Page 34 of Infatuated as They Come (Sinful Trilogy #2)

“We’re going to Saratoga Springs. It’s super quiet and beautiful up there, especially around this time of year. We’re gonna drive up and spend the week there, and you’re gonna forget all about being so busy all the time.”

The deepest feeling of relief hit me. A week away with Holly without her worrying about college and me being busy with work sounded like pure bliss.

But… “I’d love to, Holly,” I said, “but I can’t take time off work.

” And then my eyes found the clock and I realized then that I must have slept right through my alarm or something.

“Fuck, I am so late.” I got up to move, but Holly placed her soft hands on my chest.

“Yeah, this is the part you might be mad about,” Holly said with a sheepish giggle. “I called your boss on Saturday and…”

“… And?”

“I told him you need time off.”

I drew in a quick breath. “Holly.”

“And he agreed!” She moved her hands to my shoulders, practically falling into my lap. “He said you work really hard, and I said, ‘I know, he’s the most annoying boyfriend in the world.’ Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad. Just…” That was a whole week’s worth of wages. Rent and fo od and bills and dates with Holly. “Just wasn’t expecting to wake up to this.”

“You can have one week off. I’m taking the week off school too.

I already talked to my professors and I spent all weekend making sure I was on top of all of this week’s work.

Claudia is okay with me missing practice and the upcoming game too.

You deserve a break. You’ve been taking care of me this whole time, and your whole life you’ve been taking care of yourself.

For just one week, let me take care of you. Please?”

She was looking at me with those big pretty eyes, all brown and deep and warm. My favorite color. I couldn’t say no to her.

“Just for a week,” I said.

“Yay.” She jumped out of bed, hands clasped together. “It’s a three hour drive, so we should probably leave now. Traffic shouldn’t be too bad.”

“Wait, drive up?” I pushed my hands through my hair. “Did you rent a car?”

“I got a car. You go get ready, okay? I already packed your stuff and mine last night.”

My eyes looked to the four duffel bags by the dresser. “That explains those. We’re only going for a week, though. Why’d you pack so much?”

“I don’t know how many outfit changes I’ll have.” She kissed my cheek. “Come on. Get up!”

“Alright, alright. Lemme shower first.”

After getting ready, Holly practically shoved me into the elevator. She was all giddy and excited, her eyes twinkling as I carried our bags for us. Missing a week’s worth of pay was worth it if I got to see that look on her face.

A cold gust of New York City air hit me as we left the apartment behind.

We turned the corner at the end of the block, and I was expecting Holly to stop at one of the dozens and dozens of cars that were parked on the street, but she pulled me over to one of the buildings to our left.

Down a ramp, through a walkway, and then finally, we made it to what looked like a private parking garage.

The place was packed with expensive cars, but it was in front of a blue pickup truck in the corner where Holly came to a halt.

“You rented a truck?” I asked, slowly turning to face her.

“Not exactly…”

“Holly…”

“What?” she said, twirling at some of her hair.

“What’d you do?”

“Happy birthday!” she said, voice all cheery. She placed her hands on my shoulders, giving me a deep kiss. “I hope you like it.”

I dropped the bags right then and there on the grey floor—even that looked expensive, all smooth and without a hint of dirt. “No, no, no, no, no. No way.”

“That’s a good ‘no’, right?”

“Holly…. No, I can’t. I can’t take this off you.

” Just one glance at the truck told me it cost a lot.

I could tell it was vintage, and that alone meant it already cost a hell of a lot, but the clean look to it meant it had been restored.

The light blue paint looked smooth, not a chip to be seen.

No rusting, no dents, not a hint of damage.

It looked good as new. Good as new meant expensive.

And then it hit me. “This is what you’ve been sneaking around doing the last couple days? ”

“I’m sorry I was so distant.” She moved her hands to my chest. “But you deserve something really nice and there were so many phone calls to make to get it down here on time.”

I sighed deeply, my arms wrapping around her as I eyed the truck. “I can’t, Holly.”

“Why not?”

“How much did it cost?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

“No, it doesn’t. Let me do this for you.”

My fingers pressed into her waist, trying to come up with an excuse to get her to take it back. “No one drives a pickup truck in New York City. I’m gonna look like a serial killer driving around in that thing.”

