Page 29 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

He made a noise of acknowledgement and I admired him in his pale blue Oxford shirt, sleeves rolled up to mid-forearm. His skin was tanned from the summer and dark hair dusted his arms.

Those forearms. Yowza. I wasn’t a religious woman but I’d happily pray to the patron saint of forearms for everything she had done for our world. Holden could probably find a wife today based on his forearms alone.

His hand came to my lower back and my stomach dipped at the contact.

“Sadie,” he murmured.

“Yes?”

God, he had nice eyes. And he was so tall. I liked that I had to tilt my neck up at him. He smelled nice, too. Warm, spicy, and comforting.

He gently nudged me forward. Oh. The line in front of me had filed onto the boat while I was ogling him.

He held a hand out to help me onto the boat and cleared his throat, giving me the side eye. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I chirped, brushing my hands down my tomato-red pleated maxi dress. The day was warm enough for the thin straps. “This is my lucky dress.” I nudged him with my elbow. “Figured it would help you.”

His gaze moved over me again before he inhaled and straightened up. “What’s the plan for today?”

The deckhand prepared for the boat to leave the harbor as the last guests climbed aboard.

I glanced around, surveying the group of people. Lots of pretty people here today, I noticed. “The plan is to have fun, Holden.”

He stared down at me.

I blinked back up at him. “Ah! I see.” I clapped my hands together. “Funis when you smile and chat and feel happy right here.” I reached out and patted his chest.

His chest was firm and warm, and I ignored that.

His gaze dropped to my hand before I pulled it away.

“Being on a boat with fifty people is not my idea of fun.”

I grinned at him. “That doesn’t surprise me, but we need to expand your repertoire. That’s how you meet people, Holden. You go to new places and smile and act like you’re a nice person.”

“Holden.” A tall, tanned man with dark blond hair and a very white smile clapped him on the shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

Holden nodded hello. “Hey. I’m, um.” He blinked.

Right. We were keeping this a secret.

“Hi,” I said, smiling bright at the human Ken doll. The guy was gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Holden, but still good looking. Over his shoulder, I could see women sneaking peeks at him and Holden. “I’m Sadie. I just moved here and made Holden take me.”

“Aiden.” He grinned down at me, radiating charm. If Willa were here, she’d be death-gripping my arm and shooting me thehe’s hoteyes. “Hi, Sadie.”

“Hi.” I smiled back at him.

“Aiden’s a construction manager for Rhodes Construction.” Holden’s voice had a weird edge. When I glanced up at him, he was giving me the anger eyes. I raised my eyebrows at him.

At the front of the boat, a woman in a captain’s uniform and pirate hat grabbed a microphone “Alright, singles, are you ready to mingle?”

A chorus ofwooooo’srose around us.

“Jesus Christ,” Holden muttered.

I grinned at him and nudged him with my elbow. “Get ready,” I whispered.

He rolled his eyes at me.

---