Chapter 23
TWENTY-THREE
For a guy who was convinced that a relationship meant the death of fun, living with Bella had been a surprise.
Sure, we weren’t technically living together, but in a way, we were.
The small cabin had become home and even having her in my space at my house felt just right.
We hadn’t spent any time in her rental, but I knew that would come.
I needed to see her downtown, to understand what she liked so much about being close to the city, before I could make decisions about our future.
And yes, I was being impulsive. I found myself thinking about what was to come way more often than was prudent. In a short amount of time—we’d only known each other for six weeks now—she’d become the most important thing in my life.
Brody and I used to sit around making fun of romance tropes at conferences. The “instalove” of it all. That was the actual term. We claimed it wasn’t possible to fall in love with someone so fast.
He’d proven that wrong when he fell in love with Bree.
It hadn’t been instantaneous—that was lust, not love—but it had been fast. My relationship with Bella had progressed just as fast, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was real.
Perhaps, when it was legitimate, falling fast was the norm.
The reason I couldn’t believe it before was because I’d never felt anything close.
We talked about anything and everything, but I didn’t bring it up to Bella. I wanted to ponder it a bit longer. Sure, we’d been fake dating for six weeks. We’d only been real dating for two of those weeks, though.
“Hey, Bellarino,” I called toward the bathroom as I adjusted my shirt.
We’d come back to the cabin after our walk around the lake to get cleaned up for dinner.
That had led to a little hanky-panky. That was my term, not hers.
She laughed too hard at the hanky-panky of it all. That’s why I kept saying it.
There was no better sound in the world than her laugh.
“Hmm?” She appeared in the doorway of the bathroom.
She was dressed in cute cutoffs and an oversized shirt that hung off one shoulder. I couldn’t see a bra strap, which was giving me ideas.
“Your dulcet tones suggest you’re growing impatient,” she teased.
“It’s almost dinner time, and I’m starving. You ran me ragged this afternoon, and I’m about to faint from hunger.”
She offered up an eye roll. “I ran you ragged?”
“That’s what I said.”
“I didn’t run you ragged. It was the opposite.”
“It didn’t feel opposite to me.” I reached out and grabbed the waist of her shorts as she edged closer, relishing the feeling of my fingers against her warm skin.
“The only reason this camping stuff sucks is that we’re expected to eat meals in public.
If we were in the city—or The Landings—we could get food delivered and spend the night naked. ”
She laughed, sending warm tingles through me. “We only have about eight days left. I think you can survive.”
I did the math in my head. She was right. Eight days. Suddenly, I was wishing for more time in the cabin. “What…?” I was uncertain if now was the time for that heavy conversation.
“What are we going to do when we get back?” She’d read my mind.
I nodded. “It’s too soon to live together, right?” Please say no.
“It’s way too soon.”
My smile disappeared.
“However,” she continued in a calm voice. “I’m sure we can arrange a few sleepovers upon our return. I know you prefer your house, but there are some cool bars within walking distance to my place.”
I didn’t let her finish. There was surely more she wanted to say, but it didn’t matter. I swooped in for a kiss. “Sold. Will you at least give me a drawer for my stuff?”
She snorted out a laugh that was more guttural than ladylike. “You want a drawer?”
“In both your bedroom and bathroom.”
“Are you going to give me one in return?”
Little did she know, I’d started making room during our one night together at the house. She’d passed out early, clearly needing some sleep, and I’d been too antsy. Having her in my space but not making room for her was a bridge too far.
“Already done,” I said smugly.
She looked taken aback. “You found a drawer for me?”
“I found half the dresser for you,” I replied. “I didn’t do the closet yet, but that’s mostly because I haven’t organized my stuff from the move. There will be plenty of room for you there.”
“And in the bathroom?”
“I only need one drawer. I’m handsome without effort. You can have two—count them, two—drawers.”
“I see you’ve given this some thought.”
“That’s all I’ve been thinking about,” I admitted, swooping in for another kiss. I was so lost in her, so happy, I didn’t hear the door behind me swing open until it was far too late.
“Bree,” Brody hissed.
She hadn’t knocked—I would have heard it—and Brody was a stickler for manners.
I pulled back from Bella long enough to study Bree. Her smile was what evil clowns were made of.
“I knew it!” She pumped her fist and raised her hand for a high-five that was not coming her way.
