Page 84 of Tempest

He ambled into their room and watched her put a pair of polka dot pajamas in her bag. “Why are you putting pajamas in your bag? We’ve been sleeping naked together.”

“I am not sleeping naked at Mama’s house. You’re going to be in the guest room anyway.”

“No, I’m not. Your mama likes me and gave me her blessing. The whole town knows we’re sleeping together, so I bet she didn’t even make up the guest room.”

Ivy slumped onto the bed and covered her face. “I never thought about it like that. You think the whole town knows?”

He lifted an eyebrow and waited. Was she really in denial about this? “Honey, are you surprised?”

“I guess not. It’s just when you said the whole town, it felt funny.” Smoothing out the quilt that covered her bed, she sighed. “I hope somebody has a scandal soon and people forget about us. It’s bound to happen; this town is ripe for something juicy to happen.”

“A bake sale would just about guarantee that. Why don’t you suggest it to the town council?”

“The mayor has forbidden bake sales. The liability far outweighs any benefits.”

He sat down beside her and took her hand. “We’ll be going back to Florida soon, and it’ll give people time to forget. By the time we get back, we’ll just be like any other normal, boring couple in town.” Assuming success—that’s what he was doing. Don’t let her get any ideas that there’s another option. “I can’t wait to slip into that four-poster bed you’ve got.”

“Is this some princess fantasy that we’re going to fulfill tonight? Because if it is, then I need to pack other pajamas.”

Letting out a laugh, he bent over and kissed her. “No pajamas necessary.”

“I just want to make sure I have the right outfit.”

“Naked is the only outfit I care about.”

She pushed at him and stood up. “Naked isn’t an outfit.”

“On you it is.” The sound of the doorbell interrupted what he was about to say, so he kissed her and got up. “I’ll cover the window and then we can go over to your mama’s house.” As he moved toward the door, he realized that she hadn’t argued with one thing he’d said. Maybe the idea of them together was going to be an easier sell than he’d thought.

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