Page 61 of The Naughty List
She inhales sharply. “I see.”
“I really am sorry for the way I reacted. It was over the top, even if you had told Addison and she’d leaked it. I wish I’d handled it better.”
“I forgive you, Jonah,” she says evenly, sounding like she means it. “You were upset. You made a mistake. It happens.”
I frown. “Why are you letting me off the hook so easily? Because I played one round of charades? Really?”
She shivers and I rub her arms some more. “No. I forgive you because I can tell that you’re genuinely sorry. And because it’s on the list.”
I laugh. “Oh, great. The list. What else is on there?”
Her cheeks pink but she doesn’t respond right away. “Did I ever tell you about Ache’s ear medication?”
Blanking at the abrupt change of subject, all that comes out of my mouth is “Huh?”
She sighs heavily. “Last spring, when Ache had all those allergies and his ears got infected, I took him to the vet and they gave me this medicine.” I watch as the memory contorts her face into one of distress and remorse. “I didn’t read the instructions. I just used the dropper to put the medicine into his ears. It was pink and sticky and weird so I freaked out and called the vet. It was an oral antibiotic. Not ear drops.” Her eyes fill up with moisture.
“Oh, Hollis. I’m sure he was fine.” I wrap my arms around her and pull her to my chest to comfort her. And okay, because I need to hold her as much as she needs to be held.
“I had to suction it out and clean his ears and he was in so much pain. I felt awful.”
“It was an honest mistake.”
She nods. “Exactly. And I didn’t tell you because I was upset and embarrassed that I’d done something so careless and dumb. But that’s what I was thinking about tonight. You made a mistake and hurt me—even though you really didn’t mean to. I made a mistake and hurt Ache, even though I would never in a million years hurt him on purpose. He forgave me. I can forgive you.”
I grin at her. “Sometimes, Hollis Rossi, I worry that you’re too pure for this world.”
“No so pure anymore,” she says quietly.
Because I took her virginity.
My chest tightens and I nod. “Because of me.”
Her nose grazes mine. “Thanks to you,” she whispers. “I don’t regret it, Jonah. I hope you don’t either.”
My mouth goes dry and my heart beats harder. I feel like a fifteen-year-old with a crush on the homecoming queen.
“I don’t,” I manage to get out. “Not even a little.”
Matter of fact, all I can think about since she left is how to get her back in my bed.
The front door opens and Hollis’s bar-owning brother pokes his head out.
“Hollis,” he calls out. “It’s your night to do the dishes. And Mom needs help wrapping some stuff.”
Hollis rolls her eyes. “Be right there.”
Part of me doesn’t want to let her go yet, but I’ve been selfish enough for one evening.
“They look out for you,” I say. “It’s sweet.”
She frowns. “It was sweet when I was twelve. At twenty-four, it’s obnoxious and annoying.”
“You have a wonderful family, Hollis. That’s a good thing.”
She glances toward the house then back at me. “They like you.”
Chuckling lightly, I shove my hands in my pockets so I can keep them off her. “I don’t know about that, but at least no one punched me in the face tonight.”
