CHAPTER 20
NATHAN
I want to die.
This is the first thought to make its way into my pounding brain as the early morning light streams into the room and pulls me from my deep, drunken slumber.
Death. Number one priority.
Number two?
If I don’t die, I’m never drinking again. I blame George and his insistence that I attend his Stag Do, knowing how uncomfortable it would be for me. Did I need to drown my sorrows in one too many tequila shots? No. Did I want to? Clearly, I did.
With difficulty, I peel my eyes open and swallow, blanching at how dry my mouth is. How thick my tongue feels.
Death. Never drinking. Water.
Water is number three.
With a whimper, I roll over, my thumping head rejecting even this slight movement. Death. Never drinking. Water. Then, shower.
I nod and groan, my muddled mind taking stock of the situation around me. The empty spot in the bed next to me, to be specific.
“What—?”
Headache forgotten, I bolt upright and let out a sigh when I find Katie curled in a ball on the couch. She’s alright. She’s here. But why is she on the couch?
Frowning, my relief at finding her turns to consternation, and I rummage through my hazy memories from the night before.
There was the dimly lit, cigar-smoke-filled bar, shots, many shots, Theo grumbling to stop doing shots, more shots and then…
nothing. What did I do after that? And why is Katie scrunched up on the couch instead of lying in the bed next to me?
“What did your drunk arse do last night?” I mutter, stumbling out of bed, grabbing a bottle of water and finishing it in a gulp while standing and staring at the sleeping beauty before me.
The idea that I did something in my intoxicated state to make her uncomfortable sits heavy in my stomach, and I’m anxious enough to wake her up and fix it.
If it’s fixable, that is.
“Katie,” I whisper, sinking to my knees in front of the couch so my face is in line with hers. She’s beautiful as she lies peacefully, her masses of dark hair spread out around her, her face soft with sleep. “Kitty Kat, wake up.”
She stirs, grumbling under her breath before her big, honey-coloured eyes open. “Nathan?”
I pause to gather myself. It’s always this way when Katie’s eyes are on me; I need to take a beat, a breath to get my stumbling heart together.
“What are you doing down here, beautiful?”
Her eyelids flutter closed, and she rolls onto her back, letting out a pained exhale that has my stomach clenching.
More nervous now, I run a finger over her soft cheek. “Tell me.”
“It was nothing,” she says in a tone that says it was definitely something.
I smooth a few tendrils off her forehead. “Did I do something? Please tell me.”
She groans. “You didn’t do anything.”
Huh?
“Okay. But something happened that had you choosing to sleep here instead of over there?”
She peers over my shoulder, her lips turned down as she stares at the bed. “You could say that.”
I sit back on my butt with a thump. “Kitty Kat, I’m going to need to buy a vowel or something because I have no idea what’s going on. But I’m worried I’ve done something to make you not trust me. Is that why you didn’t want to share the bed last night?”
The urgency in my voice must get to her, because her eyes dart from the bed and lock with mine. Eyes filled with…regret? Dread? What is it?
“It wasn’t you who crossed the line, Nathan. It was me.”
Now I really wish I didn’t have a drunken hole in my memory bank. If Katie crossed some sort of line last night, I’m gutted I can’t remember it.
“You did?” I tread lightly, noting her face twitch at my words. “You crossed a line?”
She sits up, wrapping her arms around her middle, looking wretched. “Yes. You don’t remember?”
I wrack my stupid, tequila-muddled brain and come up empty. “The events of last night are hazy. But let me assure you, where you’re concerned, no line exists. You can cross them all.”
Her small nose scrunches in the most adorable way. “What does that mean?” I open my mouth to clarify how much I wish she’d cross all the lines when she jumps in. “And it wasn’t last night. I made sure of that by sleeping over here.”
Comprehension dawns as I watch her glare at the bed. Ah, my loose lips spilled our little bedtime secret. I must have told her about her nighttime adventures over to my side of the bed, and she’s feeling awkward about it.
Hmm, not on my watch.
“So, that’s what this is about?” I ask, trying and failing to hide my smirk.
Her eyes narrow. “It’s not funny. You refused to sleep in the bed with me last night because you didn’t want to wake up with me wrapped around you.”
“Not possible.”
Her glare moves from the bed and lands on me. “That’s what you said.”
“Even in my most drunken state, I know I’d never say that. Kitty Kat, waking up with you in my arms was the best part of my day. It was having to let you go that I couldn’t handle.”
