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Noel held her champagne flute stem between her fingers, watching Holly thoughtfully. “If it’s any consolation, Declan seems like an okay guy. Quiet, but in a tortured Heathcliff kind of way.”
“While I appreciate your opinion, it’s unnecessary. There’s nothing going on with Declan and me.”
“Really? Because I’m the queen of there’s nothing going on and when he offered himself up as your dance partner last night, I thought you two were going to light the place on fire with the sparks flying.”
Holly heard her sister and mother coming down the hallway and whispered through gritted teeth, “Stop talking about sparks and dancing, all right?”
Noel dragged her fingers across her lips and locked them with an invisible key. “Whatever you say.”
They all sat back down again and the subject jumped to the wedding and Christmas, while Holly’s mind strayed to Declan. It was crazy for him to be staying at the store, and although she hadn’t had a chance to broach the topic with him last night or this morning, she could only assume it had to do with his mom being in town. But why wouldn’t he get a hotel room or find an apartment?
Holly half expected Declan to be out of her house before she got home, and the idea that he’d take off to stay in that cold back room instead of in her comfortable guest room bothered her.
Holly stood up suddenly, startling the other women at the table. “I need to make a phone call. Be right back.”
“Who are you calling?” her mother asked.
“Delilah. We are supposed to have dinner later,” Holly lied, grabbing her coat from the hook and stepping outside onto the front porch, closing the door with a snap behind her.
She scrolled through her texts and clicked on Declan’s name, pressing the phone icon at the top of the screen. Holly put it to her ear, waiting for it to ring once. Twice.
“Hello?” a deep voice answered groggily.
“Hey, you still at my house?”
“Yeah, I hope that’s okay. I’ve been sleeping.”
“It’s grea—I mean, yes, you’re good. I just want to make sure you don’t take off before we have a chance to talk.”
“’Bout what?” he asked, sounding muffled.
“It’s not important.”
“If it wasn’t important, you wouldn’t have called to make sure I don’t leave.”
“I want to talk about your current living situation.”
“What about it?” he asked.
“I don’t think you should live long-term in the back of the store. First off, there’s no shower, so you’ll either be going back to your dad’s or going without, and nobody likes man stank.”
A hoarse guffaw erupted, but she couldn’t tell if he was really laughing or choking.
“And here I’d always thought women like manly men who rubbed dirt in their wounds and never cried.”
“Common misconception. We actually prefer guys with good hygiene who can articulate their emotions.”
“No wonder I’m single,” he joked.
Holly smiled. “I was just thinking that if you aren’t ready to go home to your dad’s, you could stay with me. Until you figure out whether you’re going to stick around or not. You’d have your own room and bathroom, so you won’t smell.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not? I’m offering.”
“I’ve got Leo—”
“Who I already adore and may not let you leave with him anyway, so why not postpone that fight?”
