NORA
“So, this is your room?” Theo asked as he stepped into the upstairs bedroom that had been mine ever since Ky bought the house several years ago.
“It is,” I said, stepping in after him.
I let my gaze drift around the space, trying to see it the way he might.
A king-sized bed sat along the wall opposite the door, oversized nightstands on either side. The soft comforter was covered in a lilac print, the pale purple and green tones echoed throughout the rest of the room.
To the right, a large dresser held a few framed photos. Two were of the beach just behind Ky’s house, and the third was of Ky and me sitting in the sand from a couple of summers ago.
It had always felt like my home away from home.
Familiar. Comfortable.
But now… with Theo standing here, taking it all in, it suddenly felt a little too intimate.
“It’s really nice.” Theo set his bag down on the bed. “Very peaceful.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I said, watching him as he moved farther into the room.
“Did you help design it?” he asked, pausing at the dresser to look more closely at the photos.
“I printed those photos and put them in the frames,” I said, nodding toward them. “And I gave some input on colors and things, but Ky’s interior designer did everything else.”
“Well,” he said, his gaze moving slowly along the walls before landing back on me, “it looks like you.”
“Thanks.” Warmth crept up the back of my neck.
I took my suitcase from him and set it on the bench at the end of the bed.
Then I just stood there for a second, my hands resting lightly on the handle.
What was I supposed to do now?
Usually, I’d unpack—tossing my things in the dresser, stowing my toiletries in the bathroom, and head back downstairs.
But with the curveball that was me suddenly sharing a room with Theo—the man I had daydreamed about sharing a bed with more times than I should probably admit—I suddenly wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next.
We should probably talk about this new dynamic, right?
Make some sort of game plan for what to do next.
I glanced at him, trying to figure out how to start the conversation. He had his hands tucked into his pockets, shifting his weight from side to side, like he wasn’t entirely sure what to do either.
“So…” I said, my voice coming out just softer than I intended. “About what happened downstairs…”
“Yeah, about that…” He scrunched his nose slightly.
“I hope I didn’t overstep too much. Because if I did, I totally understand if you want to go back down and tell everyone I’m not actually your boyfriend.
” He let out a small, awkward laugh. “I mean, I promise that I thought I was helping, but I do realize I’m probably not really the type of guy you’d want your ex—or anyone else for that matter—to think you’re dating. ”
I blinked.
Wait.
Was he serious?
“You think I’m upset that you told Diego you’re my boyfriend?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted with a small shrug.
“I can’t exactly tell what you’re thinking since you can be a little hard for me to read.
” He gave a quiet, slightly nervous laugh.
“I just… wanted to say that if you don’t actually want to share a room with me for the next few days, I get it.
I mean, I’m older, I have a daughter, and…
” He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.
“There are probably a million other reasons why you wouldn’t want that.
So if you want me to go back down and say it was a joke or something, I can. No problem.”
Okay, he was completely misreading my hesitation.
Before he could go too much further down that road, I said, “That’s actually not it at all.” I shook my head. “I was just surprised you’d be okay with it.”
“Oh?” His brows lifted slightly.
“But I am,” I added. “Okay with it, I mean. If you are. I don’t have any reason not to be.”
“Okay.” He let out a small breath, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. “That’s good.”
For a second, neither of us said anything.
And then, almost at the same time, our attention drifted toward the bed.
A very large, very intimidating king-sized bed.
My gaze flicked back up to his.
And from the way he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, I had a feeling he was just now realizing that playing my boyfriend and sharing a room also meant sharing that.
I shifted my weight. “Well now that that’s cleared up, are you also okay sharing a bed?”
He glanced at it again, like he was taking in the size for the first time. Then he looked back at me.
“I’m okay with it if you are.” His gaze flicked back to the bed. “It’s a king,” he added. “So there should be plenty of room.”
“Yeah,” I said quickly, nodding. “Totally.”
There was a small pause before he asked, “Do you have a side you usually sleep on?”
“I usually sleep on the right,” I said, gesturing toward it.
“Perfect. I’m a left-side sleeper.”
“Wow,” I said, a small smile pulling at my lips. “Looks like we’re a good match after all.”
