Page 121 of The Nicest Thing
"Says you.We still have to unload all these."
"Hey," I said, waiting until she met my gaze, "I've got the books.And you've got this."
She smiled, but when I went to wrap her up in a hug, Rose dodged to the left, laughing awkwardly.My lips turned down.Rose always welcomed my hugs.Always.Something was definitely up.
"I should go check us in," she said, pointing vaguely over her shoulder at the hotel entrance."You okay?Need any help with the boxes?"
"All good here," I said.
She threw me a quick smile then turned and walked inside.
Could've been my imagination, but I swore it looked like she was going faster than usual.Like she was running away.
From me.
My mind went back to this morning in the cabin, instantly reliving every detail.
How we woke up.
In bed.
Together.
Rose tight against me, my arm around her waist, hand splayed low on her stomach.My nose in her hair.One leg resting between hers.
Her delicious ass pressed to my front.
Directly over where I was painfully hard.
She must've noticed.I woke up first, and realizing my predicament, I didn't know what to do—but I figured it was only a natural reaction.Rose would understand.Unable to help myself, I nuzzled my nose further into her hair, breathing in her vanilla and mint scent.My eyes rolled back in my head when she pushed her hips back unconsciously.I released a quiet groan.And then…she stilled; her breath caught, and as I waited for her to pull away, I felt her relax instead.Her body turned liquid.She moved her hips once more, and I pulled her tighter to my body, too selfish to let her go.
I assumed maybe she didn't feel my reaction to her.
But maybe she did.
Damn.There was nothing for it.I needed to apologize.
But first, I had to get everything loaded on the luggage cart.Only five more boxes to go.
As I lifted another from the trunk and turned, I caught sight of three women not-so-discreetly staring. People flowed in and out of the hotel.A good bit of them were wearing Romance or Die badges, like these three, so I guessed they were writers.
They giggled when I lifted my chin in their direction.
"Here for the conference?" I asked.
"Yeah," the one with blonde hair said then lifted a brow.The name on her lanyard read Keely Starr."Do you offer your services to everyone or…?"
"Nah, I'm only here for one woman.I'm her book husband/assistant."
"Too bad."
"Why's that?" I asked.
"With those arms and looks, I bet you'd make a lot of money," she replied and shot me a smile.
I shrugged, uncomfortable with the attention but amused by their brazen appraisal.
"A killing," the brunette next to her put in.The name on her tag was Lorelai Lasso."It's Romance or Die, so yeah, a killing."
