Holly versus Mr. Ivy by Amanda P. Jones
Chapter 12
Holly
up extra early to get ready for movie-watching with Rhett. I wrapped a small section of my hair around my curling wand. Did I need to take extra care with my appearance just to watch a movie with him? No. Did I do it anyway because, despite my annoyance at him, I liked him and wanted to make a good impression? Yes.
The whole thing was stupid. I was tempted to cancel on him last night, but then I remembered his red, bloodshot eyes and stuck to the plan. Once all my hair was curled, I let it set while I moved on to my makeup. I normally didn’t wear more than waterproof mascara and red-tinted gloss since the heat of the kitchen melted off anything I put on my face.
Today, because I didn’t have to go into the restaurant, I made a bigger effort. By the time I finished, my round eyes popped, the blue of my irises standing out more than usual. Rubbing some smoothing serum between my hands, I ran my fingers through my hair, separating the curls into bigger, looser waves. I sprayed hairspray around my locks and checked my reflection one last time.
I looked nice. Pretty. I dressed in my skinny jeans (the pair Noah said made my butt look good when I’d forced him to go shopping with me) and a long-sleeved tee. It was cute, but still casual. Why I was even trying to impress Rhett was beyond me. Even if he somehow saw me as more than a coworker, and even if I wanted him to like me in that way, we couldn’t date. But did I want that? Sure, I liked Rhett, but liking someone didn’t mean I automatically wanted to date him.
I admired the way Rhett looked. I admired his easy-going personality. I admired the soft side of him he hid behind his teasing. That admiration didn’t have to turn into anything. It also didn’t mean that I didn’t want Rhett to maybe—possibly—definitely—admire things about me too. And pull me into his strong arms and kiss me senseless.
Ugh. Catching feelings for someone made life complicated. I already struggled with taking care of Mom and work. When could I possibly add a social life into the mix? Frustrated that I cared as much as I did, I left my room and poked my head into Mom’s.
“Hey. Are you feeling up to joining us for the movie this morning?” I asked.
Mom set her Kindle on the bed. “Oh, sweetie. I don’t want to intrude. I’m fine staying in here reading. My book’s at a good part.”
My blue-socked toe rubbed against the tan carpet, my fingers twisting around one another, worried Mom was reading more into Rhett coming over than what it actually was. “Rhett is the general manager of The Boardwalk. We’re just hanging out as coworkers. You won’t be interrupting anything.”
She patted the bed. I shuffled across the room and climbed in beside her, just like when I was a child. A pang of longing tightened my chest. I missed Dad. I missed the way his laugh burst out of him like a trumpet. I missed smelling his aftershave when he’d hug me goodbye before school every morning. I missed his patience and his goofy smile.
I settled next to Mom.
“Why isn’t it a date?” she asked.
“Because dating is prohibited at work, and Rhett doesn’t like me like that.”
“Hmm. But if you wanted to date someone, you would? I’m not standing in your way of doing so?”
Taking care of Mom in the mornings did eat into any potential dating time, but it wasn’t the only reason I refrained from going out. There just wasn’t enough left of me emotionally to pour into a relationship. “It’s not because of you.” Entirely.
“Okay. Tell me about Rhett.”
I raised one shoulder. “He’s my coworker. What else do you need to know?”
The doorbell rang, making my stomach jump to my throat. I checked the time on my watch. He’d arrived ten minutes early. Good thing I’d woken up before the sun—a hard feat after falling asleep at two. I hopped off the bed. “You in or out?” I asked.
Mom’s smile grew on her lips until it turned mischievous. “I’ll come out for a bit. Go get the door, and I’ll meet you in the family room.”
I jumped off the bed and walked down the long hallway from Mom’s room at the back of the house to the tiled entryway that separated the formal living room from Dad’s old office. I paused on the other side of the wood door. Rhett’s blurry form was barely visible through floral-etched oval glass. I inhaled a shaky breath and swung open the door. “You’re early,” I greeted him.
My heart skipped a beat. Rhett grinned at me, holding a bag in one hand and glass bottles of cream soda in the other. The athletic pants he wore hugged his thighs to perfection, and a white t-shirt half hidden under an unzipped gray hoodie stretched across his chest. Again, I was completely undone over his looks. Why? Why must he look hot in everything he wore? I swear, I’d never paid much attention to a man’s body before, but Rhett had stolen my ability to ignore anything about him. What would it be like to run my fingers across the ridges and planes of his chest and shoulder muscles? What about his abs? Oh, heavens above, that man must have a six-pack.
