Page 64 of Starlight Bay

“Ha freaking ha.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I guess we’ll sleep together. In one bed.” I looked at the inviting queen bed, perfectly made up with a fluffy white duvet, then glanced down at the hard, wood floor. “Because I’m not spending a week sleeping on the floor.”

“And I’d never ask you to,” Nick said, stepping towards me, his hands circling my waist.

“Well, aren’t you the consummate gentleman?” I scoffed, gazing up at him.

“Always.” He bent down and kissed me again, a little longer and harder this time. I didn’t pull away, heat flashing through me. I couldn’t decide if the warmth was from excitement or aggravation. All I knew for sure was this situation just got a lot riskier.

“No pictures, Milton,” I said, breaking away and locking my eyes on his. “I need to keep my job.”

He nodded. “Agreed. I won’t post anything to social media. The entire week.”

“Me neither. From now until Christmas, we’re off the grid.”

“Sounds good. It’s just the two of us, home with my family in Starlight Bay for the holidays. No media, no press. No one needs to know.”

“Perfect. After Christmas, we’re back to business.”

“That’s the deal.”

“Okay. As long as we have that straight.”

“Loud and clear, Syd.” He stepped away from me, scrubbing a hand through his sandy hair, and my chest tightened.

WTF?That was our deal, so why did hearing him say it out loud leave me feeling so depressed?

CHAPTER 4

NICK

“Nick! The tea’s on!” My mom’s voice drifted up the stairs. Sydney smoothed down her already-perfect gray cashmere sweater, tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

“You ready?”

She nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Good.” I grabbed her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Sydney paused, glanced up at me through her thick lashes.

“So how long have we been dating now, according to your timeline?”

“Hmmm. Good question. At least since May. So almost eight months.”

“’kay. Just want to get my facts straight.”

“Relax, Syd. It’ll be fine,” I leaned over and whispered in her ear. She smelled sweet and floral, just like I remembered.

At the bottom of the stairs, Sydney took a deep breath, then straightened her shoulders.

“Show time.” She plastered a warm smile on her face, the same one she used in meetings, and together we walked into the kitchen.

“Nicholas!” My gran rushed over, crushing me to her. “And you brought Sydney with you! How marvelous.” Gran air kissed Sydney on both cheeks then ushered us over to the round kitchen table set for tea, complete with Christmas plates and matching tea cups. Gran patted the spot next to her. “Come, sit, tell me all about football.”

Gran always knew how to strike up a conversation with me. I pulled a chair out for Sydney, then settled into the seat next to Gran and launched into the story of me getting traded back to New England.

“They called me on a Thursday and next thing I knew, I was on the first flight out Friday, playing in a game on Sunday. The moving company packed up my apartment and they shipped everything to me the next week. All my stuff was set up when I got home from practice. It was like magic.”

“Well, we’re so glad you’re home. I could never keep the time zones straight out there. No Daylight Savings Time; so confusing.” Gran shook her head, took a sip of tea.

“Here you go, kids.” My mom set the tea kettle down, along with a tray of sliced fruit and cookies.

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