In Your Dreams, Holden Rhodes: Chapter 12

WHEN SHE RETURNED a few minutes later, I was tapping out an email response on my phone to a contractor. She slid into her seat, no trace of tension on her face anymore.

“Hey, uh,” I started, putting my phone away. “Sorry about that. I shouldn’t have asked about the engaged thing.”

She waved a hand, not meeting my eye. “It’s fine.” She glanced around with amused suspicion. “Holden. Are we in a gay bar?”

“Yep.”

She threw her hands up with a laugh, and I relaxed. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Wanted to see how it played out. What tipped you off?”

“A woman in the bathroom said she loved my eyeshadow and then asked for my number.” She smiled. “No wonder it has such good vibes.”

The server appeared with her tacos, margarita, and water for me.

“Thank you so much.” Sadie beamed at her. “Oooohhhhh.” The server left and Sadie’s head fell back. She nodded at me. “I get it now. See you next Tuesday.” She leaned in. “Like, cunt.”

“Yep, got it.” I slugged back half my water. That bubbly feeling clawed up my chest again.

“I guess I did say I was looking to meet women,” she mused. “Good tacos.” Her thumb came up to wipe the corner of her mouth before her tongue darted out. The motion fascinated me.

She tilted her head at me with a little frown as she chewed. “So, why do you work so much?”

I arched an eyebrow at her. “I run my own company.”

She took another sip of margarita. “The company won’t collapse if you take a weekend off, right?”

My shoulders hitched and I frowned.

She played with her paper coaster. “Your special lady may not like you working so much.”

My stomach tensed. I didn’t like this conversation. “How’s bathroom demo going?”

She rolled her eyes. “I see what you’re doing.”

I sat back, watching her.

She let out a sigh. “Fine. It’s going great. Thanks for having that bin delivered.”

I jerked a nod. I had called a company and rented a construction waste container for the inn.

She pulled out her phone to show me her progress. She had smashed out and removed the shower tiles, bathroom mirrors, and cabinets in one of the bathrooms.

“Jesus,” I murmured, scrolling through the photos. “You got a lot done in two days.”

She shrugged. “I like this stuff. I have a lot of repressed anger I need to get out.” She flashed me a pretty smile and wiggled her eyebrows.

“Yeah?” I arched an eyebrow, the side of my mouth doing that weird twitching thing. “From what?”

“You know.” She shrugged, and her mouth twisted in a funny way. Her eyes lost a fraction of the humor. “Men. The universe. Etc.”

I frowned at her.

“So, the bathtubs. I can’t get them out myself. What do you suggest?”

I stared at her for a long moment. Her gaze flicked up to mine and my pulse picked up. Something happened and I wanted to know so, so fucking badly, but I also wanted her to tell me because she wanted to, not because I demanded it.

I hated that I wanted her to trust me.

“Now who’s changing the subject? I’ll deal with the bathtubs once you’re ready. I’ll bring a few guys and we’ll take them all out at once.”

“Great.” She shot me a bright smile. The weird energy from before dissipated and my shoulders relaxed. “That would be great, Holden.”

She flicked through her photos and showed me the watercolor renderings she had done over the past few days, alternating with inspiration photos and examples from her previous projects. Her paintings were beautiful.

“Can you send me some of those?” I asked, jerking my chin at the watercolor renderings, folding my arms over my chest. “For my records,” I added.

She shrugged. “Sure.”

When she told me about her plan for the bedrooms and bathrooms, her eyes lit up and her hands moved fast in the air, gesturing.

Sadie Waters was illuminating when she talked about interior design. I couldn’t tear my gaze away. When I studied the demo photos, there was a weird tug beneath my ribs.

Her eyes were on her phone as she flipped past photos. “I want to nail this renovation.”

Her comment before about men nagged at me. “Tell me more about this repressed anger of yours.”

She chewed her lip, eyes still on the photos. “It’s complicated.” She ignored me staring at her. Her jaw tensed, and for a moment, she looked pissed.

“You were in jail, weren’t you?” I asked.

She glanced up with a relieved grin. “Yeah. Exactly.”

