The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(84)

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I was just heading to the men’s room, if you’d like to go in and visit. They only allow two people at a time. Lala can take you in.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

I followed Lala down the hall to her mother’s room. Mrs. Ellison was sleeping, but she looked better than I would have thought. “She looks really good.”

“I put a little makeup on her and did her hair. My mom is old school and would hate for anyone to see her without her face on.” Lala made air quotes.

“Whatever makes her happy.”

We visited for a little while, and then Mr. Ellison returned. The three of us made small talk. Lala had been here since last night, and Mr. Ellison was taking the overnight shift this evening.

“Dad, I’m going to get going,” Lala told him. “I don’t want us to get in trouble for having three people in here. And I’m really tired. All the bells and whistles kept me up last night again.”

Mr. Ellison nodded. “Go get some sleep.”

“I’ll be back in the morning before rounds.”

“Alright, honey.”

I extended my hand to Lala’s dad. “I’m going to head out, too. It was good seeing you, Mr. Ellison. I hope Mrs. Ellison makes a speedy recovery.”

He smiled warmly. “You’re going to be thirty soon. I think you can call me Bill now, son.”

Well, well, well…maybe there’s hope after all.





CHAPTER 23


Lala



The following morning, Holden and I were lying in bed, neither of us ready to get up and face the world.

I still couldn’t believe he’d come all the way here.

After we got back to my house last night, we’d almost started fighting again until he’d grabbed my face and kissed me, hard. Then he carried me to my room and made love to me like he had the night before he left New York—slowly, sensually, and in a way that made me certain my heart was all-in to the point of no return.

The morning sun streamed through the window. As we lay side by side in my old bed, I grew anxious, knowing I was about to bring up the subject of the woman who’d answered his phone. I trusted his explanation, yet I still felt unsettled about it—both the situation itself and my reaction to it.

“You should get to the airport early to make sure you don’t miss your flight,” I said.

“I want to go to the hospital with you first.”

“You don’t have to, Holden.”

“Yes, I do. I want to be here for you every second I can until I absolutely have to leave.” He searched my eyes. “You’re hesitant about me going? Don’t worry. I’ll make up a story again for your dad.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that.”

“Yeah, but come on. We have no choice right now since they don’t know about us.” He shrugged. “It’s not a big deal.”

There was another reason why Holden’s being there might cause a scene today.

“Warren said he might be stopping by this morning.”

Holden took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “Okay. Whatever. I’ll feed him the same story.” He rolled his eyes. “I fucking hate that you care what he thinks. But I get it. You don’t need the drama right now. I can put my ego aside for a day.”

“Thank you for understanding.” I ran my fingers along his chest and added, “Speaking of which, I owe you an apology for the way I reacted to that woman answering your phone.”

“No, you don’t. You reacted the way I sure as fuck would’ve if the situation were reversed. The whole thing was just bad luck. I don’t blame you for freaking out.”

“If she’s your manager, why didn’t she just explain who she was? She could’ve easily done that. But she sounded shady, to be honest.”

Holden sat up straighter in bed and turned his whole body toward me. He hesitated. “Daisy is my manager, but…she and I had a quick fling once.”

My stomach turned as I moved back and muttered, “Of course.”

“Fuck.” He shut his eyes briefly. “Would you rather I lie to you, Lala?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

“We’d both moved on. She got engaged earlier this year. I was really happy for her, because the dude seemed like a nice guy. But then she told me she broke it off with him recently. I think she might’ve been hoping something would happen between us during this tour. But when she insinuated that, I told her about you.” He sighed. “Anyway, she might not have properly explained herself out of spite since I’d turned her down.”

I nodded. “Thank you for explaining. I’m sorry I’m so on edge. You’ve had to put up with a lot, too, when it comes to Warren being around. We have to trust each other.”

“Tell me you really mean that, Lala. Look into my eyes and tell me you trust me. I need to hear it before I go back on tour.”

I got up and straddled him, wrapping my hands around his stubbly cheeks. “I trust you, Holden. I do.”

He placed his hands over mine. “I came to make you feel better, not to cause you any more stress.”

“You leaving the tour and coming here means so much to me.”