Our eyes met, and the way his eyes lingered on mine made heat creep up my neck.
I quickly looked away, willing my heart rate to calm down. Because if I had any hope of surviving this weekend, I could not get so overly excited about every little thing he said or did.
I turned toward the dresser and started pulling clothes from my suitcase, trying to act normal.
Nonchalant.
Like I wasn’t hyperaware of his tall, handsome form standing just a few feet behind me.
“So…” I said, folding a top and setting it in the drawer.
“We’ve established that you’re okay pretending to be my boyfriend and sharing a room…
” I hesitated. “But are you actually okay with everything that comes with that?” I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“Because if we’re doing this in front of Diego… I do want it to feel real. Convincing.”
I studied his face, trying to gauge how far he’d actually thought this through.
“Are you okay with that?” I asked again. “Because last time we talked about your love life, you mentioned that even holding someone’s hand was a pretty big step for you.”
“About that…” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. “I know I said holding hands was a big deal. But… I’m okay with it.”
“You are?” I paused, searching his face.
He nodded. “Yeah. I mean… I know I’ve been kind of slow getting to a place where I’m comfortable with all of that.” He let out a small breath. “But I know you a lot better than the other women I’ve gone out with so, I don’t think it will be an issue. In fact, this might actually be good for me.”
“You think so?” I asked, trying not to get too excited over the idea that holding hands with Theo might become an actual thing in the near future.
He nodded. “It can be like a trial run. Practice for the future.”
“Practice?”
“I just mean…” He huffed out a quiet laugh. “That practicing things like holding hands. Being close. Kissing…” He paused momentarily, his voice lowering just a fraction. “Doing all that with you can help normalize it so I’m not such a scaredy cat in the future.”
And even though I probably shouldn’t have let my mind wander with him standing just a few feet away, I did anyway.
Because, yeah… if he was up for it, I was more than willing to help him get that practice in.
I just wouldn’t think about the fact that he was using this little arrangement to build up the courage to kiss some other woman in the future.
Nope, I would just ignore that little piece of information and blissfully live in the fantasy land that, for the next few days at least, he was planning to kiss me.
My gaze drifted to his lips for a second. But when I met his eyes again, I was suddenly very aware of how close we were standing.
Of the way his gaze had intensified.
Of the warmth spreading through me.
“Okay,” I said, pushing my daydreams aside to be revisited later. “If you’re fine with all that… then I guess we can just see how things go.”
“Perfect.”
I closed the drawer. “But if it ever feels like too much, you need to tell me. I can figure something else out.”
He swallowed, then gave a small nod. “I will.”
A quiet beat settled between us.
And then it hit me.
Kissing might not mean the same thing to both of us.
He might be thinking of doing something quick. Simple.
A peck.
While I…
I was definitely thinking of something else.
So, if we were going to pull this off, there were a few things we needed to get right.
I tilted my head. “But do you actually think you’ll be able to make it convincing?”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean,” I said, shrugging, “there’s a difference between holding hands, cuddling, kissing… and making it look like you actually want to do those things.”
“I understand that.”
But did he really?
Because I might have been going through a major dry spell this past year, but that hadn’t always been the case. And even though Diego and I had kept things quiet from everyone else on tour… when it was just the two of us, I definitely hadn’t been shy about showing him exactly how into him I was.
If anything, the whole secret, forbidden aspect had made everything more intense.
So if Diego picked up on even the slightest hesitation between Theo and me, he’d know something was off.
“I just don’t want Diego to think that kissing me is some kind of chore for you,” I said.
And for a moment, Theo just looked at me—his gaze dropping to my lips before slowly lifting back to my eyes. “You don’t need to worry about that.”
The husky tone in his voice, paired with the way his eyes held mine, sent a rush of anticipation through me.
Because the thought of him actually following through on that promise…
Well… That did all kinds of things to my insides—making them swirl and swoop and fly.
“Okay,” I said, trying to sound more composed than I felt. “That’s good.”
Then, lifting my chin slightly, I added, “And just so we’re clear… I’m also confident in my ability to make it look like I’m into you.”
“Perfect.” And when his eyes suddenly became heated, I had a feeling that this weekend was about to be a lot more complicated and fun than I’d planned.