Page 13 of Faking It with the Ice Queen

The sound of a chair scraping and the quick clacking of heels signaled Cate’s quick attempt to follow Elara out of the room. Before she could make it to the hallway, Cate reached out and grabbed Elara’s elbow. But instead of stopping, she pulled them farther out of the dining area.

Cate whispered in Elara’s ear, “Don’t worry about Granny. You need to relax. She’s just teasing. We all just want to make sure you’re happy.” Turning to Grace, Cate raised her voice enough to be heard only by the two. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Grace. Don’t let the family scare you too much.”

With that, Cate retreated back to the dining room. Elara and Grace stood still as they watched her disappear behind the luxurious curtains. The two stood frozen for a moment before Grace cleared her throat. “Well, that was interesting.”

Elara closed off her panic, returning to her cool composure, as she quietly walked away. Grace’s footsteps unevenly clipped as she rushed to catch up. Elara turned to watch Grace stumble forward. Realization dawned on her—Grace was drunk.

Raising her eyebrow, Elara pressed the elevator button. “Not much of a wine drinker?”

Grace swayed as she looked up into Elara’s eyes and giggled. “That obvious, huh? Do you think anyone else noticed?”

Elara shot out her hand to steady Grace and guided her into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, she coolly responded, “Hopefully not. Everyone in there was tipsy anyway.”

Grace leaned back against the mirrored elevator wall and nodded.

Elara watched as Grace stumbled through the suite toward her suitcase and began rifling through for pajamas. After ensuring Grace wouldn’t fall, Elara escaped to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

In another pair of her favorite silk pajamas, Elara stared at her reflection, assessing her freshly scrubbed face. A sharp series of knocks on the door interrupted her introspection. Elara opened the door to see Grace leaning in the doorway, wearing nothing but a band t-shirt that barely covered her ass. Saying nothing, Elara moved aside to let Grace pass and closed the door behind her.

Elara shook her head as if she could shake the racing thoughts out of her mind. Unable to bear the thought of seeing Grace’s bare legs again, Elara turned all but one lamp off and then strode over to the foyer and opened the bar cabinet in search of a drink. Thankfully, the bar was stocked with her favorite whiskey. In the dark, Elara poured herself two knuckles’ worth into the crystal glass and dropped a large square ice cube in with it. Irritation filled her veins with a fiery sensation, warming the back of her neck. At the sound of Grace scrambling into bed, Elara slumped into a chair. She silently sipped on her whiskey for an hour in the dark, grasping at her cool, calm composure, looking for it at the bottom of her glass.

Eventually, Elara turned off the sole lamp and felt her way toward the bed. Finding her side of the bed without too much of a struggle, Elara slipped under the covers as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake Grace. Unable to get comfortable, Elara tossed and turned in her sleep. In one of her more clumsy attempts at tossing, Elara turned toward Grace, her arm flopping over.

She expected her hand to land on the space between them, but to her surprise, Grace had turned toward her and, in her sleep, inched closer to Elara. Elara found her hand on Grace’s hip, which woke Grace in turn. The two said nothing in the dark silence, but Elara felt like she was burning from the inside out. She was inches away from the hem of the old t-shirt. It would be so easy to run her hands down Grace’s thighs. So easy to pull that hem up above her belly button.

Elara stared at the way her hand seemed to mold to Grace’s curves. In the dark, she could hear Grace’s sharp inhale. Realizing what she was doing, Elara snatched her hand back with a mumbled apology. She quickly turned away before Grace could say anything.

Elara stared out the window as she wished for sleep to take her away from this embarrassing moment. All she could think wasWhat am I doing?She scolded herself for getting caught up in the moment. This was all just an act. Grace was here because she was being paid to be there. She couldn’t risk everything falling apart.

Sleep slowly overtook Elara as she silently chantedit’s not real,as if she were counting sheep.

6

Grace woke up to the warm feeling of the sun on her face. As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was alone in the king-sized bed. Stretching with a big yawn, Grace sat up and surveyed the room. Her suitcase sat open on the chair, the contents strewn around, clear evidence of her drunken night. Grace groaned and crawled out of bed. Out of curiosity, she opened the hall closet to search for a robe. Inside, two plush white robes hung on hangers.

“Bingo.”

Grace grabbed one, feeling the soft material rub against her arms as she slipped into it. Behind her, the door beeped, signaling someone was entering. Grace hurriedly tied the robe closed as the door opened.

Elara strode through the doorway, holding a brown bag and a paper coffee cup. Seeing Grace standing in the hall, Elara stopped in her tracks.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Elara held out the coffee cup and the bag. “Here.”

Grace tentatively reached for the items. “What’s this?”

“I noticed you didn’t drink the brewed coffee yesterday. It’s a cappuccino.”

Smiling appreciatively, Grace sipped the cappuccino and let out a soft mmmm. It was a caramel cappuccino. Her favorite.

Confused, she looked up at Elara. “How’d you know my order?”

“You charged yesterday’s cappuccino to the room. I just asked for whatever you ordered yesterday.”

Grace opened the bag and spotted a chocolate chip muffin and a small paper box containing a single dose of Tylenol.

“I figured you would need carbs and meds after that much wine last night,” Elara explained.

Grace set her cappuccino down as she sat on the bed. Smiling up at Elara, she said, “That was very thoughtful. Thank you.”

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