Page 25 of Finally Home

What’s the point of being here if it’s just for social hours?

I huff out my frustrations and lean my elbows against the bar.

“Can I have two glasses of champagne, please?” I ask the bartender, and he nods.

God, how much has life changed since that first time I walked into Tilley’s? I can’t help the smile that appears on my face as memories replay in my mind about my time with Ollie.

A shadow approaches, encroaches on my personal space. But the scent is all wrong. It’s not sage and cedarwood that surrounds me like Oliver, but a familiar one that causes my spine to go rigid.

“I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get you alone.” Brett runs his fingers up my spine, and I shiver. But it doesn’t cause goose bumps like they once did or how Oliver did the same thing in our room. How did I ever find this man attractive? He’s a walking red fucking flag. He leans in close, so that his warm breath fans my shoulder. When Brett reaches the base of my neck, he drags my hair over one shoulder. There was a time when he would do that and pepper kisses along my shoulder. He would tell me he was both my angel and my devil, conflicted by his feelings for me.What a load of horseshit.

“Come on, Holland. Tell me you don’t miss me. I know you do.”

“Stop, Brett.” I try to step back, but he takes another step toward me. He’s so close I need to lean back.

“Just come home, and we can pick up where we left off.” He drags his knuckle down my cheek, down my neck, and halfway down my breastbone. Just like he used to do a million times.

“I suggest you get your hands off my girlfriend before I make you,” a deep voice rumbles from behind us, and Brett freezesbefore he can reach the center of my breasts. My chest heaves up and down as I try to steady myself.

Brett chuckles, and I never realized how slimy his laugh sounded. “It’s none of your business. Why don’t you run off and see if they need another server or someone behind the bar? That’s what you’re good at, right?”

This time, Ollie laughs, and there’s a darkness to it I’ve never heard. He steps up closer to Brett. “That’s where you’re wrong. When it comes to Hollie, it’s always my business. I’m not the idiot who didn’t realize he had the best thing in his life before she was gone.” He all but snarls the last word.

Before more of a scene can unfold, and possibly a punch or two thrown, I step up between the two of them. I glance around, seeing we haven’t gathered a crowd, but it’s only a matter of time.

“Ollie,” I say, placing my hand on his chest. “He’s not worth it.” I stare him straight in the eyes, and when his eyes drift toward Brett, I grip his chin and turn his focus back on me. “Come, dance with me, baby, please,” I plead.

With a still tight jaw, but not answering me, Ollie takes my hand, linking our fingers, and leads me to the dance floor.

Fury radiates off him in waves. I lace my fingers through the strands of his hair along his neck. I can tell that he’s lost in his own head, and I try my best to anchor him.

“Hey, come back to me. Be here with me,” I whisper. But nothing changes in him. So I do the one thing that he’s been doing when I need to get out of my head—I kiss him. We both get lost in the kiss, and I don’t give a shit that we’re in the middle of the dance floor kissing. All I know is that I need him grounded here with me.

When we’re done kissing, Oliver leans down to press his forehead against mine. We just stand there, breathing each other in, barely swaying to the song. He goes to look back at the bar,but I stop him, cupping his cheeks with my palms. I love the way his beard feels against my skin.

“No, stay here with me.” My voice is powerful and firm, a complete opposite of how I’m feeling right now.

Oliver smirks. “Yes, ma’am.”

The song changes, but neither of us moves to leave the dance floor. If anything, we’ve become closer as we dance. It’s as if we have no idea where one ends and the other begins, and I have to admit, I love it.

Oliver rests his head against mine and mutters, “I’m sorry. I know he’s not worth it, but do you know what is?”

When I remain silent, he continues. “You are. You are worth it, Holls.”

When he says things like this, I hate that this has to end between us. His words settle inside me, and something changes. No longer letting fear rule me, I want to take a chance. I want to make the most of the time we have left together.

“Ollie,” I whisper, and our gazes meet again.

“Yeah?”

“Take me back to our room.”

His brows furrow as he looks me over. “Are you sick?”

I shake my head, and it’s as if I can see the moment it clicks on what I mean. “Please.”

Ollie spins me around before dipping me. I gasp, and my grip on his shoulders tightens as I defy gravity.

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