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I laugh, pushing him lightly. “Carter!”
“Okay, okay! I was kidding, that’s fine.”
I smile. “Wonderful. I’m going to use the bathroom to get ready for bed.”
I head into the bathroom and do as I say. I jump into the shower to rinse the day off. I feel the entire day wash away, but I smile as I clean up, thinking of the spa, the yoga, and the surprise of the catamaran. Carter’s thoughtfulness from today has made me feel special, and the thought we’re going to sleep in the same bed tonight suddenly has me nervous.
I said it was no big deal, but maybe I was lying to myself.
When I get out of the shower, I finish up my bathroom time and make my way out of the room, Carter already lying down.
“Bathroom’s open if you need it,” I tell him, pointing over my shoulder.
“Yeah, just a few minutes.”
He jumps up and runs into the bathroom, and I stretch out on the bed, so comfortable on this soft mattress and sheets. I can’t believe all this time working here, and I really had no idea how wonderful these rooms are.
Carter comes back out after only five minutes, and he quite literallyjumpsinto the bed, making me break into laughter.
“You’re right, this is comfortable!” Carter announces, moving around so much that I can’t keep my body still.
“Stop it!” I’m still cackling, unable to stop. I might have started off with the jokes, but Carter has learned a thing or two from me. The student becomes the master.
“Can you imagine if your bed was this soft?” he asks after he calms down.
“No,” I say honestly. “I can’t imagine. It’s heavenly. Just like today was.”
Carter turns on his side and I match him, the two of us making eye contact. “Yeah?” he asks, eyes sparkling.
I nod. “I really enjoyed everything you did. The surprises and the thoughtfulness you showed just really meant a lot to me. Thank you, Carter.”
Before I realize what I’m doing, I lean over and kiss him. I don’t know what I’m thinking, but I feel my eyes widen and I flip over to face the wall.
Shit, shit, shit!My brain is screaming at me, and I’m so embarrassed for doing that that I don’t move or make a sound. I mean, we’re not actually together. We’re not married. Kissing each other in front of other people is one thing, but this isn’t something we do. Giving a goodnight kiss to your fake husband is going to raise a few questions, and I feel my heart thrashing in my chest. I didn’t mean to do it, my brain just made it seem natural.
God, all this time together must be too confusing for my brain to handle.
I don’t hear Carter do anything, but it’s only a few minutes before I hear easy, quiet snoring from beside me. I turn slowly, and I see Carter on his back, dead asleep. He really must be wiped out.
I turn onto my back as well, staring up at the ceiling, realizing I’m alone with my thoughts.
Carter’s a good guy. And I like him. I think I like him more than I realized. It explains why the little things he does makes my stomach clench, or why I enjoy laughing and joking with him. Not to mention how kind he always is to me.
I look down at my engagement ring. He bought me this, and he said that I deserved it. Does that mean anything, or just that he’s grateful to me for helping him? I don’t know. It’s a perfect ring, and I didn’t think too hard about it before. But now that I’ve kissed him?
Okay. I need to calm down. He didn’t say anything when I kissed him. No complaints, no arguments, nothing. He literallyfell asleep. So, there are no problems here, then!
I look over at Carter again, still snoring very lightly.
I have to go with this. Just for the week at least. I mean, he didn’t seem to care, so why should I? At this point, I don’t know where the line between us is, and I don’t care. If he’s not going to care about me giving him a kiss, then I won’t obsess over it the way I want to. We’re havingfun, we’re enjoying one another’s company, and we have genuinely become friends.
I’m having a great time, and it was only the first day. I know he’s enjoying his time, too. So, whatever. He pulled me into his arms on the boat. He’s been showing affection to me the whole time. And you know what, it’s been nice. I like the feeling of someone actually showing me how he feels. I’m not going to stop now.
Carter rolls onto his side, and I notice that he is now facing me. I turn my head to look at my fake husband. If he’s not going to worry about how we act this week, then I’m not either. We agreed that we were able to do this. I’m not about to let things change just because I accidentally kissed him. We’re fake married. A goodnight kiss makes sense.
I close my eyes to try and sleep, and a memory comes back to me. We promised we’d remain friends. He listened to all of my fears and worries. And the fact that he was okay making that promise should show me that things are fine, that they’ll be alright.
As long as we both keep our feelings in check, as long as I keep my heart safe, then we’ll be okay.
