Page 10 of Ridge

“This is my home,” Poppy said as she opened her front door and gestured them inside. “It’s not big, but I already have a room prepared for you.”

Ridge’s mind was busy looking around, but it snagged on the singular room. He didn’t say anything about it, though, choosing to focus on making sure the place was safe for Kael.

They both followed her down a short hallway. She was almost bouncing on her feet when she opened the door with a flourish and stepped aside to let them in.

Ridge went in first. He looked around, satisfied quickly that no one and nothing in the room would hurt Kael. It was a simple bedroom, with a bed large enough for two, an open door that led to a small bathroom, and nothing much else. Kael would be fine here.

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything,” she said before chuckling. “Although of course, I haven’t shown you where the kitchen is yet. Do you want me to give you a small tour of the house, or do you want to unpack first? I imagine you might want to freshen up after traveling.”

“This room is for both of us?” Kael asked, making Ridge realize that it was the most likely explanation.

Poppy was still smiling. “It is. I hope it’s okay. I know it’s probably nothing like what you’re used to since you both work for the council, but it’s all I have.”

“It’s perfect,” Kael quickly said. “But we expected two rooms.”

Poppy blinked. “I didn’t think you’d want two rooms since you’re a couple. I only have one guest bedroom.”

Well, shit. Ridge might have asked for another room, but clearly, he wouldn’t get one. Where did that leave him and Kael? Kael looked incredibly uncomfortable at the thought of having to spend the next few nights with Ridge, and he didn’t even know they were mates. What did he expect Ridge to do? Ridge wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He didn’t want to make Kael uncomfortable, but he also didn’t see a way out.

Poppy had done what she thought was best, and it was sweet. Ridge didn’t want to disappoint her, and he didn’t want to discuss what was happening between them with her standing right there. He watched Kael, wondering if Kael would say something, but he just nodded, and Poppy grinned again.

“All right. I’ll leave you to it, and like I said earlier, I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything. The house isn’t big, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding it.”

“Thank you,” Kael said faintly.

He waited until the door had closed behind Poppy before turning to Ridge. “She doesn’t have a second room.”

Ridge didn’t smile, but it was a close thing. He was amused, even though he could see that Kael was slightly panicking.

“She doesn’t,” he confirmed. “She just said so.”

“That means we’re going to have to share a room.”

“Unless you want me to see if I can get a room somewhere else? Considering how small the town is, I doubt they have motels or even a bed and breakfast.” It wasn’t only because the town was small, but because this was a demon town. They wouldn’t have a bed and breakfast because they didn’t need one. The only people allowed in were the people who’d lived here all their lives.

Kael bit his lower lip and glanced at the bed. It was big enough for two, but not big enough that they wouldn’t touch each other if they shared.

“I don’t want to make Poppy feel uncomfortable,” he said.

“Why would she feel uncomfortable? Because she assumed we’re a couple?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to make her feel bad or anything. She’s nice.”

“I agree, but if you don’t want to do that, what do you want to do? She probably won’t mind finding another room. She doesn’t know us. She might be a bit flustered initially, but I’m sure she’ll understand.”

Kael looked torn. Ridge’s instincts were pushing him to solve this problem for him, but at the same time, he wanted to see what was going to happen. He hadn’t told Kael that they were mates. He knew that Kael suspected something—it was the only explanation as to why he’d been so clearly avoiding Ridge since they’d left Starhaven—but if Kael wasn’t ready to face it, Ridge was willing to give him more time. He just wasn’t sure how that would work with them stuck together in this room and with people around them assuming they were a couple. They could either go along with the assumption or explain to every single person they met that they weren’t together, which would probably make things awkward.

Ridge didn’t care either way. He didn’t care if he made people uncomfortable. Kael did, though, which meant that once again, Ridge would let him take the lead.

He eyed the bed again. He was sure Kael would be uncomfortable if they had to share, and there were no other rooms available. That left only one solution.

Ridge grabbed one of the pillows and fluffed it up. “That’s comfortable enough,” he said. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Kael’s eyes went wide. “You shouldn’t have to sleep on the floor.”

“No, but I don’t have an alternative. You don’t want me to tell Poppy that we’re not together so she can try and find me another room. She’ll know something’s up if I try sleeping on the couch, which means that the only thing we can do is share the room. Since you don’t want to share a bed, one of us will have to sleep on the floor.”

“And it has to be you?”