Page 83 of The Ice Queen in the Corner Office

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Jill

“You can have the bed,” I said to Willow, once we were inside the cabin. She might have been sleeping for hours before we’d arrived, but whatever was in the sedatives must have had a drowsy aftereffect, because she was swaying on her feet.

She smiled. “We can share the bed. I’m good about keeping to my side and I’m so tired, I won’t even notice if you aren’t.”

“Why don’t you take the first shower,” I said, biting back a yawn. I was tired, but my conversation with Alex was playing on a continuous loop in my brain, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to sleep without something to distract me.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any extra clothes stashed here, would you?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can get you something in the morning, but for now…You keep to your side of the bed, and I promise I won’t notice if you’re naked. If I were you, I’d want to burn those clothes.”

She grimaced and shuddered. “I’d like to burn my brain, so I won’t keep seeing them coming at me.” She turned and disappeared into the bathroom, the door clicking behind her.

I sat on the edge of the bed, but I couldn’t relax. I hadn’t planned to give in if Alex had wanted me back, but a huge part of me had expected him to want me back. I hadn’t counted on him proving himself to be the self-centered jerk I’d imagined. And, yes, I got that he was trying to protect me, and this thing with his family was serious, but it should have been a time he let me in, let me support and help him, instead of pushing me even farther away.

I lay back on the bed, another yawn overtaking me. I generally went to bed early, so I could get up to run before work, and the late hour was getting to me. I snuggled down with my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, just for a moment.

When I opened my eyes again, the room was dark and the bed was rocking like somebody was having a whole lot of fun right next to me.

I rolled to my side and saw Willow’s form outlined by the moonlight through the window. She was alone, but she was flinging her narrow body around, tossing and turning.

A nightmare? I put a gentle hand to her shoulder. “Willow?”

She rolled toward me, her eyes open wide and shining in the dim light. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry. I was trying to be quiet, but I just can’t get comfortable. Did I wake you?”

“It’s okay. Though, for the record, it wasn’t noise that woke me it was the feeling that an elephant was jumping on the bed or that two humans were going at it. I thought maybe Lee had snuck in here.”

“Lee? Why would you — We’re not — We’re just friends.”

“Oh,” I said, not bothering to hide my surprise. “I just assumed, since he was so worried about you and then he held you all the way here…”

“We’re friends. Good friends, but that’s all.” She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “Did he…Did he say something about me?”

“No, but it’s pretty clear he cares about you a lot. From what I saw, there’s more than friendship there.”

“Oh.”

“Are you interested in him? In dating him?”

She licked her lips and continued to stare at the ceiling, saying nothing for several moments. My eyes were starting to drift shut again when she spoke. “What’s going on with you and my brother?”

I sighed. “He’s my boss and he’s…A friend, that’s all.”

“Did you know you’re the first woman he’s ever mentioned to me? I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. I think there’s more than friendship there.”

She was smiling sweetly when she spit my words back at me, but I didn’t take the bait. “We should try to get some sleep.”

“Why?” She scooted up the bed until she was sitting with her back against the headboard. “We’ve got nothing to do tomorrow but sit around and wait. Plus, I don’t feel tired at all now. Those pills they gave me messed up my sleep cycle.”

“Well, my sleep cycle’s not messed up, so I’m going back to sleep.”

“Okay.” She climbed out of bed and took a seat in the armchair next to the window. “I’ll sit over here so I don’t wake you.”

I rolled over and closed my eyes, but just before I could drift off, I wondered about the side effects of the sedatives. What if she wasn’t entirely herself yet and decided to go for a walk in the cold? She was still wearing the clothes she’d had on when we found her, but they weren’t warm enough for a midnight trek in the woods in December. She was traumatized and probably hung over from the drugs, I couldn’t sleep while she was awake. I was responsible for her.

I scooted up the bed and leaned against the headboard. She kept her gaze out the window, her face lit by the moonlight. A tear tracked slowly down her cheek. Damn it, I definitely couldn’t sleep while she cried.

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