‘It’s just his way of showing affection,’ Hannah said to her when Tank had released her and turned his attention to sparring goodbye to Kit. ‘It means he likes you.’
‘It was such a lovely day,’ Romy said. ‘Congratulations again.’
Hannah pulled her into a heartfelt hug, but as she let her go, something passed across her face that reminded Romy of the look Ethan had just given her.
She brushed it aside as Kit took her hand, his fingers interlacing with hers as they made their way out of the room. She wanted to scream every time they were stopped by someone wanting to talk to them on their way to the door. Kit’s little touches were the only thing just about keeping her grounded, his thumb stroking over the back of her hand or his arm wrapping around her, squeezing her to his side as they made small talk. Still, she was in a frenzy of desire by the time they made it out to the lobby and were finally heading for the lifts, the throb of music fading behind them.
This was it, Romy thought as Kit pressed the button for the lift, his other arm going around her and pulling her closer as they waited. She knew something was going to happen, excitement curling deep in her stomach as they stepped into the lift. Kit pushed the button for their floor and she turned to him, expecting him to kiss her as soon as the doors closed. Instead, he released her hand as the doors swished shut and leaned back against the wall of the lift, putting a little more distance between their bodies.
Romy tried to quell the crushing disappointment she felt. He probably didn’t want to start shagging her in the lift like some movie cliché. He was right, she told herself, it was better to wait until they got to the room. Once they were safely behind closed doors, they could really let it rip. She was an adult. She could wait a few minutes to be ravished, though she was practically hopping from foot to foot as she counted off the numbers of the floors. Thank goodness it was a low building!
Kit walked ahead of her down the corridor and slipped the keycard into the door, and she followed behind, fully expecting him to grab her as soon as they got inside. Kit closed the door and slid the keycard into the slot for the lights, then threw himself on the bed with a loud exhale.
‘Well, that went well, I thought,’ he said, leaning against the headboard with his hands behind his head, his legs stretched out in front of him. ‘Did you enjoy yourself?’
‘Yeah, it was great,’ Romy mumbled, thrown off by Kit’s sudden change of demeanour. Downstairs, he had seemed ready to devour her. It was like he couldn’t wait to get her up here alone and start ripping their clothes off. Now he was lying there on the bed and she was standing stupidly by the door not knowing what to do with herself, all worked up with nowhere to go. How did that happen?
‘Do you want to go to bed right away?’ he asked, sitting up to remove his jacket and slinging it on the end of the bed.
Romy hesitated, not sure how to answer that. There was nothing seductive in the way he asked and, somehow, she got the feeling that he wasn’t suggesting sex. She just wanted to get back to where they’d been before they came upstairs. ‘I’m not that tired,’ she said. ‘I just need to get out of these boots and into something more comfortable.’ Yes, that was it! She would ‘slip into something more comfortable’ – the oldest, corniest seduction trick in the book.
‘Great! Fancy something from the mini bar?’ Kit asked, getting off the bed and opening the little fridge.
‘Mmm, I’ll have a bottle of white wine if there’s one in there,’ she said, taking off her boots and sighing with relief as her feet sank into the soft, thick carpet. ‘Could you help me with the zip on this?’ she asked, going to where he was hunkered down by the mini bar and turning her back to him, sweeping her hair out of the way over one shoulder.
‘Sure.’ She felt him stand behind her, and then his fingers barely touching her as he slid the zip down, stopping at the small of her back, though it went right down to the top of her bum.
‘Thanks.’ She stood still for a moment, hoping to feel his hands on her bare skin as he turned her around and pulled her into his arms.
‘Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc?’
She turned to find him hunkered down again, peering into the fridge.
‘Um … Pinot Grigio, please,’ she mumbled. And a bucket of cold water, she added in her head. Maybe there would be some ice in there that she could throw over herself. ‘Well, I’ll just … get changed,’ she said, heading for the bathroom.
