When I'm With You (Little Hollow Series, #2)

“What was that?”

Me and my big mouth again. “Oh, erm, you don’t think he’s using me to get to you do you? I mean, I apologized for being a total bitch yesterday and he invited me in for a beer. It was nice you know? It felt easy with him and he didn’t ask me about my past which, for once, was a breath of fresh air.”

Sam looks at me like I’m delusional and assures me she thinks he likes me, which is crazy since she hasn’t even been around the two of us, but I keep that thought to myself.

“You do need to spill though. Go on, take my mind off all of this!”

I pass her a glass of water and tell her everything we talked about. Sam puts in her two cents and then starts talking about the fundraiser again, I tune out a little and my mind drifts to Lewis’s gray eyes.

I just don’t know how I feel about him. He’d offered to take me for a ride on his bike sometime, did that mean a date? I’m sure he was going to kiss me tonight, but I couldn’t let him, I can’t let him in.

Sam yawns and picks up her purse, she looks at me while saying goodnight with bloodshot eyes, and turns to walk in her room. I don’t know what to say to her to make any of this better, so I say the first thing that comes to my mind, as usual. “You’re going to be fine you know that, right? Connor better hope that he doesn’t cross my path, just wait until he gets a piece of me.”

That fucker better stay away from Little Hollow from now on.

I hear Sam laugh and it makes me thaw a little. “You’re one in a billion, Keeley Michaels.”

I feel myself blushing and I wave her off.

Once in bed, my mind drifts back to Lewis. Why hasn’t he told Sam that Connor is here? I don’t know what to make of it but the more I think about it, the more I need to know the truth.

I sigh. I guess it looks like I’m going to be seeing him again sooner than I thought.



Today has had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. It wasn’t the best of mornings due to actually having to get out my warm, cosy bed. I love my sleep, what can I say? Then when I came down to the salon, some letch was staring at Sam’s ass. Seeing someone like that, leering at her in that way immediately brought up old feelings and I couldn’t stop myself from threatening to cut his balls off if he ever did it again.

Once I finally managed to get out of there, I made a beeline to confront Lewis. Low and behold, Connor was there.

My emotions get the better of me and before I know what I’m doing, I throw my hand into Connor’s back. He turns toward me with a shocked expression on his face which changes to confusion the moment he realizes it’s me.

“You have a nerve still being here,” I grind out.

He looks over at Lewis as if to say ‘do you know what she’s talking about?’

“Don’t look at me like I’m a crazy person, you know damn well what I mean! You doing this to her is cruel and I want you gone. She wants you gone too if you didn’t already know that.”

He frowns at that and stands up to his full height, I don’t find him intimidating whatsoever, but the way Lewis is looking at me with those stormy eyes again makes me forget what I was doing for a moment and I hesitate.

“And by she, I’m assuming you mean Sammy? And what would I be doing?” I turn back to see Connor leaning toward me, looking so damn sure of himself.

“Stop acting like an asshole and just admit that you’re in the wrong, you never should have come back here.” I’m holding back on showing him crazy Keeley, barely able to keep my voice to a normal volume.

“I think we’ve got off on the wrong foot, Lew would you mind if I talked to Keeley alone please?”

I cross my arms and nod when Lewis looks at me to see if I’m okay with that.

“Sure, you guys can go on into my office, it’s more private there,” Lewis says as Connor throws his arm out, gesturing for me to go first.

I storm off toward it trying to calm my breathing, I need to come up with a rational argument, I wasn’t prepared to see him here.

I lean up against Lewis’s desk and wait for Connor to shut the door behind him. This is the man that’s made my best friend hurt so much, this is the man who left her when she had no one else to turn to.

“I don’t know what Sammy has told you but-”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, you know damn well what she’s told me,” I practically snarl at him, and take another deep breath to calm my rising blood pressure.

“Look, regardless of what she thinks went on, I didn’t just leave her. I had a good reason.”

I roll my eyes, as if. “You think she’s overreacting then do you?”

“I never said that. I know you both think I’m a horrible person, I left my best friend at the worst time of her life, right? But I was just a kid myself back then and it wasn’t easy for me either, she could’ve lost us both that night.”

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