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“Just taking off my pants. I have boxers on, and I can’t sleep with—”
“Please don’t!” The jangling stopped, followed by a slight ruffle.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” she thanked him, still sitting up.
He mumbled a few quick words in Romanian. Her eyes remained on his dark figure as he moved through the room to a spot on the floor a good distance away from the bed—which wasn’t that far, honestly.
She lay back on the bed, trying to relax. There was no way he could have slept on this bed, she thought to herself as she moved her hand just a few inches to the side and touched the hard wooden frame.Definitely not.
Except for the creaking of the old wooden house, the room was silent.He’s still awake,Olivia thought to herself as she listened to his slow breaths.
“I’m sorry about today,” he said. She heard a slight ruffle and imagined him stirring on the floor. “I’m sure if I had a website for my tour guide services, you’d probably give me one star. Or maybe two, if I’m lucky.”
“Maybe two and a half, at most,” Olivia said, and he chuckled.
“I wouldn’t want to read the review,” he said.
“Yeah? Why not? You think I’d be brutal?”
“Mm-hmm. If I’m going to get two and a half stars, I might as well do what I want tomorrow,” he said in a teasing voice, and they both laughed.
The laughter died down after a few seconds, and the silence kicked in again. She waited for him to speak, squirming slightly on the bed.
“What about your family? Why did you come alone?” he asked.
My family. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Dead. In heaven, maybe. I don’t know. But yeah, they’re dead. My parents died in a car accident.”
“That’s terrible,” Christian said. “I’m sorry, Olivia. I truly am.”
She pinched the blanket, feeling the warm, soft fabric between her fingers. “It’s been years now; I still miss them, but I manage pretty well.”
“Death is . . . well, it’s one of the craziest anomalies in the word.”
“Philosopher mode, huh?” she said trying to lift the mood. She hated it when people pitied her. “But yes, nature is flawed.”
“I have my moments,” he added with a chuckle. “I lost my dad too, and now I dread the day I’ll lose my mom as well.” His voice was low now, serious. “I know you shouldn’t think about things like that, but it’s hard to just push away the thought if you’ve already seen a loved one go.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. So, it’s only you and your mom now?” Olivia asked, lifting her head and squinting through the mass of black in order to see him.
“No, I have sisters. Four beautiful sisters.”
She could practically feel the joy in his voice. It was charming. “Four! Wow.”
“Yeah. My mom and dad loved each other a lot. Literally,” he joked.
Olivia felt the heat rush into her cheeks.
“Carter,” Christian said.
“Hmm?” she mumbled.
“That’s an American name, right? Carter.”
“Yes. My mom was Romanian, and my dad was American.”
