Page 572 of One More Kiss

“That older siblings are the best?” She laughs.

I shake my head. “Nope. That older siblings are so great, parents decide to have more, but then when our younger siblings are awful, they stop having kids.”

She giggles. “Rylin always says our parents stopped having kids because she was perfect.”

A chuckle escapes my lips. “Ginger says the same thing.”

“Is that your sister’s name?” she asks as we walk up the steps to the house.

“It is.”

I hold the door open for her and she walks through.

“Mrs. Barnett, Scarlett will be joining me in room three,” I announce to the owner as we make our way upstairs.

I see a shocked look on her face followed by a sly one. She probably thinks we’re going to hook up. I roll my eyes as I follow Scarlett up the steps to my room…our room.

I admit I watch her ass as it sways with each step. I’m a man, not a saint. She waits next to the door as I unlock it and motion for her to go inside. She hesitates for a brief second and then rolls her suitcase into the room. I follow her and set her backpack on the bed. The one and only bed.

She turns to me as she surveys the room. “I can sleep on the floor. Maybe Mrs. Barnett can give us an extra blanket and pillow?”

I look to a chair in the corner. There’s a blanket on it, and I already found the extra pillow in the armoire. “You take the bed. I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, it’s…you rented the room,” she insists.

I sigh. “Look, I like a firm mattress anyhow, the floor is just fine.”

She glances at the bed and blushes. “OK,” she says softly.

“Come on, let’s get food,” I suggest.

She nods, and we walk in silence to the pub. Once we’ve been seated and ordered, I clear my throat and decide we might as well talk since we’ll be spending at least the next twelve hours together.

“So,” I start, “have you been here before?”

The waitress sets down two pints of beer. Scarlett takes a sip of hers and nods. “Yes, a long time ago.”

She’s quiet and I wonder if the person whose ashes she scattered was with her, but I don’t want to bring up a sad subject.

“Are you going to visit anywhere else while you’re over here? Sorry, I’m assuming you live in the States,” I correct myself.

She smiles. “I do. And yes, I’m going to see some friends in London.”

“Oh? I’m heading there next as well.”

“To visit someone?” she asks before taking another sip of beer.

I shake my head. “Nope. Just don’t know when I’ll be back here, so I might as well see as much as I can this week. I figured I should spend at least one day there.”

“Have you been here before?” she asks as the waitress brings out our meals.

“No. It’s my first time going abroad…I mean, other than a school trip to Canada and my friend’s bachelor party in Cancun.”

She laughs. “First time leaving North America, huh?”

I chuckle and nod. “Do you travel often?”

She shakes her head as she eats her fish and chips. After swallowing and taking a drink of beer, she looks at me. “What do you do for a living?”

“Not so fast. We just met,” I tease.

She rolls her eyes, and I press my lips together to keep from smiling. I like her sassiness. Maybe this sharing-a-room thing won’t be a disaster after all.

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