Page 33 of Never Your Girl

And just like I expected, she doesn’t back down. Her furious gaze remains steady and her jaw stays tightly clenched.

“Keep telling yourself that, Tate. At the very least, be honest with yourself. There’s a reason you didn’t walk away.”

Her cheeks flush a pretty pink color as she continues to hold her ground. “Don’t delude yourself, Sanderson. I’m here because I don’t want people all up in my personal business. There’s no other reason than that.”

On some level, I believe her. Holland has always been private. Her circle of trust is almost nonexistent. But she’s also not the kind of person who does anything unless she ultimately wants to.

I study her expression. “Do you realize that you have a tell?”

Her face scrunches at my change in topic. “Excuse me?”

“Your left eye twitches when you lie. I noticed it a few years ago. I always thought it was interesting to see when you were being honest and when you were lying.”

“Fuck off, Sanderson. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Holland?”

We swing toward the soft voice. Willow stands there, Maverick at her back, both wearing identical expressions of confusion.

When neither of us respond, Willow’s brows pinch together. “What are you doing here?” Her gaze darts between us. “With Bridger.”

Holland stays motionless.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her at a loss for words.

“We’ve been seeing one another,” I blurt.

Willow blinks. “I’m sorry, could you please repeat that? For a moment, I almost thought you said that you two were together. As in… together.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Willow bursts into laughter. “Shut up. No, you’re not.” Her gaze remains focused on her roommate. “What are you really doing here?”

The moment I wrap my fingers around Holland’s forearm, electricity sizzles between us. Her body jerks, wide eyes slicing to mine, filled with confusion and something darker.

I tug her closer before slipping my arm around her waist. “Go ahead and tell them, babe.”

Her mouth opens and closes a few times, like a fish gasping for its last dying breath. Any other time, it would be hilarious.

Just when I think I’ll have to step in and do all the talking, she whispers, “It’s, um, true. We’re together.”

Willow’s eyes widen. “No way.”

Holland’s teeth scrape across her lower lip. I’m pretty sure she’s dying a slow death inside. “Yeah. We’re…” She gulps. “Together.”

“I… don’t understand.”

Maverick’s lips tremble with smothered laughter.

Dickhead.

Holland’s cheeks are fire-engine red as her tongue darts out to lick her lips. “I…”

I’ve never seen Holland flounder so much in her life. Taking pity on her, I cut in. “We’ve been secretly seeing each other for a couple weeks.”

Willow levels me with a hard-edged stare. “Why?”

“Why?” I repeat, not understanding the question.

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