Page 134 of Infatuated as They Come
“Oh, fun. Maybe I’ll sit in with you.”
“That’ll make it more enjoyable for me.” He handed me the drink and when I took a sip, rich, liquid chocolate hit my tongue. “Yum. So good.”
“Wouldn’t be complete without…” He pulled a cookie out of the bag. “Can’t go wrong with chocolate chip.”
“Let’s share it.” I rested my head on his shoulder, breaking the cookie in half. “Thank you for coming.”
“You don’t have to thank me for having lunch with you.”
“I know, but you’re busy at work and now you have to rush right back over.”
“All that traffic is worth it if I get to see you,” he said. “And speaking of work… I talked to my boss today.”
Those words had me sitting up straight so I could look at him. “You did?”
“I did,” he said with a nod, his strong hand moving up and down my arm. “I know work was really getting in the way of me seeing you and being around you. I mean it when I say that the best part of my day is when I get to come back to you, when I get to see your face. But I made you feel lonely. I kept doing that. Over and over again like a fuckin’ idiot. In my head, I was doing the right thing. I’m supposed to work, right? And take care of you and be the guy you can always trust and rely on.”
“You already are that guy,” I said.
Humming, he gave my forehead a soft kiss. “But I still got so caught up in everything that I didn’t even realize how unhappy I was making you. Youdon’t ever deserve to feel unhappy and lonely, Holly. I can’t quit my job, but I’m never going back to all those long hours. And all those really early mornings and really late nights? There’ll be no more of that. I promise it won’t be like that anymore.”
He could probably see my eyes lighting up at his words. “You mean that?” I asked.
“I do. And… I asked my boss about working less days too. I was thinking of just working Monday to Wednesday, and then I can paint at the studio on Thursday and Friday. Jay’s cool with it. He said we could start doing that tomorrow. I’ll never miss any of the games, either. I’ll leave the studio early whenever you’re cheering.”
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked, biting at my bottom lip.
“Areyouokay with it?”
“Yes. You don’t need my permission to do that, anyway. You could quit right now and I’d be happy.”
“I’m not quitting. I like my job. Everyone’s gonna think I’m a gold digger if I do that, anyway.”
“Only women get called gold diggers. You’re a guy, so people will just call you lazy. Even though I know that you’re not.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He laughed, but that sound slowly faded, that serious look suddenly back on his face. “I know I haven’t been around. I’ve been missing a lot. I’m sorry for the way I was acting, but I was trying to… I don’t know, prove to you and my dad… and I guess your dad… that I can take care of you. And all that stuff with my mom… I kept thinking about her. I let stuff get to me too easily. I gotta stop doing that.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about my dad. He’s an idiot.” I rolled my eyes. “I think he’s happier being an ignorant classist, so don’t expect him to change anytime soon.”
Throat clearing, his brows furrowed. “Have you talked to him lately?”
“No,” I said, shifting uncomfortably in my spot. The last time me and my dad had a conversation was on Christmas Day, and that hadn’t exactly been a good one. “I’ve talked to my mom, but not him. We have no reason to talk, anyway.”
He exhaled sharply. “I don’t wanna be the reason you two don’t talk, Holly.”
“I have nothing to say to him until he accepts how much I love you. Until then…”
“Isthenever gonna happen?” he asked.
“I hope so. But if he doesn’t see what I see, then that’s on him. Anyway, back to you. Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
“I wanna do this. I’ve thought about it a lot. It’s been on my mind ever since we went back to Dallas.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about rent anymore, so…”
“I still can’t believe you went and did that,” he muttered. “It’ll be different now. We’ll spend more time together and I’ll be coming home on time. No more waiting up for me.”
“I don’t mind waiting up for you,” I offered.
