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On a groan, I sank all the way into the water, trying to drown out those ugly thoughts. I wasn’t going to think about the end, not now. I was going to take this one day at a time. And today, I was luxuriating in the best bathroom in existence.
From beneath the water, I heard a muffled knock on the bathroom door, followed by Gage’s voice.
“You good in there?”
I popped my head above the surface and wiped the soapy bubbles from my face. “Yep! All good. Just about to finish up.”
I dried myself off as the bathtub drained, made quick work of my nighttime routine, and twisted my damp hair into a bun on top of my head. It was going to look like something rats nested in come morning, but I was too damn tired to deal with it tonight.
The pajamas I’d pulled from my newly acquired drawer and brought in here with me sat on the vanity Gage had designated as mine. It was the longest and had a little place for a bench to tuck into so I could sit and do my makeup. I’d stood by, silently watching as he’d gathered up all his toiletries earlier and moved them over to the sink across the bathroom, the one with less counter space, so I could have more room.
The sleep shorts and camisole I’d grabbed were the most modest sleepwear I owned—which really wasn’t saying much since pretty much all of it was tiny and revealing. It didn’t show quite as much skin as the pair Gage had seen me in the day we went ring shopping, but it was still far from chaste.
I slid the clothes on and stared at myself in the mirror. There was no hiding the fact that my nipples had decided they wanted to misbehave and were currently standing at full attention while the shorts barely covered my behind.
Usually, I wouldn’t have thought anything of what I planned to sleep in, but that was before it became clear Gage and I were going to be sharing a room for the foreseeable future. This whole situation might have been more comfortable if I’d been able to crash in one of the guest rooms, but with Marcia and Grandma Boots still comfy and cozy under the same roof, Gage and I had no choice but to bunk up if we wanted to maintain our cover.
I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous about walking out of the bathroom in my PJs in front of a guy. I felt like a virgin on prom night, for crying out loud. It wasn’t like anything was going to happen, yet it was a wonder I hadn’t taken flight, thanks to the millions of hummingbirds flapping around in my belly.
“Jesus, get your shit together, Wynn,” I scolded myself quietly. “It’s just Gage. He’s your best friend and this is nothing but another night of hanging out.”
Lifting my chin and steeling my spine, I grabbed the knob and opened the door, stepping out into Gage’s massive master bedroom. The first thing I noticed, which was impossiblenotto notice, was the darkness against the huge wall of windows across the room. When I’d gone into that bathroom earlier, the sun had just started to lower, but now the sky outside was inky black and the moon was casting a silvery-white light on the surrounding forest. It really was a spectacular view, and normally it would have been a struggle to look away, but it wasn’t the only incredible view in the room. In fact, out of the top two, it fell into second place.
First went to Gage, who was currently sitting in a large, cozy chair by the fireplace. The lamp beside him cast a golden glow over his broad, bare chest. That alone would have been sexy enough, but the book he held open in his hands and thefreaking reading glasses on his facewere enough to explode any woman’s ovaries. Seeing him sitting there like that was damn near pornographic.
“Oh come on!” I cried, throwing my hands in the air as I called out to the heavens at the injustice.
He lifted a hand and pulled the sexy-as-fuck glasses off. “What’s the matter?”
“You!” I shouted, jabbing a finger in his direction. “It’s bad enough you look like...that. All muscular and manly, but now I know you read?Andwear reading glasses?”
He arched a brow. “You’ve always known I like to read.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, my stupid nipples hard enough to cut glass. “Yeah, but I haven’t actually seen it before. And I didn’t know about the glasses. First the gray sweats. Now this,” I threw out accusingly. “It’s not fair. No human being should bethatperfect.”
He smirked, far too proud of himself. “So what you’re saying is you think I’m hot.”
I rolled my eyes and scoffed. “Oh please. You know you’re hot. You don’t need me to stroke your ego.”
Those quicksilver eyes of his grew dark as they raked down my body, oh so slowly. The distance between us felt like nothing, his gaze a physical touch. “Not sure you should be talking about it not being fair when you’re standing here looking like that.” His voice was rough and husky. If a voice could sound like sex, that was exactly what Gage Langdon’s sounded like.
I tightened my arms over my chest, trying in vain to hide what he was doing to me. If we didn’t get back on even footing, I might need to change my panties before the night was over.
Shaking off the lingering effects of his attention, I moved past him to the windows overlooking his property. “This really is the most beautiful view,” I said quietly, getting lost in the way the trees danced in the breeze, that silver glow bouncing off the leaves.
“Don’t I know it,” he replied gruffly. I didn’t turn around, knowing what I’d find if I did. I could feel his eyes boring into me from behind. If I were to look, I knew I’d find his eyes on me instead of the view beyond the glass.
I heard the book close, the sound reverberating through the room like a gunshot, followed by Gage clearing his throat. “How was your bath?”
I smiled at the glass before turning to face him. “Relaxing.” At least until it was time for me to come out of the bathroom. “Just the right amount of bubbles. Thanks for that.”
“You’re very welcome.” He placed the book he’d been reading on the small table beside his chair and pushed to standing. “So, I figured you could have the bed and I’ll take the floor. At least until Gram and Mom leave. That is, if it works for you. I know this isn’t exactly what you had in mind when you agreed to all of this, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“No way. Gage, you can’t sleep on the floor.”
He grabbed a pillow from the bed and tossed it on the stretch of floor between the bed and the windows. “It’s fine, trust me. I’d take the couch, but I don’t want to chance it if one of them gets up in the middle of the night.” He lifted his brows teasingly. “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Gram can be kind of a bloodhound.”
I let out a loud snort. “Yeah, no shit. I’ve figured that out. But still, you aren’t sleeping on the floor.” My eyes momentarily fell to his abs before shooting back up. “I know you’re still in pretty, well,excellentshape. But you’re not as young as you used to be. One night down there and you won’t be able to walk for a week.” I looked at the bed, a massive king that had more than enough room for two people. “We’re both adults. There’s no reason we can’t share a bed, right?”