Brody looked like he was going to melt down into a pile of goo on the floor. “I am so sorry.” His cheeks were red. “She was convinced something was going on between the two of you.”
“And who was right?” Bree demanded. She was not taking a knee here or apologizing.
“That would be you,” Brody said stiffly. He didn’t look happy, yet despite his embarrassment, the naked love on his face when he regarded his trouble-prone fiancée made me smile.
“I knew you were really together,” Bree said, eyeing me with annoyance. “You guys aren’t fooling anybody.”
“Hayley?” I challenged.
“No, she knows.” Bree looked momentarily unhappy. “She guessed it was already on before me. I mean, I knew it was going to happen. You guys had ‘imminent sex’ written all over your faces from the start.”
Bella made a sputtering noise. “What?”
I couldn’t help but be amused by Bree’s blunt ways. “Imminent sex, huh?”
“Dude, I’ve known you for a while now. I’ve seen you go through women like tissue paper.”
I frowned at her analogy and sent a worried look toward Bella.
She graced me with an “it’s okay” smile in return.
“That all stopped the second you met Bella,” Bree continued, either not noticing the looks I kept shooting my fake fiancée or not caring about them. “You don’t even look at other women to confirm they have breasts any longer.”
I had to think about what she was saying. She was right, I realized. It wasn’t that other women had become invisible to me. However, they were no longer interesting to me in anything other than a professional manner.
More than one flirty reader had tried to draw my attention her way during the events. I’d been polite, but that was it. No, my gaze was always seeking—and finding—Bella whenever the opportunity arose. She was the only one I cared about.
“Don’t turn this into a big deal,” I chided, determined to keep her from embarrassing my Bella. My Bella. That had a nice ring to it. “We’re together. We have plans to figure things out once the retreat is over. We’re happy.”
“Very happy,” Bella agreed with a little purr as she cuddled in at my side.
Seriously, I wanted to drag her right back to bed, but the ruthless growl of her stomach told me that wasn’t wise.
“You can’t make a big deal out of this.” I was determined as I eyed Bree. “As far as Preston knows, we’ve been together for real this entire time. If he finds out that we were faking it at any point, he’ll assume he still has a chance.”
Bree’s smile disappeared. “Oh, so I really can’t torture you guys.”
“No. Sorry.” I wasn’t sorry, but all that mattered was that Bree thought I was sorry.
“We have eight days to get Preston out of our lives. I don’t want that little idiot hiding in my bushes and spying on us.
” Worse, I didn’t want him lying in wait to ambush Bella when she walked to the coffee shop in the morning.
She loved this city, and that meant she needed to feel safe in it.
“I’m all for getting rid of him,” Bree said. “You two are going to have to stop making goo-goo eyes at one another for a full hour if you expect us to come up with a plan, though.”
“We don’t make goo-goo eyes at each other.” Bella’s cheeks were so red I wanted to kiss them just to feel the warmth.
“We might make goo-goo eyes at each other,” I countered. “I happen to like making goo-goo eyes at you.” I kissed the top of her head to prove it. “I am determined to get rid of this jerk, though.”
“He’s been quiet,” Bree said, turning thoughtful. “I don’t trust him.”
We were on the same page there. “Watch him tonight,” I said. “He’ll be hanging around the bonfire. He’s a lurker.”
“Watch him for what?” Brody prodded.
I shrugged. “Ideas on how we can take him down.”
“We might need a lightsaber,” Bree suggested. “Or one of those slasher killers you guys love so much.” She fell momentarily silent then perked up. “Wait… you guys are going to go nuts when it comes time to decorate for Halloween, aren’t you? You’re going to be one of those couples.”
I hadn’t gotten that far, but she wasn’t wrong. “I believe we’ll be hosting the Halloween party every year,” I agreed, slinging my arm around Bella’s shoulders. “You guys can have the Christmas party.”
“New Year’s Eve party,” Bree corrected. “Christmas is a stressful holiday. It makes me think of my mother. Hayley can have the Christmas party.”
I had no problem with that. “Just watch Preston tonight. Keep your minds open. We need to take that idiot down a peg or two.”
“Or ten,” Bella said. “He’s not going to make it easy.” She looked worried.
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, secretly relieved that we weren’t hiding from our friends any longer. The need to touch her in front of them had been almost impossible to squelch.
“We’re going to figure it out,” I assured her. “He’s a tool.”