Page 84 of Away With You
“Fine,” he grumbles, not moving. I guess I’ll be getting the door.
“Give me a second,” I yell as I thrust my arms through my robe and pad to the door, self-conscious about how I look. Rosie is going to take one glance at us and guess what we’ve been doing all night.
With flaming cheeks, I open the door, dodging Rosie’s raised fist, which is poised, ready to knock again.
“Well, well, well. You are both alive, then,” she smirks, brushing by me and flouncing into the room. “I knew it.”
“Knew what?” I fiddle with the edges of my robe, pulling them tighter and wishing Nathan would get out of bed so we don’t look so obvious.
Her head swivels between us, a devilish grin splitting her pretty face. “I knew those bikinis would do their job!”
Nathan hurls a pillow at her, and she ducks with a chuckle. She appears so thrilled by the turn of events that it’s hard to stay annoyed. After all, she’s been shipping the two of us this whole time.
“What do you want?” Nathan asks as he finally gets out of bed and into his own robe. Without an ounce of self-consciousness, he strolls over to me and tucks me up under his arm before kissing my neck.
So, I guess we’re going public with the no-longer-fake-real-relationship then?
“I want you to share your gorgeous girlfriend for one day,” she states, her grey-blue eyes bouncing between us with glee. “You’ve had her to yourself long enough.”
“Not possible,” he grunts as my cheeks flame harder.
“Come on, big brother. I’m happy the two of you have finally given in to the smouldering chemistry between you. But you have to remember why you came here in the first place. Appearances need to be kept up.”
Nathan’s jaw tightens. “Not anymore. We’re not here for that.”
Rosie’s head tilts, the wheels in her mind turning. “Fine. You’re done playing those games. Whatever. But how about thinking about me? I’ve been stuck with those people for two full days without you guys as my buffer. Did you even think about that?”
“Not for one second,” Nathan says as I smother a giggle. This sibling relationship is delightful.
“Katie, please,” Rosie turns her puppy dog eyes to me. She senses I’m the weakest link. “Today, Victoria is throwing a spa day, and I cannot, I repeat,cannot, spend a full day with that woman and her evil bridesmaids.”
“You’re really selling it to us,” Nathan drawls, his arm tightening around me like he wants to protect me from what she’s describing.
Her lips twist. “But it won’t be so bad if we are there together,” she tells me, pointedly ignoring her brother. “We could have a day of pampering the two of us, ignoring the bride-to-be and her terrible minions. It will be fun.”
It doesn’t sound fun, I think, while knowing I’ll give in. Rosie has been a good friend to me from the second she re-entered my life, and I owe her this much.
“I’ll go,” I say to a rapturous squeal of triumph.
Nathan turns to me and cradles my face with his big hands. “You don’t have to, Kitty Kat. Don’t let this one bully or guilt you into something you don’t want to do.”
“Bully,” Rosie huffs under her breath.
I pat his hands, still caressing my jaw. “It’s fine. I’ve never spent a day being pampered in a luxurious spa before. Who knows? Maybe it will be fun?”
“That’s the spirit,” Rosie encourages, wrenching me from her brother and folding me into a hug. “Thank you, Katie. I mean it; I owe you for this.”
I squeeze her back. “It’s not a big deal.”
She draws back, a crease in her brow the only sign that it may be a bigger deal than she’s letting on.
“I’ll be back in an hour,” she says as she marches to the door, leaving me with no time to change my mind.
“See you then,” I say to the closed door. Once she got what she wanted, Rosie wasn’t hanging around for any second thoughts. She left so fast, she almost left skid marks behind her.
“You know you don’t have to do this,” Nathan says again.
I cross over to him and loop my arms around the back of his neck, loving the way his arms immediately tighten around me.
