Six Month Rule (Kingston Ale House) (12 page)

“You’re breathtaking,” he said in a rough whisper, and her heavy eyes opened to catch him staring, but she didn’t stop moving.

“And you’re going to get us in trouble,” she teased quietly, “if you don’t shut that mouth of yours.”

Will grinned.

“I’m quite aware of the volume of my voice, and I assure you it is well within the safe range, Ms. Chandler,” he said. “Besides, I’d be a daft bloke to risk not receiving a proper good-bye again.”

And before she could chastise him again, he sneaked a hand underneath her skirt and pressed his thumb back into her center. Holly bucked against him, back arching, and then gasped much louder than any of his whispering.

“Careful,” he warned. “
You’re
going to get us in trouble.”

But it
was
Friday afternoon, and the two of them knew that no one was within earshot other than Jackie at the front desk. But Will took a bet on the constantly ringing phones and decided that Jackie was no threat to his need to finish Holly with a flourish.

He swirled his thumb between them, and Holly’s knees gripped his thighs.

She braced her hands against his shoulders and held still as he rotated his hips and did his best to drive this woman half as mad as she’d already driven him. He fought against the building pressure between his legs, rubbing his thumb against her until she cried out so loud she had to straighten in order to clasp a palm over her mouth. Then it was game over as she gripped the sofa behind his shoulders and rode him hard and fast until he exploded inside her, silencing his own threat of giving them away by crushing his lips against hers.

The orgasm ebbed as Holly slowed to a stop. She kissed him one more time, straightened to tie her dress back around her neck, and then slid off him without another word. She picked up her knickers from the floor and shoved them in the pocket where the condom once was. Not until she was at the door did she turn to him one last time.

“Have a good trip, Billy. I’m putting in some extra hours at the office this weekend, so I look forward to a proper hello upon your return.”

Will opened his mouth to respond, but he still couldn’t articulate a coherent sound. So he watched her slip through the door, latching it once she was out, and he sat there half naked on the sofa trying to collect himself.

He chuckled. Holly was a single-minded woman when she needed to be, at work
and
at play. Andrea had nothing to worry about from her. It was Will who was beginning to forget why he despised Chicago in the first place. Never mind he still hadn’t seen any of the sights.

September

Chapter Fifteen

Gemini: You’re great at seeing all angles of the story, which is Gemini’s advantage. But that also makes you confused, especially when the other angles don’t align with your own. Put yourself in other people’s shoes for greater understanding.

Holly spun her phone around on the small outside table.

“Is your job laborious? Is that why you have the day off tomorrow?”

She grinned at the sound of Will’s voice. She couldn’t imagine getting tired of it, though she knew one day she would.

“Say that again,” she commanded.

“Is your job—”

She waved her hand. “No, no. Not the whole sentence. Just that
L
word.”

Will flipped the burgers on Holly’s grill, then glanced over his shoulder at her.

“Laborious.”

Damn she loved that accent, even more so when the word was polysyllabic.
Laborious
was now her most favorite word. Ooh, maybe she could get him to say
planetarium
. Or
the way he said
aluminium
. There were so many polysyllabic words he could make infinitely more gorgeous with nothing more than that accent.

“Again,” she insisted, and he dropped the tongs on the grill’s small table and bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek.

“Laborious,” he whispered.

His breath against her skin and the sound of her new favorite word sent waves of goose bumps up and down her spine.

“Now,” he said, grabbing the veggie kabobs Holly had prepared this morning, “tell me more about your American holiday that gives
us
a three-day weekend.”

Holly didn’t ignore that emphasis on
us
. Will had been moody all week when he realized one of the weekends he was staying in the States was a holiday weekend, one where he could have had extra time with Sophie. But Sophie’s mom had already planned a trip to the country to see Sophie’s grandmother, a trip where Will was obviously not invited along. Plus, on Tuesday afternoon, Tallulah Chan was going to join them via Skype for a meeting with the set designer, which meant it was best for him to stay here anyway in case any last-minute details had to be ironed out before they met. So here he was on her balcony on a Sunday afternoon. An Englishman preparing a Labor Day barbecue for a party of eight.

Holly stood and wrapped her arms around his middle, careful not to bump into the grill. She pressed a kiss to the back of his neck and felt him let out a soft sigh.

“I know you’d rather be home this weekend. So thank you for doing this.”

He backed her away from the cooking food and turned quickly enough to surprise her with his kiss.

