Page 28 of The Inn Dilemma (Give a Bookish Girl a Biker)
Chapter Twenty
Holt
“ B e straight with me. What’s going on with you and Nova?” Chris asks after we step outside.
I feel guilty leaving Nova alone with my friends, knowing they will probably ask her a million questions.The quicker I answer Chris, the faster I can save Nova from my friends’ prying inquiries.
“We’re friends,” I say.
Chris’s expression tells me he doesn’t believe me.
“It’s true. We’re friends. She’s on a dating sabbatical, and the last thing I want to do is push her into a relationship she’s not ready for.”
His eyebrows shoot up and his glasses drift down his nose. He pushes them back into place. “Are you saying you’d be interested in pursuing something romantic with her if she was ready?”
“Definitely.”
Chris nods thoughtfully. “That’s an idea I’ll need to get used to, if I’m being honest.” I expect him to have more to say about Nova and me, but he changes the subject. “How are you? With everything, I mean? ”
My nostrils flare and I blow out a breath.
“Better.” I nod, my answer coming out honestly.
Chris knows I’ve been struggling with where to go from here.
Being a SEAL has been my dream since I was a kid and something I trained for until I went into the program at eighteen.
My identity was wrapped up in it. When it was ripped away from me after I lost my eye, I knew it would be an uphill battle.
Chris is the only person I’ve confided in about it.
“Good.” He puts his hand on my shoulder. “You know I’m here for you. No matter what.”
“I know.” I get the sudden urge to share my idea with Chris. The program for at-risk boys, the program I would have needed to stay on the straight and narrow if it wasn’t for Uncle Walt. “I have an idea about what’s ahead. It’s something I’ve been praying about for a while.”
I’m silent for a beat, and Chris gives me a look that tells me to go on. I go into my plans for the non-profit I’ve been praying over.
“I’ll be your first investor. You know we’re always looking for new philanthropies to donate to.”
“Appreciate that,” I manage over the thickness in my throat.
Chris chuckles. “Don’t get too emotional, my friend. It’s just money.”
“Says the billionaire CEO.”
I’m financially stable, but I’m no billionaire. As much as I don’t want to ask for help, getting investments from people like Christian will help this plan thrive. I have to remember it’s not about me. It’s about the kids this program can help.
“If you need anything, just ask,” Chris says .
Des strides out. “What secrets are you two whispering about?”
My focus snaps to Des. “Actually, I think it’s something you might be interested in too.” Before I can give him the rundown, Thor comes out, and Caius and Tallulah meet us at the door.
Caius tells Tellulah he’ll find her inside, and she heads in to hang out with the other women.
“So, what’s this meeting all about?” Thor asks, leaning against the side of the building and tapping a beat only he can hear on his leg.
I scrub my scruff and laugh. “Well, it wasn’t supposed to be a big thing and there’s nothing set in stone, but I think I know what God is calling me to do with my life.
” I go through the rough outline of my plan.
The guys nod along and throw in their own ideas.
Each of them tells me they want to help in some way.
The more I talk about it, the more right it all feels, as if their encouragement is a confirmation from God that I’m on the right path.
We head back inside once we’ve discussed everything we can on the subject. As the guys take seats next to their women, I realize Nova and I are the only non-couple at our table.
I take a detour to the bar to get another drink for Nova and me both. I rest my phone on the counter next to me and tap the screen to check the time. The picture I took with Nova at the overlook is my new background.
Roxy sidles up next to me as I wait at the bar for our drinks.
“So, you and Nova?” She gently nudges my shoulder as she points at the picture she catches on my screen.
This is exactly why I came to get our drinks first. To avoid this conversation with the women. Talking to Chris about my feelings for his sister is awkward enough, but talking to his wife is a whole new level.
“We’ve been friends for a long time,” I answer.
“It looks like there’s more between you than friendship now.”
I don’t dare look at her head-on, afraid that she’ll see through my partial lie. “I’m protective of her. I’ve always been protective of her. Just ask Chris.”
“Oh, I did. And he’s suspicious of the two of you too. Has been since he found out you knew about Nova’s return before he did.”
My stomach sinks. “She showed up on Aunt Birdie’s doorstep not even knowing I was back. It’s not like she came back for me.” For some reason, the words taste bitter.
