Page 39 of Daddies' Holiday Toy

But today?

Today the air between the three of us feels heavier than usually, enough to crush a man entirely.

We aren’t talking much, or at all for that matter, today. Which in itself is strange.

On these weekend trips, we usually shoot the shit nonstop, arguing about sports, making crude jokes, reminiscing about the old days like we were already washed-up men in rocking chairs.

But after last night’s dinner and the morning after with Holly very obviously avoiding us…

Well, it’s making the three of us keep our mouths sealed shut.

It’s not hard to guess why none of us are bringing up the obvious elephant in the room.

The unspokenness of the subject is far louder than anything we could’ve said out loud, anyway.

I adjust the strap of my pack on my shoulder, trying to keep my eyes on the narrow trail we’re making cutting through the snow-dusted trees.

But every time I blink, I see her sitting at the table last night under the dim lighting over the light overhead, my gaze catching on the slope of her slender neck and how her hoodie seemed to cling to her curves despite it being oversized.

It’s a thought that no man with a moral compass should have, let alone notice.

It wasn’t just her looks either, though fucking hell, those alone are enough to make a saint stumble.

It’s the way she would glance at me every so often, her dark eyes teaming with curiosity and that same guardedness she’d had since the beginning.

It had me wondering all night if she could see past the bullshit, to get down to whatever you didn’t want her to find, in the same way I could.

I’d been around beautiful women before.

Hell, I’d slept with more than my fair share.

But Holly?

Holly hits somewhere deeper for some reason and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.

Part nostalgia, part forbidden fruit, maybe? I don’t know.

Either way, I’m not proud of it. For feeling this way.

Reece has been quiet too, keeping a few paces ahead with his long strides, breaking the pristine crust of snow for Liam and me to trudge through.

Liam’s taken up space beside me, hands shoved into his coat pockets, sighing every so often under his breath like he’s trying to fill the silence that has so obviously descended over all of us.

After a while, Reece veers off toward a strand of pines.

“Gonna take a leak,” he calls over his shoulder.

That’s when Liam elbows me. “Hey. Tell me I’m crazy, but are we really gonna pretend we’re all not thinking about her?”

I shoot him a glare, sharp enough to cut glass. “Aboutwho?”

“Come on, man.” His eyes narrow. “You know who. Holly.”

I look forward again.

I’m not about to entertain this nonsense, let alone breathe life into it. “Drop it. Alright?”

He doesn’t.