CHAPTER 18 #2
“Humph,” I mutter, pushing my curtain of hair out of my eyes and taking stock of the situation.
It’s early, the sun barely peeking up over the horizon, the sky a delightful shade of light lemon and pale orange colours.
The air in the room is warm, moving around lazily by the giant ceiling fan above me, and the sounds of the ocean right outside our door are like a distant lullaby.
The setting is perfect. Except for one thing.
I’m alone.
“Stupid romance novels setting up stupid unrealistic expectations,” I grumble while swinging my legs out of bed and standing up.
It’s not like I thought anything would happen between me and Nathan last night, but after that kiss and the sexiest sunscreen application in history, I expected my subconscious to at least attempt a midnight cuddle with the man sharing my bed.
It’s what the only-one-bed trope suggests should happen: two people forced to share one bed, and inevitably throughout the night, one migrates over to the other.
All very innocent, all done under the guise of ‘sleep,’ but all very much leading to one (me) being in the arms of the other (Nathan) come morning.
And yet, here I am, two mornings in a row, on my side of the bed with no Nathan in sight.
“Shame. I reckon first-thing-in-the-morning Nathan is a sight to behold.”
Shaking off my salacious thoughts of a bedhead, morning-stubbled Nathan, I consult the itinerary for the day and blanch. A trip to a rum distillery, followed by an afternoon of rum tasting.
Sounds like my worst nightmare.
“It’s not about you, Katherine,” I lecture myself as I get in the shower to start the day, glaring down at my white ankles and feet. “Yesterday was a success; today we need to rinse and repeat.”
I nod while running a comb through my tangled, wet hair.
In the scheme of everything we set out to achieve by fake dating and whatnot, yesterday had been more than a success.
From Victoria’s jealous stares to George’s disgruntled mutterings while everyone clamoured to talk to Nathan and his new girlfriend (me!), the focus of the day had been on Nathan rising from the ashes of his brother’s betrayal like an avenged Phoenix.
Or at least that’s how Rosie had narrated the event on the golf buggy trip home.
“Now to do it all again and not jump his bones in the process,” I tell my reflection, nervous when she looks back at me with raised eyebrows that say, ‘You’re delusional.’
Fair.
“Nathan—” I stumble to a halt at the sight of him sitting out on the deck, staring at the ocean beyond it. Shirtless.
“Hey Kitty Kat,” he smiles, his eyes sweeping over me.
For today’s excursion to not taste test rum, I’ve picked a long, figure-hugging dress in a deep burgundy colour.
It’s got a scooped neckline and ends at my feet, with a thigh-high slit to allow for walking.
It also hides my self-tanning misfortunes.
I take the seat next to him, tucking my hands under my legs to keep from touching him. It’s really not fair to be faced with all that lovely skin and muscles and not be able to touch any of it.
“Another run today? You must have left before the sun came up.”
His tired eyes flicker to me. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Oh.”
Unsure what to say next, I sit quietly, letting the ocean breeze attempt to settle my nerves. It doesn’t really work. Nathan stays seated next to me, unmoving, staring straight ahead, tension written all over him.
“So,” I blurt out, unable to handle the silence. “Rum tasting today.”
He shakes his head, once, in a harsh motion. “Nope.”
“What do you mean? It’s on the itinerary.”
His blue eyes hold me captive. “Kitty Kat, you don’t drink alcohol. What are you going to do at a rum distillery?”
“Eat?”
His lips twitch. “Well, yes. There is that. You do like to eat.”
“Problem solved.”
He sighs, shoving his enormous body out of the seat and towering over me. “No. Today we’re going to do something we want to do.”
I rush to my feet and follow him inside. “But that’s not the point of all this.”
Whirling around, he faces me. Close to me. Oh-so-close to me. “You spending the day doing something you don’t want to do is not the point, Katie. We’re going to do something you will enjoy. You deserve it.”
My breath catches at the resolve in his voice. “Okay.”
“Yes?”
I smile, my chest filling with warmth. “Then what are we going to do today?”
He flashes his dimple, and he wears the expression of a kid with a surprise they’re dying to tell. “You’ll see.”
“But—”
He stops at the bathroom door, taking off his backwards cap (why backwards? And why so hot?) and throwing it on the bed. “No buts. I’m spoiling you today, and you’re going to love it.”
It’s like he’s ordering me to have fun. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” His gaze travels over me, taking a leisurely trip over my curves and back up to my eyes. “And as amazing as you look in this dress—and you do, you look incredible—you may want to pick something less figure-hugging.”
Glancing down, I take stock of my outfit while reeling over him casually calling me ‘incredible.’ “Less figure-hugging?” I parrot.
His eyelids flutter closed, and his jaw clenches. “Yes. Not that I think your body should ever be hidden, but for today—and for my sanity—it may be for the best.”
He disappears quickly behind the bathroom door, and I slump onto the bed, my shaky legs unable to hold me up.
Nathan and his flowery words and his longing glances are getting to me.
I know we started this whole thing to pretend to be in love, and that he has some very real, very unresolved feelings for his ex, but with each passing second, with each anguished sigh he gives, it feels like this is growing into something else. Something more.
I rub my aching temples, loosening my ponytail to relieve the pressure building behind my eyes.
There’s no point trying to figure it all out now.
Nathan and I need to talk about what’s brewing here between us, and for my sanity, we need to do it sooner rather than later.
But first, I must find an outfit that hides my figure and get ready for a day of doing something I will enjoy, planned by a man I’m falling for.
How is this my life?