Once inside, she leaned on the sink surround, her head in her hands, and wondered where it had all gone wrong. Had she misread the signals? There was no doubt that Kit had been blatantly flirting with her all night, but maybe that was just how he was. Or was he simply doing it to keep up the pretence that they were a couple? Yet it had felt so real … she couldn’t believe she had imagined the desire in his eyes and the passion of his kisses. Then, suddenly, she remembered his promise that he would be a gentleman and keep his hands off her while they shared a room. Could that be what was holding him back? If so, she just needed to show him that she was up for it. There was only one thing for it.
She wasn’t going to let this hotel room or her sexy underwear go to waste without a fight. She had to give this vanilla seduction one last try. She stripped off her dress and looked at herself in the mirror, piling her hair up on top of her head and trying out a sexy pout. Damn it, she looked hot. And Kit was a man. He was hardly going to refuse sex if she offered herself to him on a plate, was he?
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and walked back into the bedroom. Kit was lying on the bed, flicking through the channels on the TV. He had removed his shoes and tie, and his shirt was open halfway down.
‘I’ve poured your wine,’ he said, patting the bed beside him without taking his eyes off the TV.
Romy crawled onto the bed. ‘Thanks,’ she said, reaching for the glass on the nightstand. The wine was lovely and cold and she gulped a mouthful gratefully. Then she put the glass down and very slowly and deliberately leaned down and kissed Kit on the lips.
‘Oh.’ He pecked her lips in return and finally dragged his eyes from the TV and turned to look at her, his eyes widening as he took in her underwear. ‘Didn’t you bring anything to sleep in?’
‘Well, I …’
‘Why don’t you get in?’ he said, pulling back the duvet and patting the space beside him. ‘You’ll get cold.’
Romy got into the bed uncertainly and Kit piled up pillows behind her, smiling at her as he tucked the duvet around her until she was mummified up to her neck. ‘There, that’s better, isn’t it?’
He turned his attention back to the TV, oblivious to Romy’s dismay at suddenly finding herself bundled up like a toddler. ‘Oh look, Friends,’ he said. ‘Want to watch that?’
‘Sure.’
As the familiar theme tune filled the room, he put his arm around her and pulled her close, snuggling her against him as he relaxed back against the pillows with a satisfied sigh. ‘This is just like old times, isn’t it?’ he said.
‘Yeah,’ Romy said weakly, returning his smile. But it wasn’t. It was nothing like old times.
Chapter Seventeen
Romy woke early the next morning, feeling restless and edgy. After Kit had joined her in bed last night, she had lain awake for what felt like hours, twitching with frustration. She had slept fitfully, the events of the evening on a constant loop in her brain. Her mind raced as she went over what had happened again and again, and tried to figure out what it meant.
Kit was still sleeping peacefully beside her, snoring gently. She picked up her phone from the nightstand and checked the time. It was only seven-thirty, and it would probably be hours yet before anyone else surfaced, but there was no chance of getting back to sleep. She was too fidgety to stay in bed any longer so she decided to get up and go for a walk. She needed exercise to calm her thoughts and to work off some of her pent-up energy and frustration. A shower could wait until later, she thought, pulling back the duvet and sliding out of bed – she didn�
�t want to risk waking Kit by rattling around in the bathroom. She dressed quickly in the dark, relieved to be back in the comfort of jeans and a sweatshirt after glamming it up yesterday. Then she let herself out of the room quietly and walked down the hushed corridor.
Outside, it was a beautiful crisp winter’s morning, the grass dusted with a light coating of sparkling frost that shone in the darkness. She set off at a fast pace across the lawn away from the hotel, feeling better already as she breathed in lungfuls of the fresh morning air. There was no one around and she relished the feeling of having the world to herself for a while. Her mind wandered as she walked, her thoughts soon drifting back to the previous night and Kit.