“It’s not a matter of where I’d rather be.”

He held her tight, kissing her again, and despite the lingering heat of late summer, she melted into his warmth, not caring if he felt the beads of sweat at the nape of her neck.

“I’ve messed up these past six years,” he added. “I’ve been everywhere except where I should have been—with my daughter. I made her a promise that after Chicago I wouldn’t be going anywhere, not for a long time.” He rested his chin on her head, and she sank into his chest. “It’s not that I
don’t
want to be here with you. Because I do. It’s just that I’m
meant
to be there.”

That made sense. She couldn’t question that. But she also couldn’t ignore that annoying, niggling part of her brain that thought,
Wouldn’t you love it if he said he’d rather be with you?
She shuddered and stepped back.

“I’m going to go make sure the table’s all set. I think I forgot salad forks.”

Holly ducked back into her apartment before he could remind her that they weren’t eating salad tonight. She just needed a minute to think and to remind herself that Will would always prefer his daughter over her—over
any
woman—as he should. Holly wasn’t in a competition. She already knew she’d lost, which was why she’d proposed their arrangement in the first place. It was the perfect setup. She just wasn’t out of the phase where she couldn’t get enough of him.

Soon
, she thought.
Soon he’ll be gone, and you’ll be yourself again, just like you always are.

She uncorked the bottle of pinot noir Will had brought and poured herself a glass. The beer crew would be there soon enough, but she needed a little something to relax her now. She cleared her throat, ignoring the dry scratchiness she felt as she did, and took a long sip of the burgundy liquid. The warmth soothed her from her lips to her belly, and she leaned her elbows on the counter, letting her head fall forward in a moment of quiet.

Well, it was a short moment before her phone and Will’s, both next to each other on the counter, buzzed at the same time. Not a good sign.

Holly unlocked her screen to read the text. It was from Andrea.
Break-in in our building this afternoon. Everything’s all right. Insurance will cover what’s missing, but I need you to come by as soon as possible to examine your work area and fill out a report. It looks like it’s mostly electronics, but I can’t be sure until everyone has come in.

Holly froze, her body rigid as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to remember. Had she brought her tablet home or left it at work for their Tuesday meeting? Because if it was at Trousseau—and now wasn’t—
shit
.

Will stepped in from the balcony carrying a platter laden with burgers and vegetables, but his proud smile fell as soon as he looked at her.

“Holly, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

She could feel the color draining from her face, like all the blood was rushing out of her body. Her head pounded, and she wondered if she wasn’t overreacting just a bit.

She slid his phone across the counter so he could read. He deposited the food on the table and read Andrea’s text just as Brynn, Jamie, Annie, Brett, Jeremy, and a girl she hadn’t met yet piled through her front door.

“Shite,” Will said. “I take everything back with me to the hotel each night. Thank goodness for international relations, aye? Forces me to work odd hours from my room.”

Holly’s eyes welled. “I think my tablet’s there, with the presentation for Tuesday’s meeting.”

“Happy almost Labor Day!” Brynn yelled as the group barreled into the kitchen and dining area. “We come prepared!” She set a mini keg on Holly’s counter, but Brynn’s brows drew together when her eyes finally met her sister’s.

“Shit, honey. What happened?”

“A break-in at the office,” Will said. “We need to head down to see what’s missing and file a report.”

His voice was so calm. How did he stay so calm?

Holly didn’t form attachments to electronics. But she’d been so busy this week, preparing the presentation for the set designer, overseeing another round of fittings, and trying to coordinate with the W’s New Year’s Eve DJ, that she’d worked right up until the last minute on Friday, when she’d thrown the tablet in the drawer and rushed out to buy not only the food for this evening but something special to wear under her clothes for Will. She’d thrown her tablet in her drawer and not plugged it in, which meant it wasn’t backed up. If it was gone, so was her presentation.

Brynn wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed.

“You’ve got important stuff there, huh?” she asked.

Holly nodded, then pulled herself from her sister’s embrace and dusted off her perfectly clean maxi skirt and took a deep breath. Holly Chandler could be calm, too. And positive. And—and this was
not
going to break her, because she was a professional, and professionals don’t fall apart. They find a solution.

“It’s fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “Everything will be fine. I’ll figure this out. You guys just start without us, and we’ll be back soon!”

