Page 23 of An Inconvenient Marriage
I locked the screen and put the phone back where I’d found it. I’d wanted answers but now I only had questions. So many questions.
Needing air, I stepped onto the balcony and drew in a deep breath and then I spotted Natalie. She’d kicked off her sandals and rolled up her dress to her thighs so she could sit with her feet in the pool.
Hands perched behind her, and her face turned toward the sky, her entire body was calm and relaxed.
A far cry from the panicked expression she wore in our wedding photos.
Keeping my gaze on her, I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed my brother’s number. As suspected, it went to voicemail.
“You were right,” I started. “And I’m sorry I didn’t include you. If the offer still stands, I would love for you and my wife to meet.”
9
Natalie
Ohboy.
I’d been staring at the sleeping man in the bed for a while now. Long enough for it to become creepy. Not that it was my fault. Not really. Nope, this was all on Zach for crawling into bed while I’d been outside.
Deep down, I knew we were supposed to share a room and obviously a bed. His staff could come in—although, I hoped they knock first—and it would be weird if the newlyweds weren’t in bed together.
I understood the simple principle. It was actually doing it that was a problem. I wasn’t remotely comfortable sleeping next to a half-naked Zach.
What if I rolled around in my sleep?
Even worse, what if he did?
My gaze darted to the area where I knew the settee was. That part of the room was dark, but I didn’t have to see the thing to know I’d have a terrible night’s sleep on it. Which only left me with the bed… and the man taking up half of it.
Ugh. Dragging my hands over my face, I let out a soft sigh. I didn’t know what I was going to do, I just knew I couldn’t keep staring at him like a psycho. Imagine what he’d think if he woke up right that second.
That thought was enough to get my feet moving. With no other options, and because I always ran to her when I needed advice, I grabbed my phone and walked out on to the balcony to text Everlee.
Me:Help.
Despite our time difference, the dots jumped immediately.
Everlee:What happened?
Everlee:Are you okay?
Great, now I felt bad. My one-word text probably sent her poor heart into overdrive.
Me:I’m not hurt or anything like that. Sorry. But I need help.
Me:Or rather advice.
Everlee:Thanks for making me lose 10 years of my life. Geesh.
She added three rolling eye emojis to the end of her text, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Me:Oops. Didn’t mean to. On a serious note, though, there’s only one bed in this room, and Zach is already in it.
Her response was to send me a string of fire and heart eye emojis.
I glared at the screen, hoping she could feel my wrath all the way from here.
Me:Stop it.
