Page 74 of Forbidden Romeo
Duncan stalked over to me and even though he was an inch taller, I had a good thirty pounds of muscle on him. “We’ve all been treating you with kid gloves since your mom died, but you want to know the truth? You’re throwing your fucking senior year and future away for what? Some shitty college production of Romeo and Juliet? To appease a freshman who in a few short months won’t even live in the same state as you.” Duncan’s scowl turned briefly to Katherine before landing back on me. “You’re both fucking idiots. Jill and I might be hooking up, but there’s no pretense that it’s anything more than a casual fling. What you’re doing with Kate is way fucking worse.”
With a snort, I shoved Duncan back out of my face. “And what’s that? What am I fucking doing with Katherine? Loving her? Because I do. I fucking love her.”
“You don’t know what love is, Holden! And you have zero fucking loyalty. Not to your dad. Not to your teammates. Not even to your fucking mother when she was alive and begging for your help.” Duncan slowly shook his head, turning to address Katherine. “You might think he loves you. But Holden doesn’t know how to love anyone.”
His words speared me. I stood there numb and angry and aching and unable to stop myself from emotionally bleeding out as he delivered the final fatal blow. Slowly, he turned and looked at me, his gaze slicing me open. “And all you’re doing is giving her false hope, Holden.”
CHAPTER 29
The applause are thunderous as Holden and I clutch hands and take our final bows, taking a quick moment to gesture to our musicians and lighting team.
Still hand in hand, we run off the stage and Holden tackles me in a hug so tight, it nearly cuts off my air supply. He always did give the best hugs. I pity all the women in the world who will never know what it is to have Holden Dorsey’s arms around them.
We stumble into my dressing room, his lips gliding down over my neck and giggling, I push him away. “Don’t, I’m so sweaty!”
“So am I,” he says, not removing his mouth from my clavicle. “You know what else is sweaty? Sex.”
“There’s an opening night party happening out there. Everyone’s going to be waiting for us!”
“Exactly. They can’t go anywhere until we show up, anyway.”
This time, I don’t fight him as he kisses me. Before he can tug my top off, there’s a knock at the door and Maggie is poking her head in.
Her cheeks turn bright red as she finds us with our arms entangled, me leaning against the mirror, one leg wrapped around Holden’s waist.
She clears her throat. “Uh, sorry. This was delivered to the stage door for you, Kate.”
She hands me a vase of roses with a card pinned to the edge. “Who’s it from?” Holden asks, leaning over my shoulder as I tug the card free.
“I’m not sure.” I don’t recognize the handwriting on the card. But when I open it, Holden’s arms clutch tighter around my waist, his energy shifting from carefree and celebratory to something darker. More intense.
Kate,
Have an incredible opening. I’m rooting for you… always.
Nate.
I clear my throat and quickly fold the card, shoving it to the side. Shit. There’s no way he didn’t see that.
“Holden—” I start.
“Katherine, it’s fine,” he says, but there’s a low growl to his voice that wasn’t there a moment before. “I trust you,” he whispers.
I give him a skeptical look which he immediately sighs and tugs me back into his hug. “I do trust you.”
“Since when?”
“Since years of therapy taught me that you never did anything but choose me. You chose me over and over again and I just kept shitting on it because I didn’t know how to love you.” He pauses to cup my jaw tenderly. “But I know now.”
As he bends to kiss me, my whisper stops him, his lips a breath away from mine. “I have a confession,” I say.
Well, damn. If I thought he went rigid at Nate’s flower delivery, he was a fucking marble statue right now.
And my ass was sweating.
Profusely.
“Okay…”