Page 76 of Say It Isn't So

“The cot, what happened? They don’t have any?”

Understanding, I inhaled before announcing, “No, but they did say they’d have a room tomorrow. Apparently someone’s checking out early in the morning. It’s yours, I reserved it for you.”Because I have to get you out of here.And not because I didn’t want her here. On the contrary, I wanted her. Too much, in fact.

Slapping her hands down on the covers, she sighed her relief. “Thank you!”

I nodded. “Anytime. I think I’ll go take a shower.”A very cold shower.

* * *

Bianca

I couldn’t sleep. I tried, I really did give it my best effort, but knowing he was in the bathroom taking a shower was torture.

I wanted to be in there with him. To be close to him, to—

I flipped over on my back and practically groaned aloud as I stared at the ceiling.

What had made me think me this would be a good idea?

If you looked up the definition of “stupid” in the dictionary, I was ninety-nine percent sure you would find my picture there. In fact, they should have changed the definition to simply read: Bianca Morelli.

I still heard the shower running, so I figured it was a safe bet to get up and move around. Not that I couldn’t when Knox was here, but there was something so oddly uncomfortable about this whole thing.

Padding it to my suitcase, I pulled out my sketchbook and pencil. I needed to sketch; I had this dress in my head that I couldn’t stop thinking about. In between thoughts of Knox, that was.

Letting the pencil sweep over the page, I began with the usual framework of the body and then started drawing the most adorable mini dress. I’d seen how popular they were becoming at weddings, especially for receptions and after parties, and I was so here for them. If I ever got married, I knew I wanted to wear one at my reception, so it’d definitely be one of my looks. Yes, I’d always figured I’d be one of those brides with multiple dresses. Maybe it was a little extra, but that was half the fun, wasn’t it?

There was just something about a mini that was fun and flirty—it was everything I loved in clothing. And this one was no different.

A mini veil on her head.

Darling shoes on her feet.

And voilà!

I was toying with another one when the bathroom door opened and Knox strode out shirtless but wearing those gray sweats I loved on men so much. They were even slung low on his hips.

“Sorry, this is all I had in the bathroom,” he said, walking to his suitcases.

Spinning the pencil between my fingers, I resisted the urge to bring it between my teeth and bite down. Looking at Knox was like looking at one of those marble statutes carved to perfection.

“I never do unpack, it feels like a waste,” he said.

“Mmhmm.”

“What do you have there?” he asked, looking at the bed where my sketchbook sat open.

Quickly closing it, I looked up. “Nothing,” I lied and slipped it under the covers with me.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing, but I won’t pry,” he said, still shirtless, his chest glistening from the shower, his wet hair practically begging for my fingers to run through it. “Anyway, I’m just going to grab a pillow,” he explained, reaching over and taking one from the bed.

I didn’t understand. “What for?” I asked, watching him closely.

He laughed. “So I can sleep.”

“Aren’t you sleeping in the bed?”

Tossing the pillow on the floor in front of the foot of the bed, he looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “No. The floor will do just fine.”

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