Page 66 of Forever Fascinating

“No…” she replied, causing him to smile instantly.

He heard her moving about, felt the bed shake, and saw her lift the bolster groggily, looking at him in the moonlight streaming through the small window barely illuminating anything.

“What’s wrong? Am I snoring?” she asked.

“I did something…” Matthew began, feeling like a cad, only to wince as the lights suddenly came back on. She sat up and stared at him.

“What did you do?” she asked bluntly, her voice grumpy and her hair disheveled in the most adorable fashion as she looked at him. “This is cutting into our sleeping time, you know. We’re going to get about four hours of rest.”

“I didn’t quite tell you everything,” he said quietly, sitting up to look at her.

“About what?”

“There was another room, but I didn’t want to separate us. I told the clerk never mind,” he began, feeling extremely nervous and preparing to get thrown out of the room, to go sleep on the couch. “I only get to see you for barely five days and…”

“Matthew, stop,” she said firmly, before plopping back down and closing her eyes. “I’m tired. We’re both adults and friends. I don’t want to be separated either… and just a heads up? I’m an extremely cheap shopper. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend the money, and besides this place is awesome – so if you don’t mind? I’d like to go back to sleep now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” she said candidly, cracking open an eye to look at him directly. “I would rather you tell me than think it’s okay to disillusion or lie to me. Never, ever lie to me. Let me handle it in my own way or we can figure it out… but don’t take my choices, my decisions, from me.”

“That’s why I wanted to tell you, because I felt bad,” he admitted. “And I want this to work out between us. I couldn’t start off our trip with misleading you, no matter how much it was working in my favor.”

“It was huh…” she smiled sleepily, looking at him. “Will you just go to sleep now and relax? Quit stressing about things and be yourself, okay? No more secrets or lies.”

“I promise.”

Jana rolled over and flipped off the lamp.

“Goodnight, Matthew. Get some sleep.”

“I will,” he promised, closing his eyes. “Goodnight.”

* * *

Hours later,his watch went off on his wrist and he slapped it to turn off the alarm. He slowly sat up, glanced over the bolster, and couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips as sunlight flooded the room.

Jana was beautiful.

She was lying there with one arm tucked under her pillow and the other cast out before her, covering her eyes. Her mouth was cracked open, and her hair was everywhere – on her face, the pillow, behind her, above her, in big dark blonde tresses that were slightly tangled.

Slipping out of the bed, he started the coffee pot on a small table in the living room. He’d seen it when they checked in and was grateful that they had one close. He loved a fresh cup of coffee first thing in the morning and even enjoyed one late in the afternoon.

He padded silently around the room wanting to look outside the balcony while the coffee was brewing, before disappearing into the bathroom to brush his teeth.

There was something incredibly intimate at seeing Jana’s cosmetic bag on the counter and her toothbrush in a glass. He could certainly get used to her being near him and was really glad she didn’t get mad last night when he’d confessed about the room.

He would make sure this trip was everything either of them wanted, whisking her to every place her heart desired. Hearing the coffee pot sputter in the distance, he exited the bathroom and poured two cups of coffee, before walking in the bedroom again.

He set one cup beside the bed and looked at her again, wishing he could burn this moment into his memories and the feelings within him. Brushing a curl away from her face, he smiled tenderly.

“Hey sleepyhead…” he whispered. “I brought you coffee…”

Jana stirred and lifted her arm, cracking open one eye before wincing at the light in the room. She looked at him, down at the mug, and then back at him again, disoriented and distinctly grumpy-looking.

“You’re a morning person, aren’t you?” she growled.

“I am,” he smiled.

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