“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning,Benjamin,” Sienna replied sweetly, dragging out his name like she was stirring honey into her tea.
I elbowed her as subtly as I could while shooting Ben a tight-lipped smile. “You can go ahead and grab a shower. I’ll check on breakfast.”
Ben paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked at me, just for a second. It wasn’t a long look, but it had weight. Last night shimmered in his eyes, along with warmth, heat, and the tiniest hint of mischief.
Then he nodded and headed up the stairs.
I turned just in time for Sienna’s face toexplodewith suppressed delight.
“Oh. My.God,” she hissed, her eyes wide as moons. “You did not.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, breezing past her and straightening the flower arrangement on the front table like my life depended on it.
“Oh, yousoknow what I’m talking about. You and Mr. Grumpy-Pants disappeared into the wilds and returned looking like two people who either wrestled a bear or—”
“Don’t.”
“—each other.”
I pressed a hand to my forehead. “You arenotallowed to turn this into a thing.”
“It’s already a thing!” she whisper-squealed. “Did you see his face? He looked like a man who had just discovered warm bread and indoor plumbing.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Sienna, it’s because we were stranded in the middle of nowhere for twenty-four hours, and he did just discover indoor plumbing and warm bread.”
She leaned forward with a sly grin. “So, when’s the wedding?”
I groaned and turned on my heel, heading straight for the kitchen. “If you need me, I’ll be pretending I’m just a small-town innkeeper who definitely didnotjust spoon her guest in the woods.”
Behind me, I could hear her cackling like the absolute menace she was.
And God help me…
I was grinning too.
Because for once?
Sienna’s wild assumptions weren’t completely off the mark.
And that might’ve been the scariest, and best, part.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ben
The hot water beat down on my back, hissing against my skin like it was trying to burn the night off me.
It didn’t work.
Fifi’s laughter still echoed in my ears.
So did the feel of her skin, and her breathy little hums. I loved the way she curled into me like I was safety and fire all at once.
And the worst part?
I let it happen.