I let that sink in, watching her chew her lips while she chews on my words. “Is that true?”
With a sigh, I stand and reach over to scoop her up into my arms. She shrieks, her arms winding around my neck and holding tightly.
“Nathan! What are you doing?”
I shift her in my arms until she’s comfortable and stride us back over to the bed, dumping her down and lying down next to her. Watching her reaction, I pull her close until her body is flush against mine.
“This. This is how I want to wake up every morning. I just didn’t want you to wake up and be embarrassed.”
Her cheeks flush a pretty shade of pink, and I hold my breath, noting emotions dance over her expressive face. Embarrassment, indecision, reluctance, and finally…acceptance. From the smile growing on her lips, she very much looks like this is where she also wants to be.
“Well, I guess if it’s what you really want,” she sasses with a smirk. “It’s fine with me.”
I pull her even closer, my stomach clenching when she rests her head on my chest, her eyelids fluttering shut.
As her body melts into mine, I relax, yawning, and let my poor, hungover body succumb to the sleep it desperately wants.
And I get to hold Katie in my arms, knowing this will be the best sleep I’ve ever had.
?·?·?
Several hours later, the sun is now high and bright in the blue sky, my sluggish eyelids peel open, and for the second time today, I take stock of the situation.
My smartwatch tells me it’s well past waking-up time and that we’ve most likely missed whatever Victoria and George have scheduled to torture us with today.
Shame.
Careful not to move too much, I stare down at the woman still in my arms. Over the course of our slumber together, we’ve shifted.
She now has her back pressed against my front, so that I’m spooning her in the most delicious way.
Her hair—her gorgeous hair—is spread across my chest as my body is all-but wrapped around her.
In the past, I’ve never been much of a cuddler, much preferring my own space to move and kick as I please as I sleep, but now, with Katie here, I’ve found a new sleeping preference.
One that has her as close to me in every possible way.
“I’m hungry,” she mumbles through closed lips, her eyes still shut like she doesn’t want to fully wake up.
Taking her hand in mine, I press a soft kiss into her neck and snuggle into her. “It’s almost 10 a.m., Kitty Kat. I’m not surprised you’re hungry.”
At this, her eyes pop open and she sits up. “10 a.m.?” she shrieks. “We’re late!”
I lie on my back and put my arms behind my head, admiring the view. Morning Katie is beautiful. Wild hair, flushed skin, sleepy golden eyes. This is a view I’d be happy to stare at every morning for the rest of my life.
Whoa. Where did that come from?
Uncomfortable with the direction of my thoughts, I sit up and rub the back of my neck. “The only thing we’re late for is the buffet breakfast.”
This gets her attention. “Really? Isn’t there a full-day hike on the itinerary today?”
Seriously? A full-day hike after his Stag Do. What was George thinking?
“There isn’t a single part of me that wants to go on a hike today. Why don’t we indulge in that buffet breakfast I know you’ve been coveting, and then spend the day doing what we want to do?”
She nibbles her lip, indecision written all over her face. “Are you sure? We missed the activities yesterday. We’re not really doing what we came here for.”
With an unhappy grunt, I pull her back and against my chest—where she belongs—and smooth away the hair from her face while searching for a way to smooth away her anxieties.
What may have started as a week with Katie as my fake girlfriend and buffer has turned into something else altogether.
Something that feels much more important than saving face in front of my ex-girlfriend and my brother.
“I think a day of relaxation is precisely what we came for,” I tell her with a gentle kiss on her temple. “Starting with buffet breakfast.”
A small smile tickles her plump lips, and I see the moment she gives in.
It doesn’t take long, as the idea of indulging in a decadent breakfast breaks through the last of her hesitancies.
“Okay, if you’re sure. I’d love to spend a day lounging out there.
” She points to the deck just beyond our sliding doors.
“That hammock has my name written all over it.”
“Then let’s get going.” I swing my legs off the bed, the leftover tequila from the night before still sloshing around in my belly. Suddenly, the idea of a full English breakfast is all I can think about. The ultimate hangover cure. “Breakfast awaits us.”
Katie beams and scampers off the bed, without a trace of the awkwardness I’d expected when she tucked up against me in bed. It’s like once she makes a decision, in this case to give in and cuddle me in bed, she goes all-in.
Just another thing to admire about her.
“I can be ready in a few,” she calls over her shoulder as she darts to the bathroom.