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I’M IN A GREAT MOOD as we head to dinner. The restaurant is less than a mile away, so we walk. The food is decent and the ambience aggressively country. We have a good time and laugh a lot and split a bottle of the only red wine they have stocked.
We take our time strolling back to the bed-and-breakfast, and it’s after ten by the time we get back to the room. I’m tired but happy as I brush my teeth, go through my skin-care routine, and change into a pair of cotton pajamas pants—pale blue with snowflakes on them—and a tank top.
I glance at myself before I leave the bathroom. My hair is brushed straight and shiny, and my skin is clean and slightly flushed. My pajamas are comfortable rather than sexy, but my boobs aren’t exactly small, and the curve of them is obvious through the thin fabric of my tank.
With a shrug, I tell myself there’s nothing I can do about that. There’s nothing inappropriate about what I’m wearing, and Chase isn’t likely to notice my body much anyway.
At least he never seems to have noticed it much before.
Except that morning when we saved the bird. He noticed it then.
I push the thought away and walk back out to the bedroom. Chase has been checking in on his grandmother.
“All right, Grandma,” he says when he sees me come out. “I promise everything is going good and I’m having a good time.” He pauses while she responds. Then adds, “Yes, Paige is having a good time too.” Another pause. “Yes, I’m doing that.... Yes, I mean it. Good night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I’m curious about her final questions, but he offers no explanation when he ends the call. He heads into the bathroom, and I take that opportunity to climb into bed, turning on my bedside lamp and pulling out my e-reader.
Chase comes out a few minutes later.
I’m trying to act casual about sharing a room with him, so I only briefly glance in his direction.
Then I twitch and look back.
He’s wearing red flannel pajamas with reindeer on them. Top and bottom.
I fall into helpless giggles as he gives me a bewildered look.
“You’re going to get hot as hell in those things tonight,” I tell him.
“I know,” he admits, folding down his sheet and covers. “This shirt will probably be coming off.”
“I’m going to read for a while, but you can turn on the TV if you want. It won’t bother me.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I know it’s kind of early for bed. You don’t have to go to bed when I do.”
“I don’t mind. It’s been a long day. But I’ll watch some TV if it really won’t bother you. I don’t mind watching on my phone.”
“No need. I’ve got great focus and powers of concentration.”
He chuckles. “I know you do.”
For about an hour, I read and he watches TV. Then he turns it off, and I switch off the light.
We’re both still awake. Lying in bed in the same room. I can hear him breathe occasionally. Shift position under the covers.
I lie very still.
“You’re having a good time, aren’t you?” he asks into the silence.
I’m surprised enough to ask him honestly. “Yes. I’ve had a great day. Haven’t you?”
“Yeah. I have too. Just making sure. I know I wasn’t your first choice for this trip.”
It takes a minute for me to work out a response to that comment. “No. You weren’t. But I was wrong about Brian. And the truth is I’m almost positive I’m going to have a better time on this trip with you than I would with him.”
“Yeah?”
