Page 103 of Love Me Boldly

But his words brought back the present. Reality. When Graham was around, I didn’t think, and I didn’t worry, but now it was front and center.

“Promise me, Holly. When your doctor calls, I want to be there with you.”

“Why?”

Graham smirked at me like he found me adorable. “You know why.” He kissed me again, quickly, and pried my fingers off his shirt, the sides now wrinkled from my hands. “Get inside and lock the door. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Reaching around me, he opened the door. When I didn’t move, his hands went to my hips, and he moved me back through the doorway.

“Good night, Holly.”

I reached for the doorframe to steady myself. “Good night, Graham.”

I closed the door and locked it, but I kept an eye through the narrow window next to the door and watched Graham jog out to his truck. Before he climbed in, he gave one last look back at my home. I didn’t know if he saw me watching him through the sheer curtain, but I saw his smile before he got into his truck and shut the door.

He wanted to be with me when I went to the doctor. Caroline had volunteered, but that meant she needed other people down at the restaurant. Could I have taken her up on it? Sure.

But Graham wasn’t giving me an option, and I knew it was solely because he wanted to be there for me. He wanted to support me and help me through whatever was about to come.

Which meant I wasn’t alone.

And if I kept trusting him, I doubted I’d ever be alone again.

It was as terrifying as it was peaceful.

With a heavy sigh, I flipped off the lights downstairs and headed upstairs to bed. It was after eleven, and I had a long day, but sleep didn’t come easy.

My bed suddenly felt too large, too cold, and too empty.

Soon. Graham had said.

My body warmed at the thought. Soon, maybe I wouldn’t be spending every night alone either.

THIRTY-THREE

HOLLY

“I want to meet him.”

My head jerked up at the intruder, who was now standing like a giant in the doorway to my office at the back of the restaurant. It used to be Caroline’s, but once I took over all office management tasks, I kicked her and her messy organizational system out.

Cole had his arms crossed over his chest, decked out in his full police officer uniform, and if he thought he could intimidate me, well, he was right.

Even when I knew he was a good man and patient and an excellent father with a great sense of humor, when he put on his uniform, he became someone else entirely. Someone I definitely wouldn’t want to mess with.

“Excuse me?” I leaned back in my office chair and spun it so I was facing him.

“This guy I heard about. I want to meet him.”

“To threaten to beat him up if you don’t like him?”

A twisted smirk curled his lips. “Or worse.”

A laugh slipped from me, making Cole scowl. “You’re joking. Trina would learn not to tell you things.”

“The day my wife starts keeping secrets from me is the day we have problems, but Trina wouldn’t do that, so we won’t. I want to meet him, Holly. Make sure he’s good enough for you and Jonah.”

Something strange hit my senses, making my nose prickle and my eyes burn. Cole was always looking out for me, and as I looked at him, realization hit.

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