The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(95)

“You know, you could probably finish the remainder of your initial research back in Philadelphia. At least all of the data-gathering and analysis is able to be done offsite. Perhaps you could just come back for the next round of interviews and medical assessments with the participants. If you want, I’ll ask the grant committee to approve a change in your primary site location so you don’t need to come to this building every day and can go back home early. You’re supposed to be here for another few months, right?”

Oh. Wow. I wasn’t sure what to say. Of course, I would love to be closer to my mother and be able to help out with her recovery. It would take some of the pressure off my dad, who still worked full time and had taken weeks off already. But that would also mean leaving Holden. Even thinking of that made my heart squeeze inside my chest. “Can I think about it and get back to you?”

“Of course. You figure out what will make things easier for you.”

***

Later that night, Holden and I were out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. He looked so damn sexy in a shirt and tie. But something else about his outfit was distracting the heck out of me. I held up the menu, but didn’t really read any of the words.

“What are you going to get?” I asked.

Holden looked up at me. “Whatever you get. To be honest, I can’t think straight sitting across from you wearing that dress.”

I’d worn the sexiest thing I owned, hoping we’d have a few drinks with dinner and maybe Holden would let his guard down a little. We were twelve days into our fourteen-day sex sabbatical, and I was ready to explode. I set my menu on the table.

“You can’t think straight? You know what you’re wearing, right?”

Holden looked down. “A clown outfit?”

I laughed. “No. And I do love you in that shirt and tie. But that’s not what I was referring to.” I leaned in and lowered my voice. “That belt you’re wearing is the belt you used to bind my hands a few weeks ago.”

Holden groaned. “Fuck, don’t even mention that. My dick hasn’t gotten over your dress yet.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Don’t mention how you tied me up and made me watch as you licked me?”

His eyes darkened. I was definitely poking the bear. “Laney…”

“Laney? Oh boy. You sound pretty serious. You know what I’m serious about? Taking that tie from around your neck and begging you to tie me up with it. Would you like that, Holden? If I begged. I can do it from my knees, if you want…”

There was so much heat in his eyes, it looked like my taunting might actually pay off this time. So I leaned in closer to try to close the deal, intent on describing what I could do to him on my knees inside the ladies’ room at this fancy restaurant, but my cell buzzing on the table stopped me. Ever since Mom’s health scare, I couldn’t ignore my phone.

My eyes shifted to read the name flashing. It wasn’t a name I expected. Dr. Reston. Barbara.

Holden noticed the change in my face, and his eyes dropped to my cell, too. “Shit. Is it your mom?”

I shook my head. “No. Dr. Reston is one of the members of the grant-oversight committee for my research, one of the people I presented to today.”

“Do you need to get it?”

I nodded and lifted my cell. “I probably should. It’s not like her to call me after hours.”

“Go ahead.”

I swiped to answer. “Hello?”

“Hi, Laney. It’s Barbara Reston.”

“Hi, Barbara. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry to call you so late. But I was just going through my emails and wanted to give you the good news.”

“Good news?”

“I know you said you wanted to think about relocating and finishing your initial research back home, but I shot off a note to the committee anyway. I didn’t expect to get a response so quickly, but the team was unanimous in their decision. Everyone agrees you’re doing a great job, and a change in your official site would be fine.”

“Oh…wow.”

“It’s still up to you, of course. But I thought it might make your decision easier if you knew it was possible to go back. Anyway, I don’t want to bother you after hours. Just wanted to let you know we’re good with whatever you decide.”

“That’s really generous of you.”

“Like I said, we STEM ladies need to stick together. If there’s anything else I can do to make things easier for you, just let me know.”

“Thank you very much, Barbara.”

When I hung up, Holden was waiting with a smile. “From where I’m sitting, that sounded awesome.”

“Uh. Yeah. It was good news. The committee was really happy with my presentation today,” I said. It wasn’t a lie, though it also wasn’t the reason for the call. But I wasn’t ready to discuss what had just been offered to me with Holden. I first needed to figure out what I wanted. “Dr. Reston just wanted to let me know that. She knows I get worried about having to make presentations.”

“Of course you killed it. My girl is like Lois Lane and Superman balled into one. Smart, strong, and hot.”

I smiled, though inside I felt terrible for not sharing the truth. The news from Barbara also left me a bit distracted during dinner. My brain wanted to start analyzing the pros and cons of what had just been offered. I might’ve even needed to work up a Venn diagram. But by the end of the night, after a few glasses of wine, I’d managed to put it out of my head and focus on my handsome date.