Chapter 16
The trees thicken once I turn off the highway, and I swear that I can breathe a little better than before. Today was a really challenging day at work and I desperately need to turn my brain off.
My old car doesn”t have autopilot. But I have driven this bumpy back road so many times that I steer by muscle memory alone. When I turn the final corner to my Airstream, and more importantly my bed, I see a huge box truck parked beside my trailer. It has the words Red Carpet White Glove Moving Service emblazoned on the side.
What the hell is this truck doing here?
River stands up from one of my patio chairs and waves me over. ”Hey. I was expecting you earlier.”
”Well hello to you too,” I reply tartly. ”We were slammed at the diner and I had to stay late. Apparently, it”s a school holiday today. Your brother Cole and his mini-me stopped by.”
He shoves his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. He”s not wearing his usual black leather jacket, and his biceps in that soft-looking gray T-shirt make him look like a model. I”m not sure what River is selling, exactly, but I want to buy it.
I giggle, feeling loopy after a long day of work. River smiles, but his eyes are concerned. ”Are you okay?”
I wave his apprehension away. ”Fine. Just tired.” I turn around to jerk my thumb at the truck. ”What”s up with the truck?”
”They”re here to move your stuff. I think the crew got bored and went to check out the rest of the property. But as soon as they get back, they”re ready to work.”
I look at River like he”s grown a second head.
”I”m sorry. Did we decide that I would be moving into your house? I must have missed the memo.”
Digging my keys out of my purse, I open the Airstream”s front door and head inside. I leave the door open for River and hear him enter behind me a second later.
Heading down the hallway, I throw my purse on the kitchen counter and make a beeline for my bed. I collapse on it with a groan. The king-sized bed was the main selling point of this place; if I hadn”t moved in here after college, I”d probably still be at my mom”s house in South Shore. My bedroom there is cramped and certainly wouldn”t fit a bed this big.
Then again, considering that the whole room is taken up by the bed, maybe the Airstream isn”t much better. But at least it”s private.
”We need to talk about you moving,” River says. He”s right behind me, and the unexpected closeness of his body causes goosebumps to break out over the back of my neck.
I groan again and roll over, patting the bed beside me. ”Sit down.”
He does, his big frame eating up more space than I thought he would. He glances back to the headboard, his eyes sparkling with amusement when he sees the felted little green men that I placed there. He picks one up and turns it this way and that.
”Where did you get this?” he asks.
”I made it.” I tease the doll from his fingers and place it back against the pillow. ”It”s one of the first UFO-themed crafts I ever made.”
”Oh.” River pauses, squinting. ”That”s... cool.”
I harrumph. ”Did you just come here to insult my felting abilities?”
He shakes his head. ”No. I came here to move you to my house, like I said.”
I sit up and give him a frank look. ”Moving to your place in the Cape would mean I would be driving back and forth between here and your place a lot. It would double or triple my drive time.”
River looks at me, confusion written plain across his face. ”I just assumed that you would jump at the chance to get out of here. It”s so cramped.”
”It”s not cramped,” I snap back. ”I”m economical with how I use my space. Besides, after your little announcement at dinner the other night, Aunt Delta has been muttering about renting my trailer out if I move. When the fake fiancée facade is over, I would have to find a new place to live. Do you have any idea how expensive rent is these days?”
He gives me a rueful little smile. ”I do, actually. That”s part of my job.”
”Then hopefully you know that I”ve got a good deal here.”
He studies me for several beats. ”You can”t expect to stay here with a baby.”
”That is none of your business. And may I add, beside the point.”
”But I already told both our families that we”re moving in together.”
He”s like a frigging dog with a bone. I squint at him, leaning in to whisper to him. ”If you want to move in so bad, move in here.”
”Here!” River looks gobsmacked. ”You can”t be serious. Two people living in... three hundred square feet?”
”It”s two hundred and seventy-two square feet.” I cross my arms. ”Don”t act like you really live so differently. I”ve seen your house. You have your bed, a couch, and a kitchen counter that”s way more cluttered than mine. You basically live in an Airstream already. Your space is just contained within a zillion-dollar beach house.”
He blinks a few times, absorbing that thought.
”People will think I”m crazy for moving here.”
”Well, love makes you do crazy things, right? Besides, if you need space, you can always stay at your place.”
He blows out a breath. ”That”s true. Plus, there”s the fact that... you know... this is all a sham. We are friends with benefits, nothing more.”
”The benefit being... a baby,” I agree. ”If you don”t want to do my plan, come up with a solution that won”t cause me to drive all over the damn place.”
River snakes his hand out and touches my face. I look at him, frowning. ”We can stay here until I come up with a better solution. Okay?” he sighs.
Under his sapphire gaze, I melt a little. ”Okay.”
He stands up, hitting his head on the sloped ceiling with a thunk. ”Ow.”
I stand up and gently rub the side of his head where it hit the ceiling. ”Sorry. I promise, you”ll get used to it.”
He looks at me with a smirk. ”I”d better. I can’t wait to fuck you again, darlin’. I’ve been dreaming about it.”
I blush and drop my hand. He’s not the only one having sex dreams every night of the week. ”We”ll see about that.”
He jerks his head toward the door. ”I”m going to go tell the guys that we won”t need them today.”
Then he turns and lumbers out of the trailer. I fall backward on my bed, arms out. Mostly I”m wondering just what the hell I have signed myself up for. Can we peacefully co-exist in this small of a space?
River comes back in the Airstream. I hear his footsteps slow in the kitchen. When he finally comes back into the bedroom, he holds a piece of paper between his fingers. “Is this your list of potential baby names?”
River shows me the list and I feel my face heat. “Yeah.” I sit up again, feeling a surge of awkward energy wash over me.
He sits down and studies the list. “Selene, Lyra, Astrid, Mariam…” He purses his lips and looks up at me. “Going for a celestial theme, I see.”
I pluck the list from River’s fingers and smooth it out against the bed, my touch tender. This list means a lot to me. I’m not going to let River or anyone else spoil my heartfelt excitement.
“Nothing personal, River. But you don’t get any input in what I plan to name my baby. You may be giving me your sperm, but I am the one with the final say in the kid’s life.”
He raises his hands to wave an imaginary white flag. “I never thought I had a say. But right here,” he says, pointing to the boy names. “Draco? Sirius? Have a heart. Don’t give him a name that’s in Harry Potter.”
That was not what I was expecting him to say at all. I tip my head back and laugh. “And what would you suggest?” I ask.
He snags the list and turns it around, studying it.
“Sterling is a good, strong name. And Kepler is good, too. After Johannes Kepler, I assume.”
“That’s right!” I beam at River. “He used math and observation to figure out that the planets orbit in ellipses, not in circles. He studied the skies before there were even telescopes.”
“That’s extremely cool. Kepler isn’t as good of a name as Sterling, though.”
“Yeah, well. It’s just a list of names I like.” I grab the list and head back into the kitchen. I place it on the fridge, with a magnet to keep it in place. When I return, I take off my shoes, putting them in the shoe caddy I keep under the bed. I swap them for a soft pair of alien head-shaped slippers.
River lies back on the bed, looking comfortable. I don’t know if it’s just his confidence or what, but River seems like he is able to relax anywhere. He looks at ease in almost any situation.
Not like me. I’m a fish out of water nearly everywhere I go.
River eyes me with a smug smile.
“So now that we live together… how about you take off that dress and come over here?”
Blushing, I can’t keep a smile off my face. I slip the dress off, but keep my fuzzy alien slippers on, ready to pounce on River.