How could she have got it so wrong? Chuckling to herself, she thought of her efforts to seduce him with her sexy underwear, only to have him smother her in bedclothes and cosy up with her to watch TV, completely immune to her semi-naked charms. When Kit had asked her to be his fake girlfriend, he had meant it. He just wanted her as camouflage. Last night he had been playing a part, and he had assumed she was too. He just happened to be very convincing, and somewhere along the way she had forgotten they were faking it and had let her libido run away with her.
Now in the calm of the morning, she was able to get some perspective. She could even see the funny side – though she still cringed a little at her ridiculous attempts to get off with him. God, what had she been thinking? At least she’d ruled out the BDSM thing. But the vanilla seduction had been a total bust. Did that mean Kit was gay? She knew Lesley would think so, but Lesley hadn’t spent a night with him in a wardrobe. Maybe he was bisexual …
Anyway, it didn’t matter, she thought, as she started heading back towards the hotel. Though one thing was for sure – whatever Kit was into, he wasn’t interested in doing it with her. So that was that. At least she knew where she stood, and she found she didn’t mind. Some sex would have been nice, but other than that … she realised she just didn’t feel that way about Kit anymore.
It was light by the time she retraced her steps, the sun bright in a clear blue sky. Following the stream, she came to the little wooden bridge leading to the chapel. A few ribbons still clung to its posts, fluttering in the light morning breeze. As she turned in the direction of the hotel, she realised she wasn’t the only person up and about. A lone figure was sitting on one of the benches across from the bridge. He was bent over, his arms resting on his knees, but as she drew closer, she saw that it was Ethan. He looked up as she approached.
‘Good morning.’ He smiled up at her, shielding his eyes from the low sun.
‘Morning.’ She slid onto the bench beside him.
‘You’re up early,’ he commented.
‘Yeah, I didn’t sleep very well.’
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, studying her face intently.
‘Yes, I’m fine,’ she said, brushing off his concern. ‘I guess it’s just sleeping in a strange bed, and missing Luke.’ She couldn’t very well tell him the real reason – sexual frustration, head spinning after your brother rejected my advances. ‘So what’s your excuse?’
He shrugged. ‘I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I went for a run.’
‘Wow, that was very energetic of you. Kit’s still sleeping like the dead – at least, he was when I got up.’
‘Yeah, Sinead’s the same.’
Literally shagged out probably, Romy thought, after a thorough seeing-to last night. Lucky thing! ‘So, it was a good night last night, wasn’t it?’ she said, drawing her feet up onto the bench and wrapping her arms around her knees.
‘It was. Though I have one major regret.’
‘Oh? What’s that?’
‘That I didn’t get to dance with you.’
‘Oh! Yeah, that was a startling omission.’
‘It really was. My younger self would be disgusted with me for letting the opportunity go by.’ He shook his head ruefully.
‘That’s very sweet of him. But maybe it’s just as well. Your girlfriend mightn’t have been too happy about it.’
‘Sinead? She’s not the jealous type. Anyway, she’s not my girlfriend. She’s just … someone I hang out with.’
‘And you hang out with her in bed?’
His answer was a sheepish grin. ‘Sometimes.’
She grinned back, rolling her eyes. ‘Anyway, I hope your younger self isn’t too upset with you.’
‘Oh, he is. He’s outraged. You were in my top three, you know.’
She smiled. ‘Wow, I’m flattered.’
‘Yep, you were up there with Jennifer Aniston and Lara Croft.’
‘In what order?’
‘First you, then Jennifer, then Lara.’
‘You don’t have to say I was number one just because I’m here. I can handle losing out to those two.’
‘No, it’s true. That was the order.’
‘I can’t believe Lara Croft came last! I’m impressed. That seems very mature of you.’
‘Well, I think it went in order of realness. Lara was really fit, obviously—’
‘Obviously.’
‘Very hot. But she was just a graphic image. Jennifer Aniston is a real person—’
‘But you only ever saw her on TV.’
‘Exactly. Whereas you,’ he said, eyeballing her, ‘you were a real live girl, walking around our house in 3D. I could speak to you and you’d answer me! It was very exciting.’ He shook his head, smiling.
