mouth again. “Hol, why are you so pissed?”
She shook her head a little. “I’m not … mad at you.”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Then what…?”
What do you want from me? I had started to say, because I really didn’t know. But the words got stuck in my throat when I saw the drop of water fall onto the piece of paper in front of her. I took a couple steps toward her and she turned around, giving me a one-second glimpse of her tears before she leaned her head against my chest, hiding her face. “You never tell me anything … It’s … it’s like you have this whole other life and I can’t be in it.”
Hearing the tears trembling in her voice hit me harder than I expected. I should have run when I had the chance. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her shoulders. “I don’t mean to push you away. I’m … I’m sorry.”
Holly ducked under my arms and flopped down on the bed, her blond hair spilling around her. She groaned loudly. “I hate that I can’t stay mad at you.”
I released the breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding and lay down next to her, burying my face in her neck. “I thought you said you weren’t mad.”
She slapped her hands over her eyes and pressed down hard. “I was mad. Past tense.”
“Does this mean we get to have makeup sex?”
She cracked a smile, then her mouth formed a thin line again. “Only if you promise no more secrets … ever.”
Not possible. No way.
She sat up and I glided my fingers up and down her back. “You’ll cave either way.”
She turned and raised an eyebrow. “Try me.”
“Okay, I promise.”
“Liar.” She laughed and pulled my shirt off, tossing it over the lamp. “Lydia’s going to be such a bitch tomorrow.”
I pulled her back down and loosened the tie on her robe. “She’s at least two hundred dollars richer, so there’s nothing to bitch about. And when is she not angry?”
“Never. But thank you for one night free of feminist lectures.”
I leaned over and whispered, “Consider it your makeup gift.”
She wiggled out of her robe. “Do I get anything else?”
“Like a new car?” I asked.
“No.”
“A pound of that really expensive nondairy chocolate?”
She kissed the length of my neck. “You know what I want.”
I groaned loudly. “Not a chance.”
“Please.”
“You’re turning me into a complete freak. Or worse—a chick.” I made the mistake of turning my head. One glimpse of the tears still drying on her cheeks and I caved. “If you tell anyone, I will kick your little ass. Got it?”
She mimed zipping her lips, then snuggled up to me. “Do you think you can manage a British accent this time?”
I laughed and kissed her forehead. “I’ll try.” Adam and my medical records could wait.
“Okay, on with it.”
I rolled my eyes, then took a deep breath. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom. It was the age of foolishness…”
My ninth-grade English teacher always made us recite Dickens while standing in front of the class. I hated it. For Holly, I didn’t mind too much, but I’d never tell her that.
“Do you think he did the right thing?” Holly asked after I’d recited the first few pages.
“You mean Sydney? Getting his head chopped off so the woman he loves can be with another man?”
Holly laughed and her lips vibrated against my chest. “Yeah.”
“No, I think he’s a complete moron.” I kissed the corner of her mouth and she grinned at me.
“You’re lying.”
I pulled her closer and kissed her again, ending the discussion that would inevitably lead to spilling out more secrets than I cared to share.
“You weren’t aiming those shoes at anyone earlier, were you?” I asked in between kisses.
She leaned over me, her hair forming a yellow curtain around us. “I didn’t even know you were in here.”
“Okay, good, because that red shoe had a really pointy heel. You could take someone’s eye out with