Holly sits on the couch, tucking her legs under her. “So. You came to grovel?” There’s a twinkle in her eyes that’s infectious.
“Something like that.”
“She’s pissed,” she says quietly.
“I don’t blame her.”
“But she loves you. My question is, do you love her?”
“I do.”
“Well, that’s good to hear, but you have work to do. You didn’t break her heart so much as her trust.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“What are you planning to do?”
“Apologize if she’ll give me a chance. Grovel. Beg. Throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed.” I shrug. “Whatever it takes.”
She’s got that twinkle in her eye again. “You might want to start with the apology and then move right into the caveman thing because otherwise, she’s going to overthink every word that comes out of your mouth.”
I chuckle. “You know her well.”
“I do.” Her expression turns somber. “Don’t do this if you’re not serious, West. She’s been through enough.”
I run a hand through my unruly hair, thinking I need to get it cut. “I’m serious. A thousand percent.”
“Good.” She studies my face for a few long seconds. “You’re not what I was expecting even though you’re exactly as she described you. Tall, muscular, handsome.”
“But?”
“But also gentle. Especially for a big guy.”
“How would you know that?” I ask curiously.
She gives a half-hearted smile. “Because I know the opposite of gentle. And you’re not that. Plus, Serena is…how can I put this delicately? A little broken? Not completely, because she’s stronger than that, but there are cracks around the edges and she’s always very careful not to cause any damage that might make that damage worse. Yet she let you do exactly what she wouldn’t let anyone else do for four years. I was curious what it was about you. Now I think I know.”
I’m not sure what she’s talking about, because she almost seems to be talking more to herself than to me, but I feel the same way about Serena. She has little cracks that she protects fiercely—and I’ll never forgive myself if I made even a single one of those cracks worse.
“Do you know what time she’s coming home?” I ask quietly.
She meets my gaze and I see a tiny flicker of…doubt? Guilt?
“I don’t,” she says softly. “Tony called. She went to meet him.”
Fuck.
Chapter
Forty
Serena
“Mommy, are we going to West’s house?” Joey’s voice from the back seat breaks my heart a little, but I force myself to smile.
“Not tonight, sweetie.”
“I want to play hockey.”