Page 50 of Holly versus Mr. Ivy
“I need the money.”
I frowned. “I get that, but whythatjob?” There’s no way they paid anywhere near what he used to make at Love Bakes.
He twisted the lid on his water bottle. “They were hiring, and I need a break from the baking world right now.”
Was this the time to push Jack, or leave it alone? His forlorn look decided for me. “I hope you don’t stay away too long. The world needs your talents.”
He shot me a dry look. “There are hundreds of other places where people can get baked goods. I’m not needed.”
“That, my friend, is where you are wrong.” Jack’s rough childhood had done such a number on him, he often didn’t see how awesome he was.
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s get to our workout.”
Following Jack into his garage, I picked out a set of dumbbells and settled onto the weight bench. Jack stepped over to the rowing machine. I came to cheer Jack up, but I needed his advice. Or at least a listening ear. Jack didn’t have a lot of experience with relationships, but maybe he could help me sort out what to do about Holly. Because even though we couldn’t do anything until I left Uncle Anthony’s employment, I wanted to.
I finished my first set of chest presses, then blurted, “I’m in trouble.”
Jack stopped rowing. He turned to look at me over his shoulder. “You?” He snorted. “Shocker.”
“Ha-ha,” I deadpanned. “It’s…Holly.”
His brow rose. “Is she still sticking to her strict boundaries?”
Considering we had almost kissed? Nope. I picked up the weights again and started on my next set of presses. “No,” I grunted. “That’s the problem. She’s…amazing. I’m falling for her.”
Jack came over and stood above me. “Seriously?”
I sat up. “What?”
He put one hand on his hip, the other pointing a finger in my face. “You told me the next time you liked someone to talk you out of it, remember? Do I need to bring up what happened with Lexi?”
“Holly’s not Lexi,” I said, defensively. Just because he broke things off with Megan didn’t mean he had to be so rude about Holly.
He smacked me upside the head. “Doesn’t matter. You work together. Doesn’t your uncle have strict rules about that?”
He did. And yesterday’s visit certainly hammered that rule into my head. Holly and I could either wait and date after I left, or…keep it a secret. No one would need to know. We’d be more careful than we had been yesterday.
Although, I was being quite presumptuous. I had no clue if Holly even felt the same way about me. But she had reached out to take my hand at work yesterday. She’d leaned in, kept eye contact. If Darby hadn’t interrupted, how far would we have taken the kiss?
I held my hands out in a defensive position. “Fine. I’ll leave it alone.” For now.
Jack’s eyes narrowed as he studied my face. “Promise me. I don’t want to see you in the same boat I’m in.”
I didn’t want to. By agreeing to leave Holly alone, it meant I had to. I had integrity and honor, which was why I loathed agreeing to stay away.
“Rhett,” he growled.
A battle raged within me. Agree and keep Holly as a friend only, or give up on the deal I’d made with myself and risk getting hurt again? Risk our jobs?
Holly cared. She took care of her mom and me last night. But that’s just the type of person Holly was. She worried about doing her job to the best of her capabilities. She had spunk and wit. Humor. “I promise to let Holly decide what happens between us.”
He raised a brow.
Time to change the subject. Jack needed cheering up, not for me to pile my baggage on top of everything else he’d dealt with lately. “On that happy note,” I joked, “guess what my cousin Fletcher just bought?”
“Another piece of medieval armor?”
Fletcher, Anthony’s son, was an investment banker like Dad, and he’d just received his trust fund six months ago when he’d gotten married. He wasted his money on the most random items.