There was a little too much pep in her voice, but Holly wasn’t exaggerating for her guests. It was for herself. She had to believe that all her hard work and planning for the past few months had not been so she could hit a roadblock now.

“Take your car, Holls,” Brynn said.

“She’s right,” Jamie added while he tapped the keg and started filling glasses. “It’s a ghost town out there. You’ll wait forever for a cab.”

“Right,” Holly said. “The car. I’ll take my car. Of course.”

Brynn crossed her arms. “You did renew your license, right?”

Holly bit her lip.

“They let me do that sticker for the extension thingy because of my safe driving record.”

Brynn groaned. “When did the sticker expire?”

“My last birthday?”

Brynn kissed Jamie on the cheek then grabbed her bag. “I’ll drive you, honey.”

A throat cleared.

“I have an American license. An Illinois one, I mean.”

Everyone turned to look at Will.

“I don’t have much in my office there, but I should still head down to check it out.”

“Have you driven in the city before?” This question came from Jeremy.

Will shook his head. “Not exactly.”

“But you’ve driven in the States before, right?” Annie asked.

Another head shake. “Technically, I don’t need an international permit, but I applied for one anyway. I have a valid license in England, so that makes me eligible to drive here.” His gaze narrowed on Holly. “Where are your keys?”

Holly pulled out the kitchen drawer that was a catchall for everything she didn’t use but thought she’d need someday—like her car keys—and tossed them to him.

Brynn’s eyes moved back and forth between the two of them.

“Are you sure it’s safe? You know, other side of the street and car and all that?”

Will opened his mouth to say something, but Holly beat him to it.

“I trust you,” she said, specifically to him, and he beamed. She wondered what this night would have been like, Will cooking for the people she loved most while they laughed and drank and whiled away the evening with nowhere they needed to be in the morning. She wondered if he’d stay once he woke. Not that any of that mattered, since Holly had a pretty good idea tonight would be spent working, doing her best to recreate a presentation that most likely didn’t exist anymore. She’d have all of Monday as well.

Labor Day would be anything but a day off from work, but at least she had that cushion to prepare. That’s what she told herself as they walked around the corner to her car, a compact hybrid that hadn’t left its primo parking spot in months. Brynn made her start it every now and then just to make sure the thing still ran, but Holly saw the car as more of an in-case-of-emergency device, and tonight definitely qualified.

“Right,” Will said, sidling up next to her at the passenger door. “This is where I get in, yes?”

Holly’s eyes widened, and his face broke into a roguish grin.

“Joking, Holly. I’m joking.” Then he opened the door and ushered her inside.

“You’re lucky I like you,” she told him as he settled into the driver’s seat.

He put a hand on her cheek. “I
am
,” he told her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded, then pressed her palm against the damp skin at her neck. “The heat’s not helping.”

Holly showed him how to start the car with the button rather than the key, and Will maneuvered out of the spot with expert precision. He gave her a look before continuing down the street.

“Still trust me?” he asked.

“I do,” she answered. “Do you know where you’re going?”

“Yes, Holly.”

Will stepped gently on the gas and drove slowly to the intersection. He put on his left turn signal and began to accelerate when Holly grabbed his wrist.

“You can’t turn here. It’s one way for the next few blocks. Go up one more street, make a left. Go five blocks, and then double back over, and—”

“I’ve got it,” he said, his jaw tight. So she tried to relax, crossing her fingers not only that they’d get there but get there in one piece. Jamie was right. The streets were empty, so the odds were in their favor. Still, when Will did make that left turn—into oncoming traffic—she couldn’t help but slam on the invisible brake in the passenger seat.

He swerved into the correct lane, and she blew out a long breath.

“I’ve got it,” he repeated, but she heard the slight falter in his voice. She bit her tongue, wanting to prove that she meant what she’d said. She trusted him. And after a few minutes, his grip on the steering wheel loosened. When he made the next left, he turned into the proper lane. And when he merged onto the expressway for the short ride to the office, his right hand let go of the wheel completely and reached for hers.

“See?” he said. “Give me the keys, trust me not to kill us, and Bob’s your uncle. We’re here.”

He had already exited onto Trousseau’s street, and she could see the building, two police cars parked out front.

“Bob’s your uncle?” she asked.

“Means everything’s going to be all right.”

He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.

“Let’s hope Uncle Bob is still waiting for us upstairs.”

Will laughed quietly as he parked on a nearby side street.

“If he’s not,” he told her, “I am.”