Page 130 of Sinful as They Come
“Sawyer.” She smiled brightly at me, her arms wrapping around my shoulders as she stood on the tips of her toes. Even in her heels she wasn’t my height.
“Hey, sweetheart,” I murmured. I gave the top of her head a kiss, my nose instantly met with a combination of her perfume and her lavender shampoo. I could never get enough of her scent. “You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She took a small step back, her hands resting on my cheeks. “You look so handsome in a suit. How lucky am I?”
“Let’s hope that luck will get us through tonight,” I mumbled. “They have no idea I’m here?”
“They know I have a new boyfriend, but they don’t know who he is. I figured it was better to tell them that news together.”
A sense of pride hit me at that label she had so casually used.Boyfriend. I was her boyfriend.
I saw the light fly away from Holly’s eyes. She knew what could happen as well. It could be total hell, and if her parents didn’t want me to see her ever again, there was no doubt in my mind that they’d be able to keep her away from me. My hands formed fists at my side. I couldn’t stand the thought of Holly not being all mine.
“I’m not gonna let them keep you away from me,” Holly said with big eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”
I sighed at her words. “I know, baby. You ready to do this?”
She nodded once. “Let’s do it.”
Holly reached down and laced her little fingers with mine, giving me a comforting smile. Standing by her side, Holly led me through the hallway and past the stairs. I had only ever been up them once, but I had been onthat second floor quite a few times. Her parents had no idea about that. About how many times I had snuck into their daughter’s bedroom and…
There was no time for that kind of thinking.
Holly rounded a corner, her hand still in mine. She stopped for a second, gave me another smile, and then guided me through the doorway.
We entered the dining room and it looked exactly how I imagined – fancy as fuck with a large, long table at the center of the room and an expensive looking chandelier hanging above. I had also expected the two pairs of confused eyes that landed on me. Holly’s dad quickly stood up.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Joe pointed at me.
“Daddy—” Holly started.
“Let go of her hand,” he snapped. “What are you doing here? Holly, why did you let him in?”
“Daddy, Sawyer is—”
“I’m five seconds away from calling the cops,” he continued.
I rolled my eyes. Jesus, what an asshole.
“Joe,” Nicolette sighed. “Calm down for a moment.”
“Sawyer is the guy I was telling you about,” Holly said. “Sawyer… Sawyer is my boyfriend. And I’m his girlfriend. And we’re together. We have been for a little while now.”
There was silence. A quiet, cold silence. I could tell Holly’s dad wanted to jump over the table and rip my head off. Her mom looked… confused. Not angry, just a little bewildered at what she was seeing. Maybe she was offended Holly hadn’t told her the truth.
“Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot,” I said. “You don’t like me. I get that. But Holly means a lot to me, and I really want us to do things the right way. I don’t wanna have to sneak around anymore.”
“This is a joke, right?” Holly’s dad asked with a smirk. He looked over at his wife, like she was going to give him the answer he wanted to hear, but she remained silent.
“It’s not a joke.” I cleared my throat, grabbing Holly’s hand a little tighter. “I… I love your daughter.” That was my first time saying those words to her. It would have been nice if the moment had been a little less miserable. “Ilove Holly. And I don’t wanna have to sneak around and—"
Joe let out a soft, sarcastic laugh. “Say that again?”
I turned my head to the side and sucked in a sharp breath before looking back at him. “You heard me. I said I love Holly.”
“Oh, you think I care about how you feel?” he mocked. “I’m sure Holly doesn’t feel the same way about you, anyway, so whatever you think is going on here between you two, think again.”
“You might wanna try talking to her about that,” I told him bluntly. “I know I’m not the guy you imagined being with your daughter. For a long time, I never thought I’d want her the way I do now. But Holly’s really special to me. She’s the best person I’ve ever had in my life, and I don’t ever wanna go back to how things were before.”
