Page 77 of A Winter Wedding Adventure
‘Pretty sure they did more than kiss,’ Andreas said, ‘since she was in his room when the avalanche hit.’
‘That’s official: mistletoe doesn’t work,’ Ginny declared. ‘They got together even without it and absolutely nothing happened for me while I was stuck in Mayrhofen with a car full of it.’
‘I like your friends,’ Mattia commented as the conversation behind them faded into the background noise. ‘Even if Andreas is a little scary.’
‘He’s really not,’ she said with a snort.
‘You didn’t see him when he worked out why you weren’t in your room when the avalanche hit.’
‘Yikes,’ she said with an apologetic glance. ‘But it’s none of his business.’ She glanced at her feet. ‘I can’t believe they came all this way to check on me.’
‘It’s not every day you narrowly avoid an avalanche by having amazing sex.’
She nudged him with her shoulder. ‘You don’t have to look after me.’
‘I know,’ he assured her, ‘but I like it.’ I like you. ‘You don’t have to hang out with me if you don’t want to, of course.’
‘I know,’ she repeated. After a pause and a tentative glance up at him, she continued, ‘But I like it.’
Kira stirred from the sleep of the dead, slapping a hand over her ear to shut out the pounding in her head. Her pillow was soft and the bed incredibly comfortable and warm. Her subconscious was telling her that she hadn’t a care in the world and sleep was such a beautiful, delicious experience, especially with her body pressed against another, all smooth skin and heady tenderness.
But the other body shifted, first the legs and then a hand nudged her to the side, making her protest the loss of her comfort human, although she was too tired to give more than a forlorn grumble when he got out of bed.
The pounding stopped, but she heard voices and realised it hadn’t been in her head. Someone was at the door. She still wasn’t sure if she cared.
Amidst a rush of Italian that sounded as though it were in double time, she heard her own name and finally roused.
‘She’s here?’ That was a deeper voice, in English: Joe.
‘Why is Kira in your bed?’ If Alessandra thought she was speaking in a hushed tone, she was mistaken.
‘I think the answer to that should be obvious,’ Joe muttered.
‘Are you together?’
She didn’t need superhuman hearing to catch the strangled sound Mattia made in response.
‘Mattia!’
‘We’ve been through this, Ale,’ he said, his tone pained. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m all grown up. If I want to have a casual relationship with someone, it’s not going to break my heart.’
Kira stilled, all thoughts of rolling over and announcing that she was awake flying from her mind. His words didn’t change anything. She’d been at pains to remind him that she didn’t want a serious relationship. She didn’t want a serious relationship. But… hearing him say it wrenched at some new, vulnerable growth in the vicinity of her heart.
It appeared he’d learned how to do casual just when Kira was wondering if she could try something a little more intimate. Who was she kidding? All of their time together had been more intimate than any casual relationship she’d ever had. Their very first conversation had had more depth than most of the things she discussed with her closest friends.
All the more reason to keep her distance now. If his words could hurt after only five days – words that weren’t unexpected – how much more could he hurt her in the future? It was lucky they’d say goodbye in a matter of days – perhaps even hours.
‘I suppose it’s lucky she’s here, anyway. I wanted to let you know we’re meeting Ginny in the lobby in twenty minutes.’
‘What for?’
Alessandra’s sigh was pained and full of feeling. ‘If there’s one thing I see clearly after all of this, it’s that I want to marry Joe – as soon as possible. I don’t care if it can’t be exactly as I envisioned it. I just want us to finally be a family. Everything else is only a detail.’
Kira heard a light smack that was probably a kiss from Joe and she gagged, thankful they thought she was asleep. The wedding nonsense wasn’t over yet. She hadn’t escaped all the romantic rubbish – perhaps it had even got worse, now they were so desperate to marry.
She’d have to put back on her ill-fitting wedding planner hat and pretend it didn’t all make her uneasy, especially now she’d walked too close to the fire, by starting to feel something for Mattia.
‘Okay,’ she heard Mattia saying. ‘We’ll meet you downstairs then.’ And with a click, the door closed on the bridal couple, leaving her alone with her casual sexual partner.
