Page 14 of Finally Home

I miss what the stranger replies with because something behind him catches my full attention. Walking down the stairs like she owns the room is the girl in question.

My God, she is absolutely fucking stunning. She was beautiful when I left her in the room in a half state of undress, but now she takes my breath away.

How long has it been since I left her? Did she have a fairy godmother hiding out in the bathroom to Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo her into Cinderella?

Hollie saunters over, still owning the room, and fuck, just her confidence alone is so damn hot. I loved the satin robe, but this lavender dress is definitely doing things to me as well. Maybe it’s just Hollie that has me by the balls. She sinks into me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing up to kiss my cheek. “Hey, baby. Sorry it took me so long to get ready.”

“That’s okay.” I lean down and kiss the corner of her mouth, causing her breath to hitch slightly.

“Holland,” the stranger says, looking her up and down. I grit my teeth, not liking the perusal.Okay, so this guy clearly knows her.

Hollie tenses against me. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, bringing her even closer to me in a protective stance. Attempting to get her to relax, I massage my fingers deep into her skin.

“Oh, Ollie, I see you’ve met Brett Matney, the best man.”

Ah ha!It all makes sense now. He’s the ex.

I clear my throat. “No, not officially. Hello, Brett, I’m Oliver Mosby.” With one arm still wrapped around Hollie, I bring my right hand up and hold it out for him to shake. He stares at it for a moment before lifting his gaze back up to Hollie. Eventually, he takes it, shaking my hand. It takes a lot from me not to chuckle at how weak his handshake is. My father always taught us that first impressions include handshakes.

Anyone can see how uncomfortable the silence becomes. Brett takes a ridiculously large swig of his glass. Phew, that’s definitelynot supposed to be chugged. He sputters a cough, and I suppress my laughter.

“Do you want me to order you something?” I ask Hollie, and she shakes her head.

“No, I can take a sip of yours, actually.” She reaches out for my glass on the bar and the movement causes her tits to press against my chest. My eyes dip down—I am a man, after all, with a gorgeous woman pressed against me.

She brings the glass to her lips and takes a sip. If I weren’t watching her every move, I may have missed the slight way her face winces and the small furrow between her brow forms. But she brings the glass back down, and then she smiles up at me as if I hung the moon.A man could definitely get used to that.

I notice a tiny drop of liquid left on the corner of her mouth, and I drag my thumb over the spot before bringing my thumb to my own lips. Her eyes follow my movement the entire time.

Is she thinking about kissing me again? Because I’m sure as shit thinking about kissing her again. It wouldn’t be weird for me to kiss her, especially if it fucks with this tool right next to us.

Brett clears his throat, unfortunately breaking our staring contest.

“It’s good to see you, Holland. It’s been a while.”

A man approaches and slaps his hands on Brett’s shoulders, cutting off any chance Hollie has to respond. Without an introduction, I can tell that this is Hollie’s brother.What was his name? Ear? Finger? Ah, right, Topher.

I get what Hollie meant when she said that the genes are strong in her family. If I didn’t know better, I might have said that she and her brother are twins.

“Holland,” her brother says, no hint of excitement in his voice, no hug. Every time Payton comes home from college, we hug her as if she’s been at war for years. “Look what the cat finally dragged in.”

“Topher,” she says, “always a pleasure to see you. Congrats on your engagement with Scarlett.”

Good Lord, this is uncomfortable as shit.I couldn’t even imagine thinking about Hollie trying to do this on her own.

His eyes finally move toward me, and I’m pretty sure they harden even more. “Who the hell is this?” Wow, talk about a warm welcome.

“Topher, be nice,” Hollie hisses, and Topher only scoffs. “Topher, this is my boyfriend, Oliver.” I extend my hand to shake his, but instead of reaching out, his eyes bounce back and forth between us, and he just shakes his head before turning back to Brett. At least that douche bag had decent enough manners to shake my hand. But now, two for two Armstrongs refusing to shake my hand.

“Everyone’s already seated and waiting. Dad sent me to come get you guys.”

Brett and I quickly settle up on our tab, and I finish the rest of my glass in one gulp. I have a feeling I’m going to need this to get through this.

Topher and Brett lead, with Hollie and I following a few feet behind. We keep our hands clasped together, and I’m not sure who is grounding whom, to be honest.

“You okay?” I ask, leaning down to whisper in her ear after we catch both Topher and Brett glancing over their shoulders at us.

“I’ll be fine.” Her voice is shaky at best and definitely not the woman who entered the bar earlier this evening owning the room. I swipe my thump soothingly back and forth along her soft skin.

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