Page 10 of Three Days of Holiday

Across from me, Holly laughed as she slipped out of the booth. “Wow, time really flew by, huh?”

“It seems that way,” I said, throwing a hefty tip on thetable before taking Holly’s arm and leading her through the diner’s exit.

“Poor Bacon,” Holly said as I held open the door of my car and waited for her to get in. “I bet he’s turned into a gremlin by now.”

I let myself into the vehicle and answered her as I buckled my seatbelt. “I hope my friend is still alive… and still my friend.”

Besides his outright hatred for denim, Bacon was the sweetest dog you’d ever meet. He was the runt of his litter but wasted no time making up for it and was now a giant golden retriever. His favorite things were sleeping, eating treats, sleeping, and several walks a day. If he didn’t get those walks, no telling what he’d do.

Probably more sleeping.

Our conversation picked up on the drive home and flowed as freely as it had in the restaurant. It was easy to be around Holly. She wasn’t pretentious or assuming. She was just Holly.

We’d hit the turnoff for her road before I remembered she had the Halliday last name.

I took the drive as slowly as possible, wanting to prolong the moment. Deer on the road made a reasonable excuse for the maneuver, but we still made it to her place before I was ready to say goodnight.

My car idled at her mailbox, and just as Holly was about to exit my vehicle, I pulled forward, drove to the side of the road, and turned the car off.

“I can’t very well let you walk through the woods and sneak back into your house alone,” I said, unbuckling before she protested.

She met me at the hood. “I walked out here alone.”

“Yes, but it’s dark now.” I took her arm in mine and walked toward the same spot she’d exited the woods earlier in the evening.

Holly shook her head and laughed. “It was dark then,” she whispered.

I tilted my head, spotting the crescent moon, which gave off enough light to make the woods extra creepy. “Well… it’s darkernow.”

We stepped past the tree line together, and instantly everything around us darkened even further. Yeah, I definitely couldn’t be an asshole and let her walk alone. It was my duty to make sure she made it home safely. The long branches of the pine trees blocked out every bit of light from the moon, and even though I set out to be the one to walk Holly through the woods, she led the way.

An owl hooted in the distance. I froze for a fraction of a second until she tugged to keep me going. Our feet snapped branches, and somewhere to our right further in the woods, animals scurried over tree bark.

If I ever got the chance to have Holly sneak out and meet me again, I was definitely bringing a flashlight. I would have grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and used the flashlight app, but if she wasn’t scared of the dark, I didn’t want to look like a wimp. A twig snapped somewhere on her makeshift trail fifty yards ahead of us and then bushes jiggled as something large ran by. I completely froze, doing my best to not breathe.

“Relax, it’s just a deer or something.”

“Right,” I said, walking again. The “or something” had me worried. What if it was a bear or a Halliday brother? Which did I consider worse?

The one place I did not want to be caught out alonepast dark was in the Halliday family woods. But I couldn’t very well explain that to Holly.

Not yet.

A porch light from an old white farmhouse split through the darkness, lighting up a few footsteps, and I followed Holly right up to the old wooden wraparound porch and to the back door. “So, this is me,” she said.

I dropped her arm, knowing I’d have to let her go at some point but then unsure how to respond. I leaned in, stopping a few inches from her lips. “Can I kiss you?”

The edges of her lips tipped up and her eyes crinkled in the porch light. “You’re already halfway there, so you might as well finish the job.”

It was all the approval I needed, so I cupped her face in my palm, bringing her head closer and leaning to reach her luscious lips. My first taste of Holly was like my favorite Christmas cookie—the one I always loaded up with sweet delicious frosting and too many sprinkles.

Such a kiss might give an unprepared man a heart attack. But they’d wheel me into the hospital to die a happy man. Holly nibbled on my bottom lip, and then slowly we pulled apart. Her smile stretched even further across her face as I stood there looking at her and trying to memorize the moment.

Then the truth of our reality set in, and my heart hardened. That would probably be the only kiss I’d ever receive from Holly Halliday.

And I’d stolen that one.

Even my stolen kiss was worth it because soon Holly would learn the truth, and she’d never look at me the same. I refused to feel bad about it.

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