would be… you know. Feelings.”

“‘You know? Feelings?’” he echoes with a chuckle.Snip.“And people callmeemotionally stunted.”

“Cut me some slack. I’ve never done this before.”

Holden moves out of sight again, and his fingers appear on either side of my head, moving it back to center. “Neither have I, Len. You’ve had me on the hook since New Year’s, though.”

My heart stalls. “I have?”

“Yes.”Snip.“For months I kept acting as if everything was normal, kept expecting it to go away, but then you started at E&V and…” He lets out a low, rumbling laugh. “The rest is history.”

The rest is history.I’ve heard that phrase used by married couples, telling the story of how they met. My father has used them as he recounted how he fell for Sophie. Honor has said it about Julian. They’re the kind of words that would have made me panic even a month ago, but now, they make me feel full.

“What now?” I ask, barely able to recognize my own voice. “Do you want to be together? Like, a real couple?”

Holden’s expression is thoughtful as he moves back into view, his eyes zooming between both sides of the hair framing my face, ensuring it’s even. When he’s satisfied, they lift to meet mine. “Yes.”

Yes.

---