Page 13 of Only Ever Yours
“Oh, I thought you said you weren’t going out tonight?”
Felicity’s voice.I’d recognise it anywhere. “Things change, though, don’t they, babe?” I kept my tone light, not wanting to get into a fight with her.
Her gaze fell on Hollis. “I didn’t realise you were back in Maplebrook, Hollis. Is this a weekend visit?”
Hollis swallowed the French fry she’d taken a bite of. “Who knows? I might stay around permanently.”
“Hardly the big city lights here, though, is it?” Felicity examined the tip of a freshly manicured nail, desperately trying to look disinterested. “When you left for London, you said you’d never come back.”
Hollis had never said those words, and I was sureFelicity was only doing it to provoke a reaction. They had never exactly got on, and I doubted they were going to become best friends anytime soon.
“Like Jase said, things change.” Hollis placed a hand on my forearm, her own nails lightly digging into the skin, almost like a display of ownership. While I absolutely knew it wasn’t true, my dick didn’t seem to agree and enjoyed her small touch a little too much. “How are you, Felicity? It’s been a long time.”
Felicity pursed her lips, eyes zeroing in on the contact between Hollis and me. The devil in me wanted to reach over and cover Hollis’s hand. Given her skin on mine had already got me aroused, I didn’t want to risk anything more embarrassing happening.
“All good, Hollis.” She glanced into the distance, seemingly seeing someone she knew. “My friends are over there. I guess I’ll catch up with you all another time.” With a final glare, she spun on her heels and went over to the other side of the bar.
I turned to my left, my nose brushing against Hollis’s ear. “Nice save. Thank you,” I whispered.
She squeezed my forearm before taking her hand away, leaving the skin there cold. “Anytime.” Her chin dipped, and she gave me a sideways glance, her blue-green eyes mischievous.
Come on, Jase. This is Hollis. She’s Finn’s younger sister.
And you’ve secretly been lusting after her for years, remember? Enjoy the moment.
The angel and the devil started a conversation in my head. Now wasn’t the time to listen to either of them. Nothing had ever happened between us. I didn’t even know if Hollis harboured any of the same thoughts about me.
“Do you want another drink?” I asked, standing up abruptly and breaking the moment.
Downing the remains of her wine, she held her glass out to me. “Why not? I don’t think any of us are getting out of here sober tonight.”
Taking it from her hand, I headed over to the bar, muscling my way into a space just vacated by a guy carrying a tray of shots. I watched the bar tenders moving around, trying to catch the eye of one of them with little success.
A couple of moments later, Finn joined me. “What’s going on there? It all lookedverycosy.”
I could barely hear him above the chatter of the other punters waiting to be served and shrugged instead, raising my voice as I answered. “Don’t know what you mean,”
“All that stuff between you and Felicity, then Hollis steps in. What’s between you two?” Finn’s brow furrowed.
“Nothing.”More’s the pity.
“She’s been through a lot recently and needs friendly faces around her. No complications.” His words sounded a lot like a low-key warning. He’d always been protective of her. In the past, if any of our friends had shown an interest, it fizzled out almost as soon as it began. It looked like nothing much had changed.
I held up my hands. “I’m only trying to make her feel welcome, mate. I don’t know her deal, but while she’s staying with us, I’m not about to make things difficult.”
“Good.” Finn nodded. He waved over one of the bartenders.Why didn’t I just do that?“Now, what are you drinking?”
The evening flew by, with everyone chatting and having fun. After the band had finished, the DJ started up again, playing a bunch of crowd-pleasing tracks.
“I want to dance!” Hollis grabbed my arm and pulledme towards the small space in front of the stage where other people were already doing the same. She seemed a little unsteady on her feet, no doubt due to the amount of wine she’d consumed.
“Er, no. When did I ever dance?” Despite my protests, I already knew I’d join her, if nothing else, to protect her from falling over.
“Come on, Jase. I want to havefun.” Her emphasis on the last word had me wondering why she wouldn’t have had fun in her life in London. “Please?” She fluttered her eyelashes at me, and I was a goner. Couldn’t say no, even if I wanted to.
Even if Finn was watching us.
She started moving in front of me, hips swaying along to the beat, waving her arms in the air and nodding her head along to the song. When it came to the chorus, she sang-shouted the words, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Her enjoyment was clear and a totally different vibe to the one she gave off when she arrived yesterday. It was almost like we were at university again, catching up in the holidays and pretending we didn’t have essays or responsibilities.
