Page 20 of Whispers of You
“You slipped and fell, got amnesia, and don’t remember your name?”
A laugh bubbled out of me, and I climbed out of my truck. I pulled Chris into a quick hug. “Thanks.”
“Always, Little Williams.”
I groaned as I released him. “Not you, too.”
He grinned. “Nash’s nicknames are catchy as hell.”
I shook my head and started for the restaurant, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
* * *
“That one dumpof a building in an up-and-coming neighborhood was my breakthrough. All of a sudden, the big players were taking notice. They wantedmehunting for opportunities for them. Not anyone else.”
I made a humming voice as William droned on. It wasn’t like he cared about what I had to say anyway. All he wanted was to think he had a captive audience as he relived hismanycorporate victories.
“From then on, I was running with the big dogs. One client introduced me to another, and before I knew it, I was buying that Maserati.”
The urge to roll my eyes was so strong I had to bite the inside of my cheek. I did my best to tune out his voice in my head, but I still studied the man opposite me. There was no denying that he was handsome. He had dark brown hair, expertly cut and styled, but it didn’t swoop down over his forehead the way Holt’s did. And my fingers didn’t itch to run through the strands.
My fingers curled into fists under the table, my nails biting into my palms. Chris had joked about amnesia, but sometimes, I wondered if something like that would be a kindness. Not to remember how Holt’s smile pulled to one side a little more than the other. The way he ran his thumb under his bottom lip when he was thinking hard about something. How his blue eyes went soft when he told me he loved me.
I burrowed deeper into Holt’s side as we stared up at the night sky. He’d created a cozy nest in the bed of his truck, one perfect for stargazing. It was my favorite thing in the world: Holt, me, and the peace of nature around us.
His fingers trailed up and down my arm. “I say a place with a view of the lake. Far enough outside of town that things are quiet but not as far as my parents’ place.”
I grinned into the dark as warmth spread through me. I loved dreaming about the future with Holt, all the endless possibilities of what our life could be. “That sounds perfect. I only have one requirement.”
Holt chuckled, the new, deeper sound wrapping around me and creating a cascade of shivers over my skin. “Wraparound porch with a swing.”
I turned into him more, nipping at his pec. “Are you suggesting that I’m predictable?”
His chest shook with silent laughter. “Asks the girl who rereadsLittle Womenevery single year and can recite the movie by heart.”
I let out a huff of air. “I know what I like. Is that so bad?”
Holt brushed the hair out of my eyes and tipped my face up to meet his. “Not if I’m one of those things.”
My stomach dipped and rolled, three little words playing on my tongue, begging to be set free. “I like you, Holt Hartley.”
His eyes sparked with intensity. “I love you, Cricket. With everything I have.”
Everything in me soared. “I love you, too. I always have.”
He grinned, the devastating kind that always took me out at the knees. “We’re gonna have a beautiful life.”
He said it with such certainty that I believed every word.
“Dessert?” Frannie asked as she approached the table, pulling me out of my memories.
“I couldn’t eat another bite,” I hurried to say before William could say otherwise.
“How about an after-dinner drink?” he prodded.
“I shouldn’t. Driving those mountain roads.”
A devilish smile stretched William’s face, but it was smarmy and forced, not authentic and wild how Holt’s had been. “You could come back to my rental with me.”