Romy laughed. ‘Well, I can see why your younger self would be mad at you.’
‘He may never forgive me.’
‘I wish there was some way we could make it up to him.’
‘Maybe there is,’ he said, getting up off the bench. He stood in front of her and held out his hand.
‘What? You want to dance? Here?’ She looked around. There was still no one else outside.
‘Why not?’ He grinned.
She wasn’t exactly dressed for dancing – but then neither was he.
‘Come on, this is a big deal for me,’ he said when she hesitated. ‘Imagine if you got to be with someone from your laminated list.’
‘Well, when you put it like that …’ She took his hand and stood up slowly. ‘We don’t have any music.’
‘Ah!’ he said, raising a finger in the air. He dug into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out an iPod.
‘Very smooth,’ Romy said while he turned it on and began scrolling through songs. ‘Young Ethan would be proud. You might redeem yourself in his eyes yet. Or maybe not,’ she added, giggling as he took ages to choose a track.
‘Don’t rush me, woman,’ he growled. ‘This is a big moment for me. It has to be right.’
Romy dug her hands into her pockets and waited.
‘Okay, here we go.’ He stretched out the earphones, and placed one of the buds in his ear and the other in hers. Then he took one of her hands, placing his other hand on her waist, and raised his eyebrows questioningly.
Romy nodded, wrapping her free arm around his back as the opening bars of REM’s ‘I’ve Been High’ filled her head. ‘I love this song,’ she said.
‘I’m not a very good dancer, by the way,’ he whispered quickly as they began to move slowly together.
‘That’s okay.’
They looked at each other in silence as they shuffled around on the grass, occasionally exchanging little smiles. As the music swelled, Ethan let go of her hand, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. Romy laid her head against the solid wall of his chest with a contented sigh. As she relaxed against his body, she forgot their surroundings, losing herself in the music and just enjoying the feel of Ethan’s arms around her. She didn’t want it to end.
When the music stopped, they stood in each other’s arms for a moment, still connected by the thin wire of the headphones, neither of them moving to pull away. Romy lifted her head with difficulty. She felt like she was just waking up from a lovely sleep.
‘Damn,’ Ethan breathed, ‘I should have picked
a longer song.’ He shot her a look that made her breath hitch.
God, he was an accomplished flirt, Romy thought. No wonder he’d got so many girls lining up to sleep with him. ‘Well, that was … nice,’ she said softly, pulling away. ‘Do you think your younger self is appeased?’
‘Yes, I think he’s pretty chuffed with me right now.’ He smiled smugly, gently removing the earphones before releasing her. ‘Thank you.’ He dropped a kiss on her forehead.
‘You’re welcome.’ She shoved her hands in her pockets, suddenly feeling awkward. ‘Well, I suppose I should go and have a shower.’
‘Yeah, me too,’ he said, but made no move to go.
Finally she turned to leave, but he stopped her with a hand on her elbow. ‘Romy, can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’
He swallowed hard, appearing nervous. ‘You and Kit …’ he began hesitantly, and Romy’s heart plummeted. ‘You’re not really together, are you?’
‘What?’ She looked at him sharply. ‘What makes you say that?’
‘That’s not an answer.’
‘I said you could ask me a question. I didn’t say I’d answer it.’
‘Hmm. I think maybe you just did,’ he said with a gentle smile.
‘No! I didn’t—’ she started to protest, but she was interrupted by his phone chiming with a text alert. He pulled it out of his pocket to read the message.
Damn! Why hadn’t she just automatically said that of course she and Kit were together? She could have said that they’d slept together last night and it wouldn’t even have been a lie. Instead, she’d increased his suspicions. But he’d caught her off guard. It was one thing pretending to be Kit’s girlfriend, but she hadn’t been prepared to be called out on it. She had no idea that Ethan wasn’t buying it – or Hannah, she guessed. That would explain the strange looks they’d been giving her, and their whispered words on Thanksgiving. They knew she was a fake girlfriend, just like Lauren and the others before her.
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