Page 43 of Hollywood

“Right,” I murmured. “Makes sense.”

Tex would have a bed and his own room like a proper roommate, so why did I suddenly wish he didn’t have a better place to sleep?

It wasn’t as if he was going to crawl in with me and ask to stay there. That was ridiculous. I’d learned the hard way that Tex didn’t want to be in my bed. I needed to get it through my head once and for all.

CHAPTER 10

Tex

Hollywood spentmost of the drive to the mobile home focused on Ruby. I could tell that he’d missed her. But I had to wonder, did he miss me too?

When we got to the new place, Hollywood stepped in and looked around. The living room was set up with his sofa, television, and coffee table—with the addition of some child-safe bumpers for the sharp corners.

Boxes sat in neat stacks by the walls, waiting to be unpacked, but it shouldn’t take more than a day or two to get settled in.

“Wow, it really is so much bigger.” Hollywood mused as he set Ruby down.

She ran to the sofa and climbed onto it, snatching up her stuffed bunny and giving it a squeeze. “Mine.”

“Yep, that’s yours,” Hollywood said with a smile. “Is she your baby?”

Ruby nodded and stroked the bunny’s ears. “He is Ruby baby. He’s called Bob.”

“Bob?” Hollywood said, sounding bemused. “Bob the bunny?”

“Uh-huh! Bob!”

“Who’s ready for dinner?” I asked. “I’ve got it all set up in here.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to cook.”

“That’s all right,” I said. “Aiden gave me a casserole to heat up. Besides, you’re a disaster in the kitchen.”

He gasped. “Excuse me?”

“First the eggs?—”

“I was distracted by Ruby’s potty emergency!”

“—and then you burned the grilled cheese yesterday. That’s like Cooking 101.”

“I was trying to work around dozens of boxes, and I couldn’t find the cooking spray!”

I chuckled at his affronted expression. “Holly, you don’t need to be a good cook. You’re a good man. A good dad. I think that’s more than enough.”

He huffed a breath, and his lower lip pushed out in a pout. “I guess.”

I reached out and brushed my thumb over his full lower lip. “Aw, don’t sulk.”

His eyes widened, a blush coming into his cheeks. The air seemed to still around us.

Oh, fuck. What was I doing?

I jerked my hand back. “Anyway, let’s eat.”

“Good idea,” he said quickly.

There was no table—Holly’s apartment had been too small for one—but I’d positioned two large boxes and lawn chairs in the center of the eat-in kitchen for us to use.