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She nodded, let him help her out of the car, and wandered about the large living room of the house while he booked them into the last vacant room. It had a couch that would do for him.
She didn’t even notice the honeymoon feel to the Rose Garden room. She stumbled to the bed and barely got her shoes off before collapsing on it and curling in on herself.
“Can I get you anything?”
“Maybe they have a hot water bottle.”
In the time it took him to phone and ask, she was on her knees in the bathroom heaving.
When she got in the shower, he went back to the car to retrieve his go-bag from the trunk. It was made up with everything they would need in the extreme case they had to run. He’d pass the girl stuff off as Rory’s and hope Fin was too exhausted to care how she was presented with toiletries and fresh clothing that fit.
When the shower stopped running, he knocked on the bathroom door. “I have something you can wear to sleep in.” The door opened a crack, and she put her hand out. He put a soft cotton T-shirt and tiny shorts, a new toothbrush and toothpaste in her hand and backed off.
A moment later, she appeared. “Where did you get these? Her hair was wet, and she was pale still, but now there were two unhealthy red stripes painted across her cheekbones and dark smudges under her eyes.
He gestured to the open bag. “I keep gear in the car in case I want to stay over anywhere. Those are Rory’s. I must’ve forgotten to remove her stuff.”
That was the first deliberate, outright lie he’d told her. Their whole relationship was built on deception but not directly spoken lies—until now.
Fin looked at the bed. “There’s only one.”
“I noticed.” He moved past her to the bathroom and opened drawers till he found a hairdryer, brought it out into the bedroom and plugged it in. “You can’t go to bed with wet hair.”
She had no argument left in her. She stood while he used the dryer on her hair, letting it curl and tangle, not bothering to brush it. He had no expertise at this, but she didn’t object. When it was dry enough, he turned the bed down, and she crawled in and turned on her side.
“Did they have a hot water bottle?”
“No, baby, they didn’t.”
She sighed. “It’s okay.”
“You sleep. I’m going down to the living room, read for a bit. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He got as far as the door.
“I’m going to pass out in five minutes. It’s a big bed. You can sleep in it, too. I won’t even know you’re here.”
She was a huddled lump under the covers, her back to him. He turned the old-fashioned knob on the door. He wasn’t getting into bed with her. He valued his sanity too much. “I’ll go read for a bit.”
“You can stay here and read.”
He didn’t have a book, and he didn’t want her to think he had any predatory thoughts after securing a hotel room with one bed.
“Is there another blanket? I’m freezing.”
It wasn’t a cold night, and she’d been sweating earlier.
“I’ll think there’s something permanently wrong with me if you leave me alone in another hotel room.”
Ah hell, that stung. He felt the weight of her words heavy on the back of his neck. He closed the door and locked it, walked around the bed and stood in front o
f her. “I’ll stay but go to sleep.”
“You know what would make me feel better?”
She was a little pale face tucked into the quilt. He couldn’t deny her anything.
“If you came to bed, now.”
Except that was severely testing his endurance. “You really want me to get into bed with you?”
