“Yup.” I walk out of her room, knowing that Holden will follow.
We get to his room, and I shut the door, sitting on his bed and rubbing the sudden sore spot on my shoulder. Holden sits down in his chair and just watches me. I can tell that he doesn’t actually have anything for me to do. He’s not jumping into anything, hasn’t touched his computer, nothing.
“Thank you.” I breathe.
He takes my hand and pulls it to his mouth, gently kissing my knuckles. “On a scale of one to ten, how much does this bother you?”
“A lot.” I laugh. “My mom loves to talk about the most embarrassing things. Things no one ever needs to know.”
He smiles gently and turns my hand to kiss my palm. I shake my head at him despite the warmth spreading out from his kiss. “Don’t give me that look. I know you’ll enjoy every second of it.”
“Not of you being uncomfortable.” He assures me. “Or dealing with your dad.”
“You got put on that?”
“No one assigned it to me. I just know Miles well. We were stranded for a while together, and … and I was there when he found out.”
“Great.” I swallow. “I can’t juggle this much, Holden. I feel like I’m going to go insane.”
He sits next to me and hugs me. “We’re all here for you. None of us want this to be hard.”
“You had a meeting about it, didn’t you? You guys share everything, so of course, you’d split up all the work to be done and-”
“We didn’t sit down like generals going to war.” He whispers before kissing me softly. “I just know that I will do whatever it takes for you to feel comfortable, safe, supported. And if I feel that way … I know they do too.”
I nod and try to fix my hair. “I … I have to go back to work.”
He nods, but doesn’t drop my hand. I hug Holden, and he hesitates before rubbing my back. I know that he’s not exactly the hug and be hugged type, but he’s warm and smells good and feels safe.
I kiss his throat. “I guess this is a cakewalk compared to saving my ass in Italy.”
“That was a one and done. This is a covert mission that just gets more complicated.” He chuckles. “But I’m all in, Sophia.”
“Thank you.” I kiss him again softly, just sucking his bottom lip and forcing myself to leave.
I can’t fuck him with my mom still here. She gets curious easily, and I have no doubt she’d be more than happy to investigate anything she finds interesting. Holden included.
Once I get back to work, I’m called into Roman’s office. I sit down and balance my tablet on my knees. “Okay. Are we scheduling, discussing clients, or-”
“Look at me, Bambina.”
I close my eyes a moment, then meet his. Roman is softer than normal, and for some reason, it pisses me off. Just like Gunner being all gentle and sweet, Holden letting me talk and not pushing for more. They’re on eggshells, waiting for me to break or run or something in between.
“What?”
He smiles slightly. “It’s going to be twice as naughty when I fuck you tonight.”
Well, there goes that thought. My mouth goes dry, and my face heats up. I clear my throat and glance at the closed door. “That’s not very professional, Mr. Agosti.”
“Did it offend you?”
“No.”
“Then I’m not sorry.” He folds his hands under his chin, his elbows balanced on his desk as he looks me over. He narrows in on my breasts, and I feel the urge to cover up, but at the same time, I can’t move. The corner of his mouth lifts. “The worst happened, Sophie. Your father found out and got pissed.”
“But my mother doesn’t know, and now she’s staying with us.”
He shrugs. “I don’t know her. I’m not friends with her. I’m not worried about her.”