Six Month Rule (Kingston Ale House) by A.J. Pine

face—once Holly told her sister about Will’s whole being-a-dad situation, she knew Brynn would go all logical on her, tell her this wasn’t a good idea.
    What if you got attached? she’d ask. Holly wouldn’t. What if he got attached? Will wouldn’t, either. He couldn’t. Holly was here. His daughter was there. He wouldn’t say yes to Holly if he had any potential real feelings for her, right? This was all just attraction and sexual tension they needed to get out of their systems, let it run its course and then be on their merry way. Well, it looked like she’d survive without sisterly advice this time.
    Holly leaned back and peered up at the sky, finding Ursa Minor staring back at her, though not as bright as it was last week. If she squinted the right way, she could make out Castor and Pollux just above, and she smiled up at the Gemini twins.
    “You’re onto something, guys,” she said quietly.
    Hopefully Will would think so, too.

Chapter Ten
    Will scrubbed a hand over his jaw and scratched his neck. He’d shaved under his chin. That , at least, was allowed. Sophie’s rules.
    I still want you to look smart in your suits, Daddy , she’d said when he’d asked permission to maintain the beard without getting rid of it. God, he loved that sweet voice of hers, hated that he’d missed a weekend of her curled in his lap, reading Madeline to him.
    Will you take me to Paris, Daddy, like Madeline?
    That was the promise he’d made her—well, the second one. The first was that he’d come home as many weekends as he could while away, only shaving just before he returned to the States. The second was a trip to Paris. He still had to convince Sophie’s mum to let him steal her away for a week once he was back for good. But he knew Tara and Phillip would enjoy some alone time. He could use that angle. And once he proved to her that he was back for good, that he was finally putting family first, then he’d bring up the idea of sharing custody.
    He took advantage of the lift’s solitude and snapped a photo of himself with his phone. Will had decided to come in a little later this morning, hoping to avoid any awkward one-on-one time with Holly, even though she had been on his mind all weekend. He was a right prick for doing what he’d done Friday night. But since the morning he met her, she’d burrowed under his skin. Holly Chandler was maddening. She didn’t back down from him when he was a prick. She was good at her job. No, she was brilliant. She didn’t need him to pull off this show, yet they worked so well as a team. But it wasn’t just what Holly could do for his client. It was what she did to him. She made Will smile when happiness was thousands of miles away. She made him think these next five and a half months could be bearable if walking into Trousseau every weekday morning meant he’d see her. And the sight of her in jeans and a T-shirt drinking a pint in a pub, well it damn near floored him. She was a whirlwind in the office, alight with a frenetic energy that energized him as well. But Friday night’s Holly, after they’d sealed the deal with Marisa—she was a sort of Holly unplugged. A glimpse into a side of her she didn’t unveil when they were working. For a tiny pocket of time that evening, he’d let himself imagine what it would be like to have someone like that in his life. But that Holly was a fantasy. The woman he worked with, the one who knew her partnership at Trousseau rode on this show being a success, that was the real Holly. A woman with the freedom to put her career first.
    And he’d nearly fucked it all up by kissing her. Holly’s job was important to her, and he’d put that in jeopardy the second he said, “May I kiss you?” Perhaps he was the bastard Tara claimed he was when she’d finally had enough and had left before Sophie was even born. He hadn’t put her first, so he’d lost them both. What was he thinking being so selfish with Holly? He certainly wasn’t