Third Time's a Charm (Holland Springs #3)(30)

“Jason alluded to it, but—”

Her eyes rounded and her mouth fell open. “You believed him.”

“He indicated that Summer is the, er, popular one.”

“Why didn’t you defend her?”

For the love of God. He waved his coat at her, then threw it on the countertop. “Jesus, Rose, you’re taking care of her baby. One that was abandoned by your sister. According to you, she doesn’t know who the bloody father is.”

She fisted her hands on her sweet hips. “I meant I didn’t know where he was, not who he was.”

“Well, do you?”

“Summer didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”

As if that made it any better. As if he had any right to judge. He let his head fall back for a moment, then groaned. “This is so fucked up.”

“Why, because you got the wrong Holland?”

“It didn’t matter which one of you I got,” he shouted and Ivy let out a cry. Feeling like a complete ass, he practically ran to the baby, lifting her gently and holding her close. “There’s a girl. It’s okay,” he whispered, trying to soothe her.

“Give her to me.”

He turned and handed her Ivy. “How about we keep our contact limited, yes? You be my landlord and I’ll be your tenant. That way there’s no confusion or kisses or any other misunderstandings that haven’t happened yet.” He snagged his sweater and jerked it over his head.

“Fine.” Stormy eyes pinned him with her glare. The wind kicked up, gusting hard against the house. Cold air seeped through the floorboards. “As your landlord, I’m telling you to park your Mercedes on the left side of the porch. The right side is mine.”

He gave her a mocking bow. “Consider it done.”

After she left the room, he had the absurd notion to chase her down and lie prostrate at her feet while begging for forgiveness. In under five minutes, he’d managed to wipe out a budding friendship. A tentative trust. The look in her beautiful eyes would haunt him until he was old and gray.

He sat down heavily in a chair at the kitchen table and propped his head up in his hands. “Less of a guilty conscience, mate,” he told himself.

Too bad it didn’t make him feel any better.





Chapter Nine





For the past week, it had been raining in a freezing, steady flow from gray skies. Cars and trucks carefully inched along Broad Street, water high on each side as it splashed the sidewalks. No one ventured out much to do any shopping or eating. Carolina Dreams had had its slowest week yet which should have bothered Rose, but she was too hurt and angry to care.

The dismal weather matched her mood to a T. Looking back on that night, she knew she shouldn’t have kissed him. Shouldn’t have put her hands on his muscular, lean body and taken his nipple rings in her mouth.

She dropped her head into her hands, her cheeks heating. But she had ached for him. He had tasted so good. So male. So Sasha.

Only he had rejected her. Heck, he hadn’t even touched her. He’d sat there unmoving, unaffected. Well, not completely unaffected. Her fingers had glided past the shape of his penis. His very hard and enormous erection.

She let her head fall to her desk with a thud. What was worse, he’d confirmed her biggest fear. Her biggest insecurity. He hadn’t cared which Holland he’d found, and a small part of her wondered if he’d actually wanted Summer all along, but like Jason, had settled for Rose. The average sister. The one who didn’t live up to her reputation.

Maybe that had been the real reason why she and Sasha had never finished what they started. Only he’d been too polite to say it.

So far she’d managed to avoid Sasha, making sure she left before he did in the morning. No small feat since they lived together and she had to pack up the entire house to travel anywhere with Ivy.

She’d eaten dinner in Ivy’s nursery, then headed downstairs to clean up after she’d heard him turn in for the night. Only he‘d beaten her to it. Then he’d come with her to Palm Island again, helping her clean and playing with the baby.

Despite this, their conversations were whittled down to innocuous statements like, “I’ll clean the kitchen while you vacuum the living room,” or, “Pass the salt.”

Of course he talked to Ivy. He made silly faces and had the most ridiculous conversations with her. And of course, Ivy babbled and kicked her feet at his attentions. He even sat in the back of the car beside her on the way there and back.

A small ding coming from her computer’s speakers made her head snap up. She clicked on her inbox, read the new message, and blinked. Then she read it again and jumped up, sending her chair sliding across the room.

She danced around the office with the biggest smile on her face while Ivy watched in fascination. “I can pay my back taxes,” she said in a sing-song voice. “We get to keep everything!”

She had to tell Skye. After two years of submitting her information and jumping through hoop after hoop, the biggest natural supplier of beauty products on the East Coast was offering her a contract. A huge one. All she had to do was meet their deadline.

The bells hanging on the front door of Carolina Dreams rang and Rose quickly stepped to the counter. She smiled at the sight of her sister and then frowned at Skye’s anxious face. “What’s wrong?”