“They won’t. I swear it. No matter what happens between us, we’ll put the kids first. We both learned that lesson firsthand. But will you do something for me?”
“What’s that?”
His heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t know what he’d do if she turned him down. “Would you give us a chance?”
Her fine brows gathered. “What sort of chance?”
That was the catch. He wasn’t quite sure what he was asking of her—or of himself. Returning to New York with the holiday season in full swing twisted his insides into a knot. The reminders of what he’d lost would be everywhere. But it was where Holly and the babies would be.
He stared deep into her eyes. His heart pounded. And yet within her gaze, he found the strength he needed to make this offer—a chance to build the family his children deserved.
He swallowed hard. “I’d like to see where this thing between us leads. Give me until the New Year—you know, with us working closely together. That will give Clara time for an extended honeymoon and to settle into married life. And we’ll have time to let down our guards and really get to know each other.”
“I thought that’s what we’ve been doing.”
“But as fast as you let down one wall, I feel like you’re building another one.”
She worried her bottom lip. “Perhaps you’re right. It’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to count on someone. It might take me a bit of time to get it right.” She eyed him up. “But I have something I need you to do in return.”
“Name it.”
“Be honest with me. Even if you don’t think that I’ll like it, just tell me. I couldn’t stand to be blindsided like my mother. And there was a guy I got serious with while I was getting my degree. Long story short, he lied to me about his gambling addiction and then he stole from me to cover his debts.”
“Wow. You haven’t had it easy.”
She shrugged. “Let’s just say I have my reasons to be cautious.”
“I promise I won’t lie to you.” She meant too much to him to hurt her. “Now, I need to go check on the helipad.”
“What about the recommendation?” When he sent her a puzzled look, she added, “You know, for that other job?”
“You still want to leave? Even though we agreed to see where this leads us?”
“What if it leads nowhere? It’ll be best if you don’t have to see me every day.”
His back teeth ground together. Just the thought of her no longer being in his life tied his insides up in a knot. For so long, he’d sentenced himself to a solitary life. And now he couldn’t imagine his life without Holly in it.
“Let’s not worry about the future. We can take this one day at a time.” It was about all he could manage at this point.
“It’s a deal.” And then she did something he hadn’t expected. She held her hand out to him to shake on it.
It was as though she was making this arrangement something much more distant and methodical than what he had in mind. He slipped his hand into hers. As her fingertips grazed over his palm, the most delicious sensations pulsed up his arm, reminding him that they’d passed the business associates part of their relationship a long time ago.
He needed to give Holly something else to think about. Without giving himself the time to think of all the reasons that his next actions were a bad idea, he tightened his fingers around her hand and pulled her to him.
Her eyes widened as he lowered his head and caught her lips with his own—her sweet, sweet lips. He didn’t care how many times he kissed her, it wouldn’t be enough.
And then not wanting to give her a reason to hide behind another defensive wall, he pulled away. Her eyes had darkened. Was that confusion? No. What he was seeing reflected in her eyes was desire. A smile tugged at his lips. His work was done here.
He got to his feet. “I’ll go check on the helipad.”
With a flashlight in hand, he made his way along the path to the helipad. He had no idea what to expect when he got there. If it was clear, there was no reason Holly couldn’t leave in the morning. The thought gutted him.