Page 24 of Her Holiday Arrangement
“No, but youcanstop them from slowly chipping away at my will to live.”
Elizabeth looked at her for a beat, cool, unreadable. Then: “You handled yourself.”
Riley blinked. “Wow. High praise from the emotionally repressed iceberg queen herself.”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked over to the bed. “And yet, here you are. Alive. Intact.”
“Barely.” Riley stopped pacing just long enough to take in thebed. Oh no. No no no.Right. That part.
Elizabeth turned and walked around to her side of the bed, pulling back the comforter with the same composed efficiency she did everything else.
Riley followed slowly, dragging her feet like a reluctant kid at summer camp. “Okay, Iknowwe did this last night and survived,” she said, hovering near the edge of the bed, “but I still feel like I should issue some kind of formal warning before I get in again.”
Elizabeth gave her a look. “Are you about to propose a pillow fortagain?”
“I’m just saying, last night wastense.We both laid there like mannequins. Very polite, very still mannequins.”
“We’re adults, Riley,” Elizabeth said flatly, slipping beneath the covers with clinical grace.
“Sure, but one of us is an adult with anunreasonablysymmetrical face, and the other is spiraling about accidental toe contact.”
Elizabeth reached for the bedside lamp. “Just get in the bed.”
Riley exhaled dramatically, like this was some kind of trial by fire. “Fine. But for the record, if my foot accidentally brushes yours, I want it known that it’s not a declaration of war or seduction.”
Elizabeth, in the shadows, arched an eyebrow. “Duly noted.”
Riley retreated into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
She stared at herself in the mirror. Her makeup had held up better than her composure. Her hair was frizzing at the ends. Her eyes were wide with panic.
Just a bed,she told herself.You’re getting paid to be here. You don’t actually like her. This is just fake. A job. A really, really well-paying job.
She changed into pajamas—cotton tank top, soft pajama pants, nothing scandalous—and splashed cold water on her face. Then she stood there for another full minute, willing her heart to slow down.
When she finally emerged, the lights were off except for a low lamp by the far side of the bed. Elizabeth was lying under the covers, back turned toward her, hair now down, falling in loose waves across the pillow. She looked… human. And somehow even more beautiful without all the trappings of power armor and designer suits.
Riley hesitated at the edge of the bed, then slowly climbed in, careful to stay onher side. She even scooted over a few extra inches, just in case.
The sheets were warm. Elizabeth’s presence even warmer. Not that they were touching, butGod, they might as well have been. Riley could feel the heat radiating from her like it was magnetic.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t.
But shewasthinking about it. About earlier, when Elizabeth had changed after the formal dinner. The door had been slightly ajar as they were talking. Riley hadn’tmeantto look, but then there she was, standing in front of the mirror in a lacey black bra and nothing else. Not even heels. No armor.
Just skin and curve and shadow.
Riley had nearly swallowed her own tongue. She still wasn’t sure if Elizabeth had noticed the way her breath hitched or how quickly she’d spun away. She didn’t say anything about it, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t seen.
And now here they were. Inches apart. Elizabeth breathing evenly, Riley’s thoughts running a thousand miles a minute.
Her body wouldn’t calm down. Her limbs were buzzing. Her skin was too aware. She turned onto her back, stared at the ceiling. Every time she shifted even slightly, the bed moved, and she wasterrifiedElizabeth would think she was trying to start something.
You’re not into her. It’s fake. It’s all fake. Hot robot. Remember?
Except she wasn’t a robot. Not really. Not when she said, “She’s with me,” like it meant something. Not when her voice softened just enough to remind Riley that somewhere under all that CEO polish was a person who maybe wasn’t made of stone.
Riley clenched her hands under the sheets.
