AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Declan didn’t bother to tell her to put it away and ran to the trash to spit the rest of the gunk out of his mouth. He grabbed a roll of paper towels from the counter and brought them over to his friends, scrubbing his own face with one of the sheets and then cleaning up the counter. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that.”
Holly circled around the group and struck a pose, showing off the oversized T-shirt printed with a hairy man body sporting a red Speedo under the beer belly and shiny red pasties over the photo’s nipples. A sparkling red Santa hat perched jauntily on top of her head.
“Did I surprise you, Declan?” she asked, her voice shaking with laughter.
Declan turned around to face her, nodding his head. “A little bit.”
She reached up with her thumb and wiped the edge of his mouth before belting into an off-key version of “Santa Baby.” The group laughed, some of them covering their ears, and after a few verses Declan reached out and covered Holly’s mouth with his hand to stop the torment.
“You have many talents, Elf, but singing is not one of them.”
“Mmmm-mmmmm.”
Declan removed his hand. “What?”
“How rude,” she said, her eyes twinkling, and he was keenly aware of everyone watching them, knowing what his next move meant. Before she could look away, Declan lifted her up against his body and gave her a short, smacking kiss.
“All right, gang, that is our cue to leave the lovebirds alone,” Sam said loudly.
Holly cleared her throat, her cheeks flushed. “Declan and I are making dinner, so you’re either in your rooms or in the pool, but we’re recording, so scoot.”
Declan dropped her to the floor, tugging gently on the end of her hat. “You’re going to wear this?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with it? I’m thinking of doing a little dance to ‘I’m Too Sexy.’” Holly shook and shimmied over to the kitchen table where a short ring light had been left and carried it back to the island. Declan caught Nick’s eye, and his friend threw his hands in the air.
“Hey, you kissed her, so she’s yours. Have fun, kids. Make sure you don’t let her do too much, ’cause I’m pretty hungry.”
Holly grabbed a marshmallow from the bag and launched it at her brother. “You can fend for yourself, jerk!”
Once everyone else had cleared out, Declan leaned against the counter with a smile. “So, I didn’t have time to prep because we were all doing our dares.”
“That’s okay, I wanted to show you myself.” She waved him next to her, and he watched as she opened the app, bringing her profile closer to his face. “What do you think of my profile name?”
He read the bold username and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Perfectly Imperfect Holly?”
“Not calling me a failure, but leaves room for improvement.”
Declan kissed the side of her neck and held her close. “I don’t know. I think you’re pretty perfect for me.”
Holly turned in his arms to look at him, her eyes shining. “Declan…”
Footfalls on the stairs intruded on the moment and Declan watched Delilah and Tony coming down the stairs, appearing slightly disheveled.
“Hey, where is everyone?” Tony asked.
Holly cleared her throat. “Out by the pool. Where have you two been?”
“Exploring—” Delilah blurted at the same time Tony said, “Talking.”
Delilah’s cheeks turned red, and she hurried out of the room, Tony slowly trailing behind.
Declan released Holly’s waist with a chuckle. “That was unexpected.”
“You don’t actually think…”
“You have doubts?” Declan asked. “Didn’t you see them?”
“But she’s totally into Pike.”
