Chapter 8
Miranda
I’m lying across the bed scrolling on my phone when I hear the bathroom door open. The food has been ordered, and the bit of time away from Hayden was just what I needed to finally relax. He’s right. We are adults and can share a room. And a bed.
“Food should be here in fifteen minutes,” I say, finally looking up from my phone.
I swallow hard to keep from choking. Hayden is standing there wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Desire unfurls low in my belly as my eyes travel the length of his body.
His damp hair falls forward as he reaches for something in his bag, and I take full advantage of his back being turned.
His muscles flex and pull as I do my best to take in every detail.
He has the body of a man who works on a ranch.
Thick and broad, but without the definition of a bodybuilder. He’s perfect.
When he turns to face me, I have to make sure my jaw doesn’t hit the floor.
The view from the front is even better than the back.
There’s a thin smattering of hair on his muscular chest, and from his navel, disappearing beneath the towel.
When my eyes make their way back up, he’s watching me with a knowing smile. Dammit. Definitely caught ogling.
“I forgot my bag. Were you heading in there or…” he says, trailing off as he holds up his clothes.
“Oh! Yeah. I’m going to get in there now.” I practically sprint to the bathroom, grabbing my bag on the way and doing my best not to look at him.
As soon as the bathroom door latches closed, I lean against it and take a deep breath.
It’s not going to be easy to spend this much time alone with Hayden and pretend I’m not attracted to him.
He’s made it clear he isn’t interested, and I’d be best not to pine after him like a teenage girl with a crush.
No matter how amazing his body is. Or how kind he is. He is off limits.
By the time I step out of the shower, I’m mostly convinced that I’ve got this under control.
When I leave the bathroom, he won’t be wearing just a towel.
We will eat pizza and hang out like we have dozens of times.
It doesn’t matter that none of those times were just the two of us.
I push that thought to the side as I apply lotion and then pull on my tank top and sleep shorts.
“Perfect timing. The pizza just got here.”
Hayden is sitting at the table wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed. Before I can decide, I’m distracted by the delicious smell of food. My stomach growls, and I’m reminded that I haven’t eaten since the late breakfast/early lunch eight hours ago.
“Oh my god, that smells so good.”
Tossing my bag back onto the loveseat, I join him at the table and reach for a slice without even bothering to grab a plate.
A thin layer of grease sits on top of the cheese and pepperoni, and my mouth literally waters.
The flavors meld together perfectly as I chew my first bite, and I close my eyes, moaning in satisfaction.
“Good?” Hayden’s rough voice causes my eyes to snap open.
“Yeah. Delicious, thanks.”
Hayden swallows hard. “What’s your plan for tomorrow? We’ll need to stop at least once to give the horses a break.”
Doing my best to ignore the instant flash of irritation, I take a deep breath before answering his question.
“There’s a campground about three-quarters of the way.
I booked a small cabin. Each plot is private with easy access to the bridle trail.
They’ll have to sleep in the trailer if the weather is bad, but at least we should be able to exercise them and give them a break. ”
I don’t miss Hayden’s frown as he looks down at his phone. “Yeah, let’s hope the weather holds up.”
His attention remains on his phone while I finish my first slice of pizza and reach for another. If I were alone, I’d probably polish off most of this pizza myself; at least that’s one good thing about unexpectedly sharing a room.
“Everything okay?” I ask when his eyes are still focused on his phone by the time I finish my second slice.
Looking back up, he paints on a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. I was just tracking tomorrow’s storms. We’ll figure it out. But we do need to get started as early as possible to get ahead of it.”
I appreciate that he isn’t trying to take over, and I actually feel a bit guilty about my initial irritation when he asked about tomorrow’s plan.
My mind flicks back to this morning, and I realize he hasn’t once tried to take over.
There was no reason for me to be so angry with him when it’s my dad who has no faith in me.
“They said they’ll have staff in the barn starting at 5:00 a.m.”
“Okay, perfect. What time do you want to leave tomorrow?” he asks, once again taking me by surprise.
His expression is neutral, giving me no indication that he’s mocking me or hoping I’ll give the wrong answer. “It’s only about ten miles from here, so plan to check out tomorrow morning at around 4:30?”
Standing from the table, I stretch before picking up our garbage and making my way to the trash can on the other side of the room.
As much as I’ve tried to convince myself that sleeping beside Hayden wouldn’t be awkward, I feel awkward as hell, and I’m not even in bed yet.
Hell, neither is Hayden. He’s still looking at something on his phone, so I climb into the bed and pull the covers up before he notices.
In my periphery, I see him stand and walk toward the bed, stopping at the end.
Focusing on the TV, which is mostly blocked by his large frame, I try to find something to watch.
“Slide over.”
His words startle me. I’d been working so hard not to notice him that I didn’t even realize he was beside me. “What?”
He gestures towards the door as if that explains anything, and I continue staring blankly. “I’m not going to allow you to sleep on the side closest to the door. Call me old-fashioned, but I also won’t have you walking streetside if we ever find ourselves on a stroll.”
I refuse to label the warmth flowing through my body.
The thermostat must be set too high. It’s definitely not the way he automatically thinks of my safety.
The way he shows that he cares. Or even the way he’s working so hard not to take over this entire trip.
Instead of diving in to all the possible reasons for his actions and statements, I slide over and return my undivided attention to the TV screen.
Hayden throws in his two cents. “Just pick a crime documentary. Or Law & Order or something. If there’s anything you want to watch, I’m not picky.”
He gets into the bed beside me and rests his head on his arm. His eyes aren’t on the TV. They are on me. I try to ignore the burning sensation from his gaze, but there’s no use. I can feel him looking at me. And I can’t ignore it. But the longer I feel it, the more I’m convinced I need it.