With the door open letting in the cooler fall air, I should have been shivering or at least ushering Rhett in to keep the warmth inside. Instead, I relished the breeze because of the way my body heated. I may as well have been standing in front of the stove at work.
“Are you going to let me in?” Rhett’s brows rose, a smirk on his face.
Yeah, my checking him out was as subtle as a lighthouse beaming in the dark. It was entirely his fault. No one should be allowed to look that good all the time. Really, it wasn’t fair.
I stepped back, waving Rhett inside. “Yeah, sorry. I’m still tired. I didn’t sleep much last night.”
He waggled his brows. “Dreaming about spending the day with me?”
I smacked the back of my hand against his bicep. “You wish. More like dreading it so much that every time I fell asleep, I was taken over with nightmares.”
“Liar.” He chuckled. He toed his shoes off, lining them up by the door.
Huh. I’d never noticed Rhett’s tendency for organization before. Now that I pondered on it, his office was always remarkably clean, along with his appearance. Even in loungewear, his clothes smelled fresh and were free of wrinkles.
“Where should I put this?” He jiggled the canvas bag he held. “I need to pop the popcorn too.”
“Right this way.” I led him to the back of the house, where the kitchen, dining room, and family room all connected together. “Put the snacks and drinks on the coffee table, and I’ll go pop the popcorn. How many bags should I do?”
Normally popcorn and candy were not breakfast foods, but today they were. My stomach growled in anticipation since I hadn’t eaten yet despite having been up for a few hours.
“I’ll take a bag for myself.” Rhett passed me a blue box of popcorn with the words “butter lovers” on the front—the best kind.
“I’m glad you said that,” I replied. “I always eat a bag as well, but then I feel like a pig gorging on so much since we also have soda and candy.”
Rhett snorted.
“What?” I paused by the dining table, turning over my shoulder to look at him.
His gaze traveled up and down the backside of my body, lingering a moment on my butt. Heat traveled through my veins as he openly stared.
“You are not a pig.”
Well, well, well. Looks like I made the right decision wearing my skinny jeans. Thank you, Noah, for imparting that nugget of truth on me.
I whipped my head forward, walking into the kitchen. Taking a package out of the box, I unwrapped the bag and tossed it in the microwave, then grabbed big bowls to hold our salty snack.
A shuffling sound behind me made me turn around. Mom slowly made her way to the recliner where she always sat. “Hello,” Mom said.
As soon as Rhett saw Mom, he rushed over to her side, slipping her arm into the crook of his elbow. “Hi. You must be Holly’s mom. She said you might join us. I’m Rhett, her—” His unsure gaze flicked to mine from across the large room.
“Coworker and friend,” I filled in.
He smiled, no doubt pleased I’d claimed him as a friend even though I’d confirmed as much yesterday.
“I’m Deidre. Holly invited me to crash your party. I hope you don’t mind.”
Rhett helped Mom get situated in her chair, tucking a blanket around her sides. Something in my heart tugged. Longing? Attraction? Fondness? All of the above?
I clamped a hand to my swirling stomach. Uh-oh. I recognized this feeling. I felt this way when reading my fantasy romance novels, when the hero finally declared his love for the heroine.
I was swooning.
Over Rhett.
Rhett being so sweet and tender with Mom, and how he had stood up for Jessica at the restaurant, really did things to my insides, like turning them to gooey mush.
How had I gotten to this point? And so soon? I’d barely known him a month and had only latched onto the idea of allowing more than a coworker relationship a week ago. Already he’d charged past that, and my body was telling me it wanted him as more than a coworker. As more than a friend.
What would cuddling with him be like? Would I feel safe enveloped in his strong arms? Cared for? Cherished?
But Rhett had never mentioned dating. That subject was taboo, at my insistence. He’d said he didn’t have a girlfriend, but that was all. Also, per Anthony’s rules, we couldn’t be together anyway, so why was I so focused on it? On him—and on wanting more?
Friend-zoned. Rhett was friend-zoned.
“Getting to spend my morning with not one, but two, beautiful women is an absolute pleasure.” He smiled adoringly at Mom. “I’m happy you’re joining us.”
Rhett thought I was beautiful?
Stupid friend zone.