“Well, I can’t return it, so you’re gonna have to deal with everyone wondering how many bodies you have in the back.”

“It’s impossible to find a parking spot on the street.”

“I know. That’s why you can park it in here. You get a designated spot and everything. I already paid for a year. It’s so much easier this way, right?”

I blinked at her. She had fucking thought of everything. “Can you at least tell me how much it cost?”

“I told you that it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters a lot.”

“It’s your birthday gift. It doesn’t matter how much birthday gifts cost.”

“It’s a very expensive birthday gift.”

“Well, I love you and I want you to have it.”

“Holly, I can’t. Thank you for getting it. It means a lot that you did something so nice for me, but… No, I just can’t.”

“Well, you can’t return a car,” she said with a shrug. “So it looks like it’s not going anywhere.”

“Sell it.”

“No.” Her eyes narrowed. “I refuse.”

“You refuse?”

“Yes.” She tucked a hand into her coat pocket, taking out what I assumed was the key to the truck that was hooked up to a mini red and white pom pom. “And look, I already put on the pom pom keychain I got at the start of semester. It’s official now. You can’t take it back.”

My eyes traveled from the key to Holly’s face, and a feeling of warmth weighed there in my heart knowing that she had gone out of her way to get me something so nice.

No one had ever done anything like that for me before.

“Look, I wanna go on this trip with you,” I told her, my hands squeezing at her waist. “I really do. I wanna spend the week with you. I want time for us together, and I know we haven’t been doing that lately, so one whole week where it’s just us sounds perfect.

I’ve been missing you so much, Holly, but…

I can’t take the truck. Thank you for buying it for me, for doing something so special, but I can’t do it. ”

“Well, how else are we gonna get up there?” she asked.

I thought about it for a moment, letting out a long breath. “We’ll use it for the trip. And then as soon as we get back, we’re selling it.”

“If you sell it, I’ll just buy you another one. And then another one. And then some more, so you have one for every day of the week.”

“Anyone ever tell you what a pain in the ass you are?” I mumbled.

She giggled, pecking my lips. “Just you. Come on, let’s go.”

* * *

The truck drove like a dream. All smooth and seamless, the wheels the total opposite to the ones I had on my old truck.

The hum of the engine was low and clean, the leather seats smooth and comfortable, and the heating actually worked.

But the best part was having Holly right next to me.

I kept one hand on the wheel, the other on her thigh, squeezing at her softly as we drove past the deep orange and red leaves of the Saratoga Springs trees.

She had her head on my shoulder, her voice soft as she told me about all the things she wanted us to do when we got to her parents’ house.

Second house. Third house, probably. I didn’t know how many they fucking had.

I still couldn’t quite believe that Holly had gotten me something so damn nice.

Expensive too. I had no idea how much it cost exactly, but my guess was close to a good hundred grand.

It was a 1968 Chevrolet, but whoever had fixed it up had done such a good job that it was like the truck hadn’t aged a day.

I didn’t even need the nice gifts. Just being around Holly was more than enough—she was the perfect present.

Feeling her close. Waking up to her. Coming home at the end of the day and seeing her there waiting for me with a big smile as she whispered out a gentle, little, “I missed you so much today” before I kissed her.

That alone made me happy. It was the normal, little things I never had that made everything with her so damn special.

“Ooh, we’re almost there!” Holly said, snapping me right out of my thoughts as she sat up straight. She picked her phone up and switched off the GPS. “I can tell you where to go the rest of the way. Just a couple minutes left.”

A few turns later, we were pulling up in front of some big old house that was surrounded by a hoard of looming trees, the leaves a blend of orange and red with just a hint of green in the mix.

White paneling all around the front, the house had three stories and what seemed like a hundred windows. Old money through and through.

“This place looks haunted,” I said.

“I swear it’s not.”

“I think I saw someone in the window.”

“Stop.” She squeezed at my hand. “Don’t scare me.”

“How old is it?”

“It was built in 1899, I think.”

“It’s definitely haunted. We’re gonna see a ghost in there, aren’t we? Is this why you brought me here?” I turned to her. “Am I your next victim?”

“I don’t wanna kill you anymore.” She leaned over and pecked my lips. “I used to, but not anymore. Come on, I’ll give you a quick tour.”