The bed is comfortable, and the day suddenly catches up with me, and I’m on the verge of falling asleep.
“I thought you were very attractive too,” he says. “I didn’t want to admit that and confuse things.”
I’m about to roll over when he finishes with, “Goodnight, Liv.”
My brain tries to form a coherent thought, but I realize anything else can wait until tomorrow when I’m more awake. Right now, sleep is claiming me, and I am here for it.
I wake up the next morning alone and I’m oddly relieved. I’m also a bit disoriented because the room is pretty dark from the blinds and curtains, and I have no idea what time it is. Sitting up, I glance around and realize there’s no clock in here. My phone’s down in the room I should be waking up in, but I do have my laptop.
Stumbling from the bed, I whip it open and blink several times because I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
It’s after eleven.
“Ugh…so everyone’s going to be up to see my walk of pretend shame. Awesome.”
For some reason, I truly believed that we were going to pull this off and the only one who was going to know anything was Roxie. I planned on having a conversation with her where I told her the truth and no one would be the wiser.
But now?
Now I’m the girl who jumped into bed with a guy I just met.
Why did my stupid author brain have to go there?
Sleep deprivation decision-making is almost the same as drunk girl decision-making! They’re both bad!
Okay, okay, okay, I’ve got this. I use Ash’s bathroom to quickly splash some water on my face and try not to cringe at my reflection. After that, I put my robe on, grab the laptop and quietly open the door—I need to gauge whether or not anyone’s actually in the house.
I’m nearly blinded by the brightness, but I can already tell no one’s inside. I lean over the railing and I can see the back deck and spot everyone except Roxie out there. I’m sure she’s out on the beach with the dogs.
“Whew.”
With the coast clear, I race down to my room and shut the door.
“Well, well, well…look who finally came back. Good morning, minx.”
Oh no…
When I turn around, Roxie’s sitting in the middle of her bed with Mosy in her lap and stroking her like she’s some sort of villain in a James Bond movie.
The other dogs aren’t here and I’m a little flustered and have no clue what to say. She’s watching me with a knowing smirk, and I desperately need her to tell me what she knows so I don’t put my foot in my mouth. Did she already talk to Ash? Does she have the version where we did it, or did he tell her the truth?
“Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and you were gone,” Roxie begins slowly. “The dogs get me up early—especially when we’re staying someplace they’re not familiar with—and I was shocked to see your bed empty. Well…except for Gunnar. Sorry about that. I promise it won’t happen again.”
“Rox, you can’t promise that because unless he sleeps in another room or you put him in a crate, it’s not gonna happen,” I reason, sitting down on my bed. “And I hate the thought of him in a crate.”
“I swear he’s not normally a bed kind of dog. I mean, he has his own bed, but he doesn’t like to sleep in a people bed. He must really like you!”
Yeah, lucky me.
“If you want, I can take the twin and you can have this bed. Then if Gunnar hops up, you’ll actually have some space.”
“Uh…”
“Or…you can keep sleeping with Ash,” she says in a bit of a sing-song way.
Like a smartass.
Sighing, I make myself comfortable. “Alright, just say whatever it is you need to say. It’s obvious you talked to Ash already.”
