Page 83 of In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes

“Good.”

“Yeah.”

We stared at each other for a moment. “You should smile more,” I told him.

His eyebrows rose with amusement. “Yeah?”

I nodded, biting back my grin.

“Hi,” Olivia said loudly at my side and I jumped. “Sadie, can you help me with a beer keg in the store room?”

I shot a wink at Holden as I followed her into the back. We stepped into the store room and she whirled around with wide eyes.

“You guys banged.”

I gasped. “What? Who told you?”

She stared at me like I was insane. “The two of you showed mewith your eyes.” She poked two fingers in the direction of her eyes. “Hi. Hi. How are you? Good. How are you?You two are acting weird. You had sex.”

I held my breath before letting it out. “Okay, we did. Not like, full sex, but other stuff.” I winced. “You can’t tell anyone, though.”

She wrinkled her nose. “He was that bad?”

I laughed. “No.”

She threw her hands up. “I don’t want to know. I grew up with that guy. So are you two dating now?”

“No,” I blurted out. “Definitely not dating. He wants a wife.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“It’s fine. We’re friends with benefits.”

She stared at me a moment before she closed her eyes. “Oh god.”

“It’s going to be fine.”

“Mhm.” She smiled and opened her eyes.

“Do you think this is a bad idea?”

Her amused expression dropped and she studied me for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I think it’s good. You two are good for each other.”

I thought back to my conversation with Willa today, and the apartment we would share back in Toronto. My throat squeezed.

“It’s temporary,” I told her with a shrug. “I’m not dating.”

She rolled her eyes but continued grinning. “Whatever. Help me with this keg.”

When we had returned to the bar, I poured Holden a beer, put his dinner order in, and made sure all the other tables had everything they needed before I returned to the bar. Holden and I were discussing where to buy new bedroom furniture when Don walked into the bar.

“Hi, Don.” I gave him a cheery wave. He volunteered at the thrift store and I had chatted with him for a few minutes this morning. “Do you want a drink? Sit anywhere you like.”

He clutched the plastic bag to his chest and shifted with a serious expression. “Hi, Sadie, I’m not staying long. I’m returning one of your items you tried to donate today.”

“Oh. Sure.” I shot him a questioning frown.

His eyes were wide. “Now, I hope you don’t think I’m shaming you.”

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