Page 29 of A Holly Brown Christmas
Luckily, they did.
Holly raked her hands up into Lucas’s hair—something she had always wanted to do—and it was awesome. She gripped it tightly for a moment and was rewarded with a very masculine moan that she was eager to hear again.
Beneath her, he lifted his hips slightly and it was such an erotic move that she began to slowly grind against him.
And that’s when she felt it.
A vibration.
Um…wait. What? Why is Lucas vibrating against my thigh?
He tore his lips from hers with a muttered curse, leaving her momentarily confused.
“I’m sorry, Holly. It’s my phone. I forgot it was in my pocket and…” He pulled it up and cursed again.
Scrambling off his lap, she asked, “Is everything okay?”
He let out a long breath and raked his free hand through his hair. “I need to take this.” And with another apology, Lucas stood and answered the phone. “Yeah, Dad. What’s up?”
Holly didn’t want to eavesdrop, so she walked back to the kitchen and went to the door to check on Shmoop. He was still wandering around the yard and she didn’t want to call him in yet. So, to pass the time, she finished cleaning up from dinner—putting the leftovers in the refrigerator and throwing out the empty cartons. When that was done, she poured herself a glass of cold water and hoped it would cool her down from their little make-out session.
By the time Lucas joined her in the kitchen, she felt like her emotions were a little more under control. She smiled shyly, but wasn’t sure what to say.
“I am so sorry about that. It was my father and I knew if I didn’t answer, he was going to keep calling. He’s obsessed with buying a yacht and entering it in some Christmas boat parade so he can win the prize money.” Shaking his head, he groaned. “He needs me to go over the contract so he can complete the sale and I just know he’s going to keep bothering me until I do it.” Another groan. “Why can’t I just have my semi-normal parents back?”
“Aww…you will. They’re just going through something right now. It’s all going to work out.”
“I really wish I had your optimism, because their behavior makes me feel like all is lost.”
Unable to help herself, she walked over and hugged him. “Nothing is lost. Not yet. We’re going to fix this. I promise.”
Luckily, he hugged her back and it was a sweet, quiet moment.
All the heat and need from earlier was gone, and maybe that was for the best. He truly was dealing with something and it made her think of her conversation with Crystal earlier. If she tried to take things to the next level with Lucas, in the back of her mind, she’d feel like she was taking advantage of him.
And her stupid conscience agreed.
Seriously, go away!
This time when they pulled apart, she knew exactly what she needed to do. “I think you need to go home and look at the contract and get back to him. I know you’re not on board with him buying it—or his reasons for buying it—but at least by looking at the contract, you’ll maybe have a little peace of mind.”
“And peace from him bothering me,” he murmured, and then surprised her when he leaned in and kissed her again. “I’m going to see you tomorrow, right?”
Her heart did a little happy dance at the hopefulness in his voice. “You’ll see me briefly before you go and play pickleball with your nana.”
“She really wouldn’t mind if I canceled…”
Resting her hand on his chest, Holly shook her head. “But I would mind. I’ll be fine overseeing everything Henry and his crew are doing, and then I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Fine, but I feel bad leaving it all on you. It’s my house and I should be there.”
“Lucas, seriously. How long are a couple of games of pickleball?”
“We usually play the best of three, so…an hour?”
“I think we’ll be fine with you gone for a couple of hours. Trust me.” Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him. “And then we’ll hang out when you get home.”
“Good.” Another kiss. “Bring Shmoop and we’ll order dinner in. We can watch a movie and maybe do a little more of what we started here.”
