Page 41 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

Besides, a couple hours here wouldn’t kill my schedule. I could catch up later.

“The bathroom tiles arrived at the store,” I told her. “I picked them up yesterday.”

Her face lit up. “You did? How do they look?”

“Come see for yourself.”

* * *

“Yes, Holden, yes!”

Sadie clasped her hands together in front of the bathroom’s emerald green shower tiles and I tried not to picture her saying those words in a dirty way.

I was only supposed to stay an hour but then we started tiling the bathroom and we were making quick work of it together, so I asked Zara to sit in on the meeting and take minutes for me.

Outside, the sun began to set over the water. I frowned and checked the time.

It was almost six o’clock.

I had spent the entire day working alongside Sadie without realizing it.

She pointed at the tiles. “This color, Holden? It’s bedazzling my soul.”

“What does that even mean?” I straightened up behind her and dusted my hands off.

“It means I have theyesfeeling and I think it’s pretty.” She stroked one of the tiles with love. “You are so beautiful.” She pointed to another one. “And you.”

“And fucking expensive.”

“Shhh,” she said to the tile. “Don’t listen to the rude asshole. He has no taste.”

I snorted. She was right about the deep green shower tiles working in this space. When she brought the tile outside the hardwood store to show it to me in the sunlight last week, it was the same dark, deep green as her eyes.

“You good to keep working?” I asked her. “We could tile another bathroom.”

She turned with a curious expression. “It’s okay if you need to leave. I can do it myself.”

“It’s fine.” I had a hundred emails to read, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. “You need supervision.”

She laughed. “Uh-huh. Oh, by the way, how’d your date with Liya go?”

My stomach dropped. I had crashed and burned on my date. I probably could have used that practice date with Sadie.

“Fine,” I lied.

Last night, I had taken Liya out on the date I had planned for Sadie. Every time I had been around Liya in the past, she had been upbeat and talkative, like Sadie. I had thought that would make things easier, but we had nothing to talk about. The date was a lot of awkward silences.

At one point, Liya made a comment about how different I was from my brothers, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Liya knew Wyatt because he was always at the store, visiting Hannah. She said yes to going out with me, expecting me to be like him—laid back, friendly, easygoing.

Why was I surprised? Did I actually think the date would gowell?

Sadie watched me with curiosity. “Are you two going out again?”

“No. Where are the rest of the tile spacers?”

“Downstairs in a box by the door. I’ll get them.”

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