Unwrapping Holly: Read Online Free PDF Page A

and “shackle at the altar” lists. Thanks, but no thanks.
    He’d never felt inclined to marriage. Nothing against it. His parents had been damned happy, and he’d grown up better for it. But it just wasn’t his thing. Never met a woman he could wake up with more than a few times without feeling suffocated. At thirty-four, he didn’t see that changing.
    But with the sale of the family business to a larger Manchester operation—his brothers were closing the last local jobs—his work demands had leaned toward bookkeeping and transition issues, and lots of them. All he could manage was a trip to work or to his own bed, alone. Luckily, they’d snagged a large enough sum for the contracting business to allow Cole and his brothers to redirect their efforts to their new endeavor, the remodeling of a large, local home into a bed-and-breakfast. The three of them could focus on one project, instead of chasing their tails between Haven and Manchester to pay the bills. Now that was going to be heaven.
    The bartender motioned to Cole’s mug, asking if he needed a refill. Cole waved him away. He didn’t want coffee. He wanted a long, deep drink of Holly. Sexy, funny, prim little Holly. He was going to enjoy the challenge of sliding past the reserve he’d sensed in her.
    Cole began conjuring a wicked fantasy about just that when his brother Jacob, the baby of the bunch at twenty-five, and almost ten years Cole’s junior, appeared by his side.
    “Did hell freeze over or what?” Jacob asked, surprise in his voice, a pool cue in hand.
    Damn . The last thing Cole needed was Jacob panting over his shoulder when Holly arrived. “Speaking of hell,” Cole commented. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    “You’re not working,” Jacob explained. “If I didn’t know better, sometimes I’d think you had a love affair with your desk.” His gaze drifted to the coffee cup. “All work and no play seems to have you a bit confused, big brother. That’s not beer.”
    Cole reached for his cup and gave Jacob a mock toast. “They ran out of beer mugs.” He took a drink.
    To say that Cole and Jacob were complete opposites would be an understatement. Jacob lived bold and wild, while Cole was reserved and controlled. Even Jacob’s light brown hair was a little too long, his actions, a bit too spontaneous. Cole preferred a balance between work and play, which required more thoughtful actions. The same way he’d thought out every little place he wanted to kiss Holly.
    That was exactly why he had to get rid of Jacob. “Leaving soon?”
    “Why?” Jacob perked up. “Got a hot date I can steal from you?”
    “Seriously,” Cole said. “When are you leaving?” On another occasion, with a different woman, sharing a beer with his brother, he might just jump on the familiar challenge. But not now, not with Holly—not a chance. She was his.
    “Ryder’s home on leave,” Jacob stated of his old school bud, a Navy SEAL who showed up from time to time, always unannounced. Ryder was an expert at punching Jacob’s buttons.
    “How much you down?” Cole asked, making it clear to Jacob that he knew he was getting his butt kicked.
    “Two hundred,” Jacob admitted grimly. “But it’s still early.”
    “Plenty of time to lose more,” Cole added sarcastically. For the most part, he respected his brother’s unwillingness to back away from a challenge. But he also believed there were calculated times of retreat, and this would be one of them. “I’d tell you to stop before you bleed any more, but I know it would be wasted breath.”
    A cold blast of air rushed through the room as The Tavern door swung open, followed immediately by a blast of hot fire in his blood as he spotted Holly. So did every other man in the room—heads turned. His brother’s head turned.
    Possessiveness purred within him, precluding a downright growl. She had that sexy schoolteacher vibe that made a man want to crawl under her desk and make her scream—to