Page 2 of Holding Holly

Dammit. I’m staring at her like some kind of psycho. And what the hell was that pink light of sunrise thought? Get it together, James.

Maggie smacks my shoulder. Pretty soon, that girl’s going to leave a dent. “This is James, my harmless, only occasionally idiotic cousin,” she explains.

I hold out my hand, shaking the angel’s through her little gray mitten. “Lovely to meet you.”

“Holly,” she says softly.

“Holly?” I stare pointedly between her and the sign twenty feet away that readsWelcome to the Holly Valley Walk of Lights.“Is that your real name, or did you make it up on the spot? Like, if we were standing a block south, would your name be Main Street?”

She bursts into gentle peals of laughter, causing my heart to swell three sizes in my chest, giving the Grinch a run for his money.

“He’ll do it,” Maggie jumps in. “Give you a ride to Old Hemlock Valley, I mean.”

Wait, this is who I’m giving a ride to?!

Holly’s teeth sink into the corner of her bottom lip for a split second, making another part of my anatomy swell three sizes. Does she realize how incredibly sexy she is? Every curve, every movement sends my long-ignored lust reeling. Also, the slight twist to her front left incisor is adorable.

“I really don’t want to be any trouble. If your truck is full or anything, I can always find another?—”

“Plenty of room. No problem at all.”

Her eyes light up. Are those gold flecks in her irises? They match the tiny smattering of golden freckles across the bridge of her nose. Not even a smattering. There are nine in total. Yes, I’ve just counted this girl’s freckles.

I hold out my phone. “Put yourself in as a contact, then text me the address of where I should pick you up tomorrow and what time is good for you.”

Holly looks up at me, surprised. “Oh, whenever you like is fine. I don’t want to be a bother.”

I want to tell her that she can bother me as much as she wants. That I would drive her to the ends of the Earth if that’s where she needed to go. That I would give up cookies for her?—

Wait. No.

Actually, yes, I really would, if, perish the thought, we found ourselves in the grip of some bizarre global cookie emergency.

“Seriously, not a bother. I was thinking of leaving just after lunch?—”

Anotherred mitten smack. “Because this guy doesn’t miss lunch for anything.”

“Quit it.” I shove Maggie with my elbow. “Most of the main roads get plowed in the mornings, so it’ll be a safer drive around one in the afternoon. Plus, we’ll arrive well before dark. Safety first, and all that.”

Holly smiles, handing back my phone. “Maggie says you’re a police officer. I guess you would think in terms of safety.”

“And that goes double when I’m chauffeuring a lovely young lady on winter roads.”

There’s a commotion at the other side of the park, and Maggie screeches. “Oh my god, it’s Hot Pink Duct Tape – that amazing a cappella group I told you about. Let’s go!”

She grabs Holly’s arm so roughly that I worry the poor girl will end up with a bruise. “See you tomorrow and thank you so much!” Holly calls over her shoulder before being dragged away through the crowd.

I’m left alone, as if in some sort of trance. Or maybe the slow-mo segment of one of those drug trip art movies. Colors are swirling around me, and I feel numb as people pass by.

I’ve never felt like that simply from being in a woman’s presence. Like gravity has shifted, or the Earth’s magnetic poles have flipped and the toilets are flushing backward, like they do in Australia.

On the way to Old Hemlock Valley tomorrow, I’m going to have to win her over, so that I can ask her out.

This sweet, shy, earthy girl needs to be mine.

It’s worse than craving pizza. Or French fries. Or a huge turkey dinner with perfect stuffing. Worse even than the annual yearning for Mrs. Mackenzie’s famous potato salad.

I crave Holly right down to my soul.

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