Page 85 of Dubious Match
Sometimes, I wish that people recognized me the way they did Cian. Except, if they did, I’d have to do scary mafia shit all of the time instead of running a bar. The trade off isn’t worth it.
“I’m looking for a midwife with blonde, pink, and purple hair,” I say. “She mentioned that she’s working with a client on this ward, and I wanted to return something to her.”
The nurse doesn’t need to know anything else. Hollis has been beating herself up for years about being unable to find her sister. It makes sense that she hasn’t been able to when the girl looks so different now.
Identical twins take a different meaning when one of them does everything possible to appear different. Whether it’s done on purpose or not is up in the air, but the fact remains that eyes don’t lie.
“The midwife you’re describing recently left,” the nurse explains. “You just missed her.”
I can feel Lars’ disappointment because it mirrors mine.
“Thank you. I appreciate the information,” I murmur, straightening.
Walking away, my eyes narrow resolutely. Whoever you are now, I’m going to fucking find you.
For Hollis.
Four days later
MALCOLM
The bruises lighten day by day, and Hollis finds a rhythm as she gets better. We were all worried that the transition to having her live with us might be difficult, but she fits so perfectly with us.We’re not above insisting on small perks, which means one of us sleeps with her each night. I’ve noticed that she sleeps deeper this way, and she’s only had one nightmare. Remy was with her last night, and he held her while she cried.
His panic through the bonds woke us all up, and that night was spent with all of us in his room. I’ll gladly baby the crick in my neck if it means we are all together.
During the day, one of us has made sure to work from home each day this week to stay with her. She’s really cute as she finds a different part of the house to work from to test out the light.
She’s also refusing to take medication since she left the hospital, saying that she hates it unless there’s no other choice. I don’t blame her since it knocks her out.
“I’m going to make lunch,” I say, putting my laptop to the side. “Want to come join me?”
Hollis looks different from her usual office attire. Her hair is up in a bun, she’s in comfortable loungewear, and her fuzzy pink socks are my favorite part of her outfit.
“Lunch sounds good,” she mumbles, typing. “I just need to finish this email. I’ll meet you in the kitchen?”
“Sounds good,” I say, pushing her water bottle closer to her.
This omega is a machine. Focused, beautiful, dedicated. The bruises are fading to a sickly green, but they’re still healing at a higher rate than they should. I have no idea what to think, which means I’m settling on being grateful for it.
Seeing Hollis in that hospital bed was one of the worst experiences of my life. I found a new gray hair this morning, and I doubt it’ll be the only one. She throws herself into new projects, tries to find solutions to impossible situations, and it’s one of the things that makes her shine so brightly.
In a world where people tend to be selfish dickweeds, it’s both refreshing and terrifying.
Standing, I walk to the kitchen. Pulling out ingredients for an adult grilled cheese sandwich and a green salad, I move on autopilot, not realizing that Hollis is at the island until I hear a podcast coming from her phone.
“Emilia Richardson is a damn menace. I have evidence to prove that she’s not someone you should trust. If she continues to slander Hollis Edwards, I’ll be forced to release it.”
“Who is that?” I ask, eyes narrowing.
“Hmm? Sorry,” Hollis mumbles. “It’s an omega who goes by The Little Rabbit. She’s an advocate for omega and equal rights. She doesn’t show her real voice or face, but damn does she piss off Emilia. I got a notification that she just posted. I’m missing things I need to be on top of, so I am following a few podcasts now.”
“What evidence does she have about what Emilia did?” I ask her.
“No idea, honestly,” she says with a shrug. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I do think I need to do a video now that I look less scary.”
“You’re beautiful,” I say immediately. It’s how I see her, and no one can tell me differently.
“Thank you, but I think you’re biased,” she teases me.
