Page 43 of Tame the Player

I stop him, holding up my hand. “No, it’s fine. It’s just right there, I’ll be right back.”

I walk away, and the whole way across the park, I try to get my thoughts in order. I keep reminding myself that I can do this. I can do a fling without my heart getting involved.

I finally reach the bathroom, and after taking care of business, I stare at myself in the mirror as I wash my hands. There’s a light in my eyes that hasn’t been there in a long time. I make a promise to myself that even when this is over, I’m going to do everything I possibly can to keep that light burning bright.

After drying my hands, I’m walking out of thebathroom and come to a halt when I see Holden leaning up against the column. “Hey.”

He pulls me toward him, spins me until my back is against the column, and then leans into me until our bodies are flush against each other. I barely have time to catch my breath and he’s kissing me. It’s heady to feel his erection against my belly. I should be worrying about who’s going to see us, but I let myself fall deep into the kiss.

I pull away, breathless. “Someone is going to see us.”

It doesn’t faze him that I’ve pulled my mouth away because he starts kissing my neck. “I don’t care,” he mutters.

He palms my breast through my thin shirt, and I moan. “Holden.”

“Gabe, I can go to the restrooms by myself, I don’t need a chaperone!” Chrissy says almost angrily. I gasp at the thought of getting caught, but Holden grabs me, pulling me to the side of the building away from Chrissy and Gabe.

“That’s tough, Chrissy. You can never be too safe,” Gabe says easily.

“This is Whiskey Run!” she exclaims.

I lean my head against the concrete wall. This is it. We’re going to get caught. Chrissy and Gabe andthen the rest of the family are going to know what’s going on here… and then Cole, oh my God, Cole.

Holden is clueless to my internal freakout because he has me plastered to him in a hug, stroking my hair as he holds on to me.

The door to the bathroom squeaks, and I hear Chrissy say, “You going to follow me in here or are you going to let me pee on my own?” There’s a pause and then Chrissy sounds exasperated. “Gabe! What are you doing?”

Silence and then a gruff Gabe says, “It’s all clear, go on in. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

More silence and then a stunned Chrissy says, “Did you really just check the bathroom to see if it was empty?”

“You can’t be too careful,” Gabe answers her.

The door closes, and there is silence. I’m holding my breath, hoping that Gabe doesn’t come around the corner and see us.

A few minutes pass by, and the bathroom door opens and Chrissy and Gabe argue as they walk away.

As soon as they're gone, I struggle out of Holden’s arms. I point at him. “We can’t keep doing this. You agreed to keep this between us.”

“About that…” Holden starts, and I’m shaking myhead at him. I start walking toward the pickleball courts, and he catches up to me. “I don’t want to hide this anymore.”

I blurt out a laugh and throw my hands in the air. “Really? One night together and you want to change everything?”

Holden grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop. “Cat, you know last night was—”

I stop him before he says anything. I know what he’s going to say, and he’s right. I’ve never felt what I felt last night, but that doesn’t mean I can put all my faith into him because I had great sex.

“This is it, Holden. Take it or leave it. We keep this between the two of us or it’s over.”

His mouth drops, and he shakes his head. He’s mad, and he leans toward me. “Ending this is not an option, Catherine.”

Why is he acting like this is important to him? I’ve heard the stories about him and how he’s a player; I’ve seen the pictures online of him with different women. He’s acting like I’m special to him, but I know I’m not. “What part of a fling do you not get, Holden? That’s all this is.”

Before he can say anything else, I walk away from him and into the fenced-in area of the courts. Chrissy waves at me. “Where have you been?”

“I got sidetracked. This park is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Chrissy is nodding her head in agreement, but I don’t miss the question on her face. Holden walks up behind me, and Chrissy frowns at him. “Holden, it’s okay. You’re going to get to play soon.”

---