Page 79 of Infatuated as They Come
“This has nothing to do with your cousin.”
“How’d you find out then?”
She shifted a little on the spot. “One of your co-workers.”
I frowned at her. “Who?”
“Audrey. I met her today.”
“Great,” I said before realizing what she had said. “Wait, you came into the shop today? When?”
“At lunch time. I brought you some food, and then I found out that that was a pointless endeavor, because Sawyer Westbrook barely ever takes a lunch break.”
“Well… I don’t know, I don’t get hungry at work,” I lied. “You should have told me you were there. We could have eaten together.”
“You told me your birthday was coming up, Sawyer.”
“It is. Technically.”
“Nextyear. It’s almost a whole year away. You were with me to celebrate my birthday and you got me such a lovely gift. It’s the best thing anyone’s ever given me.” Her fingers lowered, brushing them along the pendant resting against her chest. “It’s my favorite giftever.”
“I wanted you to have that.” My eyes flickered down to the necklace, and those words echoed there in my head.My favorite gift ever. “I didn’t give you that so you’d give me something back.”
“You don’t let me do anything for you. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Rubbing at the back of my neck, I just gave her a shrug. “I don’t know.”
Closing the gap between us, she rested her hands on my shoulders, squeezing at me softly. “You always do so much for me. Why can’t I do something nice for you? All I wanted to know was the date…”
“Holly,” I said. Grabbing her hands, I moved us over to the couch, loving how she practically sat herself right there on my lap. “You’re sweet for caring. I appreciate that. But…”
“But?”
“Birthdays just aren’t a big deal for me. My birthday, at least.” I let my hand rest on one of her thighs, the skin all soft and smooth. “I like celebrating yours.”
“But yours is just as important,” she said. “We could have gone somewhere for a few days. A different city, a different state, overseas, some place you’ve never been but always wanted to visit. I would have taken you wherever you wanted to go.”
No one had ever offered me something like that before, but Holly said it all so casually. One swipe of her credit card and she could have done all of that and more, but that had never been my life, and I was still getting used to all of her generosity.
“My birthday’s always just been another day of the year, you know? It’s nothing special,” I said.
Holly kissed at the side of my face softly. “It’s special to me. Really special.”
“I know birthdays for your family are a big deal. But for me… For my family… It’s different, Holly. No one ever really made it feel important.” I coughed uncomfortably. “I’d be surprised if my dad even remembered the date. I don’t think he everwantedto remember it. My birthday’s not a celebration for him, you know? It’s just a reminder of how much he wishes I was never fuckin’ born.”
“You deserve so much better than that. Your birthday’s important and you’re important and every bad thing he’s ever said about you isn’t true.” She closed her eyes for a second, pressing a hand to my chest. “My dad, too. If he’s ever said anything that made you doubt yourself or your worth, just know it’s not true. I love you so much no matter what they both say.” And then she let out an uneven, shaky breath. “I’m bringing up bad memories, aren’t I?”
“It’s okay. I know I need to talk to you about this sorta stuff,” I said.
“You can share everything with me,” she said firmly. “I know I can’t take away any of those bad memories you have with your dad, but we can make lots of good ones together, and maybe they’ll be the ones you remember first instead of all the bad ones. I guess the bad ones won’t go away just like that. Bad memories are harder to forget than the good ones, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“It’d be so nice if we got to spend the rest of our lives making all those good, better memories.” Her fingers toyed with the collar of my shirt, fidgeting with the material. “For special days like your birthday and just… any day.”
“I want that too. I wanna make lots of good memories with you. You’re my favorite person to make memories with.” I pulled her against me, giving the top of her head a kiss.
“I get why you kept it to yourself, but you can share everything with me. All the important dates and important things. You might not feel like they’re important, but they are to me.” Holly suddenly sat up straight, pulling herself off my lap, and I instantly missed how she felt on top of me. “Wait!”
