Page 76 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

Alec considered me for a few seconds, before giving me a brisk nod. “Fine.”

“Great.”

“Awesome.” He jabbed his thumb toward the bathroom. “You want to go first?”

My cheeks heated as memories of last night’s shower episode came flooding back. Grabbing my pajamas and toiletry bag, I was done within ten minutes, then slipped under the blanket as Alec went into the bathroom. I closed my eyes and sent firm demands to my brain to relax and go to sleep. But no such thing happened; all the sensory neurons in my body were busily buzzing, still wide awake by the time he climbed onto the bed. The mattress dipped slightly under his weight, and even though I had my back to him, I wondered if he could hear my heart anxiously thrashing around in my chest.

“Ellie?”

I squeezed my eyes tighter, hoping that would somehow send me to sleep quicker.

“I don’t snore.”

My eyes creaked open.

“I sometimes hog the covers, though.”

Forget pretending to be asleep. “Do that and I’ll kick you off the bed.”

There was a low chuckle from his side. “Just promise you’ll be gentle about it.”

I didn’t answer, because obviously, I’d gone back to sleep.

“Thank you. For coming along this weekend. It really means a lot to me.”

I let out a pretend snore. Loudly.

“Sleep tight, Ellie.”

But of course I couldn’t, because I was too aware of him. Of his clean-soap smell, his steady breathing, his warm, comforting body behind mine. A couple of hours later, as my eyelids finally succumbed to exhaustion, my last coherent thought was,Two nights of this?

God help me.

When my alarm quietly beeped in the morning, it took me a few seconds of staring at the foreign ceiling before realizing I wasn’t in Alec’s spare bedroom; instead I was at a beautiful, romantic resort, staging my last appearance as his fake girlfriend. The Grand Finale, the Swan Song, the Last Hurrah. The performance that was going to win me numerous awards.

I shifted my body to watch Alec’s unmoving figure next to me. His eyes were closed, a gentle snore coming out of him, completely oblivious that he was the leading cause of the chaos and pandemonium inside my head—and my heart.

One night down. One more to go.

I only had to make it through to tomorrow, and it would all be over. In fact, I should update the Stay on Track Plan to include moving out of his house. Maybe I could finally put my sleeping bag to use and beg Kim and Jenna to let me sleep on their living room floor until I found a place of my own, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.

Anything was better than living under the same roof with him.

Quietly removing the covers, I tiptoed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and don my running gear. Ten minutes later, I silently closed the door, then made my way to the lush garden. Putting my earbuds in, I started around the jogging track as the sun made its way up. It was still early, but there was already a buzz of activities happening. When I passed the pool, shrieks and noisy chatters of little kids drifted my way, their parents watching as they lounged on the deck chairs. Some guests were on their way to the beach, carrying tote bags and beach towels, with some surfers already out enjoying the waves.

When I returned to the room, Alec was on the patio on another one of his mysterious calls. I slipped into the bathroom for a shower, and by the time I finished, he was back inside, frowning and typing furiously on his phone.

He glanced at me before pocketing his phone, looking like he was choosing his next sentence carefully. “Morning. How was your run?”

“Good.” Even though I’d offered him the bed last night, it didn’t mean I’d forgotten and forgiven him for what had happened two nights ago.

“Did you have a good sleep?”

“Yep.”

He hesitated, before trying again. “Should we go for breakfast now? I’m starving.”

“No.”

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