Page 11 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“I wish I looked harder for someone,” she had said as I fixed a leaking tap in the kitchen.“I always thought I’d find someone and it never happened. It would have been nice to find a partner.Promise me you’ll try to find someone, Holden.”

Why the fuck did I say yes?

Because I wanted someone who would shoot me private smiles. I wanted to come home to someone making tea in the kitchen, humming or listening to music on the record player in the living room.

Because Katherine was my mentor. She taught me how to employ people and how to give back to my community. She would talk about her paintings and we’d visit the art gallery together. She showed me how meaningful paint on canvas could be. I owed it to her.

“Why would anyone go for Holden when they can have one of his brothers?”

My stomach hardened. No one was going to choose the silent, grouchy asshole.

A few months ago, after a few beers, Emmett had confessed to me that he had roped Avery into being his fake-fiancée while he ran for mayor in order to seem more responsible, and in the process of convincing the town they were madly in love, it became reality. Hannah had blackmailed Wyatt into helping her.

If I wanted what they had, I had to go out and find her.

Fine. For Katherine, I’d give it one last shot.

6

Holden

The next morning,I sat in my office at work, thinking about the inn. The question had bothered me all night.

Why the hell did Katherine leave it to me?

I didn’t need the money, and she knew that.

She wanted me to take care of the place, I realized. Even after she passed, she wanted someone looking out for the place.

That made sense. Parents left their homes to their kids all the time, and Sadie was the closest thing Katherine had to a daughter.

I wished she had warned me about this, though.

Sadie’s shocked expression from the will reading appeared in my head and I crossed my arms. The weird, yearning twist behind my ribcage was back.

Fuck. Why couldn’t she grow up to have onion breath or tiny, beady eyes like a troll. I pictured her with those stupid wheelie sneakers that got on everyone’s nerves.

There. That was better.

A new image flashed into my head, of her smiling at me yesterday from across the conference room, her gaze roaming over my chest with appreciation.

I shook myself. She wasn’t looking at me like that. She couldn’t stand me.

After the meeting ended, I returned to my office, slid the glass door closed, and took a deep breath. I had made a promise to Katherine, and daydreaming about her niece wouldn’t help.

I pulled out my phone, downloaded a dating app, and began to fill out my profile.

Name: Holden

Age: 34

Searching for: long-term commitment.

Kids? No, but open.

What do you do on weekends? Work, gym, art gallery, family time.

I swiped on a few profiles and within a minute, I had a match. I tapped out a message.

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