AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not at all.”
And just like that, he was cheery Mr. Fake Date again in a flash, taking both my suitcase and his and walking us to the cottage. I steamed the whole way there. I was angry at myself for falling for this award-winning actor. And for the level of sarcasm I hurled at him in my own mind. But mostly, I was angry at myself for also being irrationally angry athim.
When Zac unlocked the door of the cottage and we stepped inside, however, all I felt was guilt. The couch was nothing more than a love seat. And not even a comfy one. It was one of those wooden ones with thin cushions against the back and bottom. It would probably be terrible if Grayson had to sleep on it, let alone the six-foot hunk of a Marine looking down at it like he was trying to figure out how to get out of this mess he’d stepped in.
“This will be great. If anything, I’ll line the cushions on the floor and make a pallet,” Beau said, all charm.
I swallowed. “Great.”
“Who’s hungry?” Zac asked, coming through the door with a bag of fast food and a cardboard container of milkshakes.
“Me,” Grayson replied, running for a milkshake.
I wasn’t the slightest bit hungry. I wasthis closeto crawling out of my skin. Or maybe calling this whole thing off and taking an Uber the two hours back to Bluffton. But I pushed all of that down and made it through dinner, feeling a little better after I got some food in me.
Later, after I’d gone outside to read on the patio, Beau came and sat down next to me without a word, taking out his own book. It reminded me of our time together in Louisiana—the way I’d spent the whole time there trying to decide if we could actually make this work between us even though I wanted to respect his choice not to try.
And that only made me feel worse.
I wasn’t angry at Beau. I was angry at the situation.
I looked up, intending to apologize to him for the way I’d been acting—even though I wasn’t even sure if he’d noticed—but then I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and gasped.
“What?” he asked, closing his book and looking behind us. “Oh, crap.”
Oh, crapwas right. That giant milkshake that Zac had admitted might be a little too much for Grayson to finish was now absolutelycoveringthe cushions of the love seat that was trying to pass for a couch.
“It’s okay,” Beau said, holding his hand in the air between us. “Look, Layla’s already cleaning it up. I’ll put a towel down if I need to.”
“Are you sure? That couch is so tiny… and now dirty. I feel really bad.”
“No worries. It’s not like I’m gonna makeyousleep there.”
He hadn’t said it, but I’d heard what he’d meant. It wasn’t like there was anywhere else for him to sleep. You know, since he sure wouldn’t want to sleep in the same bed as me since this is fake, so that would be weird.
I turned back to my book and chose to focus on the love story between two people whose obstacles were sure to be solved by the end. An hour later, my alarm went off on my watch, telling me it was time to get ready for bed so I wouldn’t be tired tomorrow.
“I’m gonna head to bed,” I told Beau, standing.
He stretched his long arms over his head, causing the hem of his polo to ride up just enough that I needed to quickly avert my gaze. “Me too. You’re gonna shower, right?”
“Yeah.”
We headed into the cottage, and he gestured to the bathroom on my side of the living area. “Mind if I brush my teeth and stuff real quick before you get in there? I’ll be fast.”
“Go for it.”
He nodded and grabbed his toiletry bag, then headed into the bathroom while I went for my room. I dug around in my suitcase, tryingnotto look at how absolutely massive this bed was compared to the rickety couch Beau would be sleeping on tonight.
“Hey, check out this tub,” he called from the bathroom.
Curious, I went down the hall, leaning against the doorframe. A white claw-foot tub sat in the corner of the room, its gold fixtures and feet gleaming in the light from the Edison bulbs over the sink. “Pretty.”
“You should skip the shower and put it to good use. You can bring a book in here and relax. Total vacation vibes.”
“Ew, I’ll pass,” I blurted, then instantly regretted it.
Slowly, he turned around, his toothbrush halfway to his lips. “Ew?”