Roxy looks over at the table where Nova is laughing with our friends. “No. She came back for herself.” Roxy pierces me with a look. “Make sure you don’t forget that.”
Roxy’s words stay with me long into the evening.
She’s right; Nova did come back for herself.
Leaving for Paris was a way she tried to take back her life from her dad.
But it only led to another controlling man.
No one has let her just be herself. Very few have seen the side of Nova I’ve seen—that I’ve had the privilege to see.
They think of her as the little rich girl who gets everything she wants, not knowing that the only thing she wants is freedom to be herself—something she’s experiencing for the first time in her life.
We got back pretty late after spending the night with the crew. Nova was quiet the whole way back, and I’m pretty sure that if we were in my truck, she would have fallen asleep. I almost had to carry her into her parents’ house after parking my bike in the drive.
I’ve been lying in bed for the last several hours, dozing in and out of sleep.
Getting out of bed, I walk over to the window facing what used to be Nova’s cabin; seeing all the lights off puts a dull ache in my chest. She’s only a mile away, but I wish I could just pop over and talk to her late into the night like we’ve done before.
Without a second thought, I slide on my T-shirt, jeans, and boots and drive to Nova’s house, taking the pups with me.
I end up in the Prices’ backyard and look up at her window. A relieved breath leaves my lips when I see her light is still on. Which is slightly surprising since she almost fell asleep on the way home.
I toss a few pebbles at her window. It’s not long before she walks over to her window and peeks down.
Even from here, I can see the smile lifting her lips.
She lifts a finger as if to say one minute , and less than a minute later, she’s coming out of the sliding glass doors that lead onto the patio.
Nova stands there in her leggings and a threadbare Phantom Echoes T-shirt.
Her eyes dart to the patch over my eye, sympathy blending with the confusion in her expression. “Holt? What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know.” The honest answer surprises me.
“Well, come sit anyway.” She bends down to the two dogs obediently sitting on either side of me. “Hey, pups. You can come hang out too.”
She heads over to the outdoor fireplace and turns on the gas. Flames immediately cover the fake wood, but the heat emanating from it is very real.Nova presses a button on a small remote and LED lights turn on, casting a cozy light from the patio's ceiling.
Tootsie and Titan’s claws click-clack against the stone as they circle in front of the fire and lay down, resting their heads on their paws.
Nova stares at my dogs with a soft smile on her lips. “You trained those two incredibly well.” She turns to face me.
“They were good dogs when I got them.”
“Always so humble.” She motions to the house. “Want something to drink? I made iced tea, too strong. Just the way we like it.”
We . I like that word for us. Us . I like that one too. Shaking my head free of those thoughts, I answer, “That’d be great. Thanks.”
Nova goes back into the house for a few moments, and I open the door for her to come back out.
She has a tray of iced tea and a stack of DVDs.
She places the tray on the table. We sit next to each other on the love seat and “Cheers” our drinks before each taking a sip.
She wasn’t exaggerating; she did make this batch strong.
“I don’t know if I’ll be sleeping tonight,” I joke.
She curls her legs beneath her. “It’ll wear off in an hour or so. Want to watch one of the classics?” She picks up a remote, a projector screen rising from the top of the fireplace.
I can’t help but smile. “Like old times.”
She places her glass on the table and shuffles through the stack of DVDs.
“It’s crazy to think our kids will have no idea what these are.” She immediately straightens, then turns to face me. Motioning between us, she says, “Not our kids, meaning yours and mine. But our future kids with whoever we end up marrying or whatever.” Her face is redder than I’ve ever seen it.
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.”
“It’s not that I wouldn’t want—” She pulls both of her lips between her teeth.
She goes as still as a statue, one hand clenched in a fist, the other holding the DVD.
I scoot down the couch so I’m directly in front of her and brush a strand of hair off her forehead, trailing my finger down her cheek.
Her skin is even softer than I’d imagined.
I can see the rapid thud of her pulse in her neck. Her pupils dilate.
“I think you just answered my question.”
“What question?” Nova asks, sounding breathless.
I run the pad of my thumb over her full bottom lip. “How you feel about me.”
Gently gripping her chin between my thumb and forefinger, I tip her face up and lean forward. Her lips are just a breath away when my phone rings loudly in my pocket.