“Who did you kill?”

Her grin widened. “My elderly husband. I did it for the money, and I wore one of those long, scary robes that villains wear, with the fur on the cuffs.” She shrugged and studied her nails in an exaggerated way. “I loved jail.”

I snorted. “Yeah?”

She leaned forward like she was confessing. “I was the queen in there. I made so many friends, Holden. I read a hundred books and did three hours of pilates every day.”

My mouth lifted into a smile and I hid it behind my water glass as I took a sip. “Bet you did.”

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment and my heart flipped over in my chest.

The server swung by and we asked for the bill.

“One or two checks?” the server asked.

“Two,” Sadie said.

“One,” I told the server. Sadie opened her mouth to argue but I silenced her with a look. “You’re helping me.”

She shrugged. “Okay. Thanks, buddy.”

I frowned. I didn’t like her calling me buddy. We weren’t buddies. We weren’t… anything. We weren’t even friends. Olivia called me buddy all the time. So did Avery. Hannah just called me Holden. I normally didn’t care, but I didn’t like it when Sadie called me that.

After I paid the bill, she finished her drink. “This was a dud. Sorry for wasting your time.”

I shook my head as we stood. “It’s fine. You didn’t know.”

She did waste my time tonight, and I should be pissed. I had a mountain of work to do, and I could have used the time tonight to catch up.

I wasn’t pissed, though. I had fun. I didn’t mind watching Sadie stuff her face with tacos, chatting about renos and asking about the best place for bathroom tiles.

Irritation tightened in my shoulders at that thought.

“And you didn’t tell me, either.” She shot me a suspicious grin. I held the passenger door of my truck open and she hopped in. “It’s okay, though. I’ll do my homework for the next one.”

“Next one?” I asked when I got into the driver’s side.

“We’re going to a singles event.”

I stared at her in horror. She burst out laughing before shaking her head at me in mock disbelief. “If you want to meet the future Mrs. Holden, you have to meet people.”

“I hate meeting people,” I told her. “That’s why I have you.”

“I’ll help.” She smiled at me. “I’ll be your wingwoman.”

I didn’t mind the idea of more outings like tonight. My hand came to my chest, rubbing at the weird, warm pressure as I drove, stealing glances at Sadie as she fiddled with the music and rolled her window down to let a breeze in. Her hair fluttered in the wind and she sighed, letting her fingers drift through the air.

The reality of this dating thing became clear. I’d have to talk to people. Socialize. Smile. Be friendly. I couldn’t work as much. I hated that she was right about that. I’d have to talk to person after person, making awkward conversation, until one person could stand me.

My stomach twisted. I hated this.

I let out a groan.

“What?” Sadie asked with a small smile.

“Singles event.” I groaned.

She laughed. Her hand came to my shoulder and she squeezed. My stomach flipped. In some alternate universe where she wasn’t my matchmaker, tonight could be a date.

I hadn’t had this much fun with a woman…

Ever.

Talking with Sadie was easy. Around her, I wasn’t the awkward asshole who couldn’t string a sentence together.

Shit. What? No. This wasn’t a date.

Sadie was my matchmaker. I had promised Katherine I’d try to find someone, and that was the only reason we were out tonight. She had been crystal clear earlier—she wasn’t interested in marriage. She shut that down as fast as she could.

She didn’t live here. She didn’t want what I wanted. She didn’t even like me.

A thought pierced my brain. She didn’t even like me, and she was trying to set me up?

You couldn’t sell a product you didn’t believe in.

Her words from years ago played in my head again and my hands tightened on the steering wheel. There was no way she’d succeed at this.

I glanced at her, staring out the window and humming along with the music in the truck. She had put some seventies funk playlist on and was tapping her foot to the beat.

Guilt washed through my stomach. She needed the money for some reason. She was desperate, and I was stringing her along with this plan, knowing she wouldn’t find anyone for me.

I’d hold up my end of the deal whether she found me someone or not. I had the money to buy more shares in the inn.

Besides, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, as much as it pissed me off, I liked hanging out with Sadie, and didn’t mind her staying for a little longer.