Page 39 of Sackett
“Eww.”She looked down at the floor and wondered when was the last time it had been vacuumed.Or for that matter shampooed?It didn’t look dirty, but with the tan most hotels used, that didn’t mean a lot.It was designed to hide dirt.
Sackett shrugged.“I’ve slept in worse places.At least here I’ll have a pillow.And I’m willing to bet if we check the closet, we’ll find a spare blanket.Or we can call down and have one sent up.”
Selena lifted her hands and held them open in a stop signal in front of both shoulders.
“This is more than I can deal with right now.We can discuss sleeping arrangements later.”Not that she had any intention of letting him sleep on the floor.They were both adults.They could share the bed, right?“First things first, I need to use the restroom, then I want to find hot food.After that, we’ll figure out the bed situation.”
“Whatever you say.”
She shot him a narrow-eyed look.His words were accommodating but his tone said his mind was made up and she didn’t like it.
“Go.Use the restroom.I’ll see if I can find somewhere open close enough to walk to.I don’t know about you, but I need to move a little after being in the car so long.”
Selena didn’t respond, instead she headed for the bathroom, wondering how he was saying exactly what she’d been thinking not five minutes ago?
33
“Feelingbetter?”Sackettaskedas they strolled back toward the hotel after dinner.The evening was nice and now that they’d eaten, neither of them were in a hurry.
“Yes.Much,” Selena said.She fell silent for several steps, then spoke again.“I’m not sure if it was because I was stiff from being in the car for so long or because I was hungry.Either way, the walk and a meal and I almost feel like a new person.”
He found himself smiling into the dim light of the dusk settling around them.He’d felt much the same way, not that he would ever say so much out loud.
He watched the street around them, unable to keep from being alert for anything that might be a threat.At the same time, he was hyperaware of her walking beside him, just as he had been while they’d sat in the car for hours longer than they’d planned this afternoon.
As frustrating as traffic and sitting waiting for it to clear had been, she hadn’t lost her temper, she hadn’t gotten bitchy or blamed him.He’d been prepared for it.Then the screw up at the hotel hadn’t helped.He’d thought for a moment she was going to lose it.But she hadn’t.
Now they were headed back and would have to figure things out.He’d been serious about sleeping on the floor.But her expression when he’d suggested it and the set of her shoulders now, told him she was going to balk at it.She was going to insist he take the bed.But he wouldn’t be letting her sleep in the chair.He hadn’t touched it yet, but it looked uncomfortable for sitting, and he’d yet to find a chair that was comfortable to sleep in.
Back in the room, Selena opened the closet door, took her suitcase to it, and did something he couldn’t see as she stood in the open doorway.After a moment, she turned around, the fuzzy pants she’d worn in the evenings in one hand.
“I’m going to change, then we’ll talk about the bed.”
“Okay.”He didn’t know what else to say.There was no way he’d let her try to sleep in the chair, that much he was sure of.He took his backpack to the far side of the bed where the uncomfortable looking chair sat and took a seat.He pulled out his reader and settled in to read while he waited.This wasn’t a conversation he was looking forward to, but he knew how he planned for it to go.
He was prepared for the argument when she emerged from the restroom, but what happened wasn’t what Sackett had expected.
Instead, she came out, went to the closet and her suitcase for a moment then turned to face the room before putting her hands on her hips and scowling at the bed for a full ten seconds before turning her attention to him.
He’d looked up when the bathroom door had opened and was watching, waiting for whatever she was getting ready to say.
“This is stupid.”
Her first words didn’t comfort him, but he knew her well enough by now to know she wasn’t done.
“What is stupid?”he asked.She seemed to need some prompting.
“This whole thing!”She threw her hands in the air.Then turned and paced the short walkway between the foot of the bed and the dresser that held the TV.“We’re both adults.It’s a king-size bed.There is plenty of room for both of us!”She flung one arm out over the bed as if pointing it out before turning and meeting her gaze.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
Sackett blinked then shook his head confusedly.The speed she’d hopped from one topic to another left him dazed for a few seconds.
“I’m not seeing anyone,” he said, not sure where this was going.It was true.He rarely saw anyone more than two or three times, and he always made it clear from the beginning that he wasn’t looking for anything serious.If the girls he dated went from him to another brother, more power to them.He was only looking for a little fun.
“Good.No one to get all bent out of shape if anyone finds out we shared a bed.”
Sackett stared at her a moment, unable to keep his brows from lifting as took in that gem.
