Page 133 of A Very Merry Enemy
She nods.
I lift her onto the counter and step between her legs. She wraps them around my waist and pulls me closer. We’re kissing like we’re starving for each other, hands everywhere, breathing hard.
I reach for the button on her jeans when there’s a loud bang on the window.
We jump and turn to see Sammy standing outside, grinning and giving us a thumbs-up.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I mutter.
Holiday drops her head to my shoulder and starts laughing. “I want to be left alone.”
I help her down from the counter, and we try to compose ourselves before she unlocks the door. Sammy walks in, grinning.
“Guess you’re not even trying to hide it anymore,” he says.
“What do you want, Sammy?” Holiday asks, her face bright red.
“I heard Dominic was heading this way. Thought I’d come check on you.” His eyes flick between us. “Looks like you’re just fine.”
“We were working,” I tell him.
“Sure, you were.” He leans against the counter. “So, what is this?”
Holiday and I exchange a look.
“What do you mean?” I ask finally.
“The two of you. Seems you’ve got some explaining to do,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I—uh—we.” Holiday stops talking. “We’re just…”
“Figuring things out,” I finish.
“You know the whole town’s talking about you, right? After what happened at the wedding, it’s pretty obvious.”
“We know,” Holiday says.
“So, what’s the plan? You hooking up? Dating? Because if you get together and then break up, I’m going to be fucking pissed,” Sammy says. “I can’t deal with you two being at each other’s throats.”
“We’re figuring things out,” I repeat myself. “Without any pressure.”
“And while Dominic is in town, I think it’s best we don’t givehim any more ammunition to make things complicated,” Holiday says.
Sammy’s expression hardens. “What did he say to you? What did he want?”
“He wants me back,” Holiday explains.
“That’s not happening,” Sammy says, and I can see the same frustration on his face as I did the night he told me about Dominic. “I’m just going to say this. If you two are going to do this, go all in. No games. No bullshit. You either commit to each other or you don’t, but I’m not going to watch you hurt each other again.”
The words hit me harder than I expect. We destroyed each other and everyone around us felt the fallout.
“We’re not playing games,” I say. “We just want to get through the contest without drama. After that, we’ll be public about it.”
Holiday clears her throat. “I think that’s for the best. I want to avoid drama and more articles being written about me. This is overshadowing my career, again. I’m growing exhausted by it all,” she says.
Sammy considers this. “I get it. Dominic’s a judge. Keep it low-key until after the contest.” He points at both of us. “But after that? No more hiding.”
“You support us being together?” Holiday directly asks him.
