Page 26 of Only Ever Yours
Finn would kill me if he knew anything about what had been going through my head over the past few days. It might have been a long time ago, but he’d warned all of us away from his sister after one summer holiday where one of our mates at the time had messed Hollis around. I don’t remember what happened to him, but I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me. Seeing how he’d looked out for her after the break-up with her latest boyfriend only reminded me of that.
Focusing on the drive, I watched as the scenery changed from the bustling city environment to a more suburban one. Hollis told me where to go, and it wasn’t long before wepulled up outside a row of four-storey terraced houses. My jaw dropped as I realised how much one of these could be worth.
“They’re split into flats,” explained Hollis, taking in my expression. “Otherwise, we’d be looking at a place worth around fifteen mil.”
It really was a whole different world from Maplebrook. We got out of the van, and I stretched my back out. Hollis hadn’t been wrong about the last part of the journey, and I wasn’t used to driving for that length of time.
“Right, let’s do this.” Hollis blew out a breath, and we went inside. I followed her up the first flight of stairs, which gave me the perfect opportunity to check out her arse, to a smartly painted light blue front door. She turned the key in the lock, and we went inside.
I couldn’t help but be impressed by the apartment: all clean lines with lots of space and high ceilings, plus views across the nearby park. I could totally see Hollis fitting right in here, and a part of me questioned why she wanted to stay in Maplebrook permanently again.
“Nice place.” I nodded, wandering through the hallway and poking my head into the living room. “Not a patch on our house.”
She giggled. “Oh, that house has its own charm.”
I hid a smile. “Shall I get the boxes from the van?”
“Please. I’ll start sorting stuff out.”
By the time I got back, I couldn’t see Hollis in the living room. “Hollis? Where are you?” I called.
“In the bedroom.”
Following the sound of her voice, I went into the master bedroom. A huge super-king-sized bed dominated the room, with a sofa at the end of it and a walk-in wardrobe opposite.Hollis stood there, holding the tiniest bright pink lacy bra I had ever seen. I swallowed hard and went in.
“I think these boxes might be a bit big if that’s all you’ve got to go in them.” I dumped the flattened cardboard against the mirrored wardrobe.
She gave me a small smile although her mood seemed to have dipped since we had arrived. I thought this would have been the opportunity she needed to put things behind her, whatever those things were. She hadn’t told me all about them, and I wasn’t about to pry into her business.
“I hadn’t realised I had so much useless stuff.” She dropped the bra back into the drawer she’d been going through. From where I stood, all I could see were pretty lacy things, and I had to look away before she saw hownotuseless those things were.
Suddenly, banging came from the front door, as if someone were trying to get in.
“Hollis? Are you there?”
Chapter Ten
Hollis
The sound of Gil’s voice filled me with dread. What the hell was he doing here? And more to the point, how the hell did he know I was here?
Jase shot me a quizzical look, but before I could say anything, my ex-boyfriend appeared.
“How the hell did you get in?” I hissed.
Gil sneered at me. “I told Kim I was concerned about you. She gave me a spare key.”
I didn’t like to think about how he had managed to persuade Kim to hand over a key or the threats he might have made. Before I could say anything, he turned his attention to Jase. “And who’s this? Your new lover? Didn’t take you long to move on, did it? Or were you already seeing him when you were with me? No, that couldn’t have been true because I would haveknownif you cheated.”
The quizzical expression turned darker as Jase listened to what Gil accused me of. I wished he hadn’t been there to witness it although I was glad he was because, at least, I knew someone had my back.
I swallowed, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “He’s a good friend.”
“Of course, he is. You had a lot of male friends you went out with.” Gil stepped towards me, and my instincts made me move backwards.
Jase noticed the action, his eyes darting between us. “I’m a friend of her brother,” he growled. “Not that you care.”
“How did you know I’d be here?”
