Page 47 of My Temptation

“A little the first night, but after that, it was like sleeping beside a brother.”

With only a nod, I grabbed the bags we dropped and put them against the wall, ensuring they were out of the way. This was not going to be like sleeping next to my sister. I’d done that when we were young and went camping, but I already knew this would be nothing like that.

Mila grabbed her bag and gestured toward the bathroom. “Care if I use the bathroom first?”

“No, go ahead.” I dropped my duffel bag on the bed and dug around until I found a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I usually only slept in my underwear, but that wasn’t an option. It would be hard enough sleeping next to her.

Within a few minutes, she walked out of the bathroom, and without a glance, I moved past her and went in, closing the door behind me. It was obvious she’d been in these situations before. She handled it better than I was, but she wasn’t attracted to me. I had a feeling that if I hadn’t been attracted to her, it wouldn’t have felt like I was walking into my worst nightmare.

I changed, brushed my teeth, and turned off the light before walking into the room, which was dark. I stumbled over something but caught myself by grabbing the dresser's edge.

Before I could say anything, Mila spoke. “Sorry. I guess I should’ve left the light on. It was habit to shut it off.”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see the outline of the bed and Mila lying on her side facing the doors leading out to the balcony. Pulling back the covers, I climbed in and settled on my back, staring at the shadows on the ceiling. This was a king-sized bed, so if we stayed on our sides, we wouldn’t touch each other throughout the night. But just knowing she slept beside me was a problem.

“Night.”

I closed my eyes when her soft voice sounded in the dark room and tried picturing anything else to distract myself. When my sister and niece came to mind, I slowly smiled. “Night.”

14

MILA

I couldn’t remember the last time I slept so well or so long. I didn’t wake up this morning until after eight, but I woke to an empty bed, telling me that Ethan was an early riser. I immediately smiled when I smelled the coffee before throwing the covers from my body and finding the Keurig machine sitting on top of a small refrigerator. Grabbing a cup, I brewed my coffee and added the powdered creamer the hotel must provide, considering we didn’t bring anything. Turning, I looked out the sliding doors and saw the back of Ethan while he leaned on the railing. He must’ve been up for a while, considering he was already dressed and his hair was damp. When my stomach growled, I took another sip of coffee and headed to the bathroom.

Moving quickly and efficiently, I showered and was ready to go within a half hour. I didn’t need much time, but I spent a little extra in the shower, just enjoying the hot water after having not showered for over a day. I really wanted to shower last night but after talking to Kyle, I was too tired to motivate myself, so I just went to bed.

Opening the door, I stepped out and noticed Ethan sitting on the edge of the bed. “I looked for hotels and even called a few, but nothing’s available.”

I grinned. “Good morning to you too.”

“Yeah,” he muttered but was tapping away on his phone.

“I can call the front desk and ask if there are any rooms with two doubles,”?I suggested, assuming he wasn’t in the mood for joking.

“Already did.” He frowned. “They said there’s nothing this week. Apparently, Kyle was right, and the festival draws a huge crowd, including the locals who usually show up for the events at the lake. That must’ve been why he said to go to the lake.”

“That could be good for us. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and this festival is something Samson actually attends.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“Hungry?” I asked when my stomach growled again.

“Definitely.” He gestured toward the door. “We eating here or somewhere else?”

“It’s probably good to drive somewhere, maybe find a place where the locals go. We’re not going to see Samson here at the hotel.”

“Good point.” He grabbed the SUV keys from the table, and we headed for the elevators.

The doors slid open, and we stepped inside, coming face-to-face with a couple. “Morning.”

“Morning,” I replied with a smile.

“I’m Jenny”—the woman smiled and gestured to the man beside her—“and this is my husband, Carl.”

Still smiling, I nodded but couldn’t help wondering if everyone was this friendly. That seemed odd to me. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m April, and this is Joe.”

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