Page 57 of The Wiener Across the Way

His grin widened and he pitched his voice like a movie announcer. “Imagine a world, a rustic paradise, where the Wi-Fi is weak, but the connection,” he pointed to his heart and then mine, “is strong. Where there’s only one comfy bed, but it’s big enough for two.”

One bed. Big enough for two.

He was being corny and cute, but there was no mistaking what he was asking.

Was I really going to do this? Was I ready to stop pretending, stop worrying that if I let myself fall in love again there would only be heartache? I was. “One bed for two? Declan, are you trying to seduce me with promises of ghost protection and wilderness survival?”

“Only if it’s working.” His tone turned a bit more serious. “This is my mom’s old cabin, and no one outside the family even knows it exists. It’s a place where you can breathe, Kelsey. No pressure, no cameras, just you, me, and nature. Plus, I make an excellent campfire hot chocolate.”

I pretended to ponder, tapping a finger against my lips. “I’ll agree, but only because I’m intrigued by this campfire cooking and the idea of you protecting me from ghosts.”

Declan’s smile turned warm and affectionate. “Good, then welcome to your cabin retreat.”

His words sent a flutter through my heart, a mix of excitement and trepidation. The idea of spending time awayfrom everything with Declan, in a secluded cabin, was both terrifying and exhilarating.

Until we got inside and I saw exactly how big... or rather, small that one bed was.

OFF SEASON

DECLAN

Iswear to God when we were little, all eight of us kids used to sleep on that bed. When I was eleven, it had been nine feet high and six feet wide, and soft as a downy chick. But looking at it now, Kelsey and I would be sleeping on top of each other.

And I wasn’t actually sad about that.

Holding her in my arms last night felt so fucking right that not having her there would be a personal tragedy. I wanted very little more than to lay in her that bed and make hot but sweet love to her. So why wasn’t I doing that?

Because she needed rest. But didn’t someone say an orgasm a day keeps the doctor away? I was definitely walking on eggshells around her right now because, while she might have scared herself into taking a real break from the super-stardom life for a hot minute, she’d also scared the shit out of me. My head went to all the worst case scenarios when she’d gone down.

I didn’t know if I could live through losing her like my dad lost my mom. I wanted to wrap her up in cotton fluff and hide her away like Rapunzel. But Rapunzel was never happy living in her castle. Mine wouldn’t be either.

She looked at the cabin, her expression unreadable. “It’s... cozy and... secluded.”

I almost laughed. What she meant was that the cabin was a shack in the middle of nowhere. “Exactly what you need. I think Pooh is going to have a blast.”

I opened up Pooh’s bag and she went sniffing all over the place. There were lots of interesting things for her to smell. She immediately found several bushes that needed to be peed on. City pooch was going to have a lot of fun on her vacation, I could tell.

Now to convince Kelsey that she would too. She had her arms wrapped around herself and was chewing on her bottom lip. “You’re not going to like hanging out with me on vacation. I don’t know how to do nothing. It’s uncomfortable, like something underneath my skin is itchy.”

She’d be okay once I got her things inside, started a fire, and convinced her to take a nap. With me. We wouldn’t be doing nothing.

I knew very well that someone who was a high achiever like her couldn’t just sit still. That wouldn’t actually be restful to her. But she did need to refill her reserves of energy, of creativity, of the things that made her who she was. Having a tight-knit family around me and refusing to interact with the media most of the time had insulated me from the worst of that. Who did Kelsey have to do that for her?

Penelope was great and all, but there was only so much she could do, and Kelsey’s agent needed a good swift kick in the ass if you asked me. Later, when we were cozy by the fire and I had hersoft and supple in my arms, I’d ask her about her family. Surely, she had a base of support there.

I popped the back of the SUV open. Penelope and my dad had made sure we had bags with a few days’ worth of clothes, some food, and even Kelsey’s guitar. She moved to help me bring the bags in, but I gently intercepted her and turned her back around, giving her a shove back into the cabin. “You’re not lifting a finger while we’re here. Remember, you need to rest.”

“You’re a regular mother hen, aren’t you?”

She had no idea how to be taken care of. If I had my way, she’d want nothing more by the time I was done with her. “You are going to be a spicy patient, aren’t you?”

She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at me. Was she doing these things on purpose? Because the more I thought about her mouth, the harder it was going to be to... let her rest.

I unpacked the groceries in silence, running scenarios in my head on just how quickly I could get her into that bed. To nap. Maybe snuggle. Nothing more until I didn’t see bags under eyes. She was quiet but also grabbed up the broom by the door to sweep the stray leaves out, despite my warnings to her already.

“Go on now, test out the bed, take a nap,” I said, gently taking the broom from her hands. “You’re supposed to be resting, remember?”

She sighed. “You’re bossy, you know that?”

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