Page 66 of The Vacation Mix-Up
“What?”
“Do you have any?”
“Not noise-cancelling ones.”
I lift out the box, suspecting the pair he bought are expensive, so I hand them back. “I can’t accept these.”
“You can and you will.” He steps around me, refusing to take them. “Sleep is just as important as food, and I’m the cause of you not getting any. Please, Riles, just try them out. If they don’t work, I’ll take the shitty cabin in the bowels of hell. Not that I want to, because I’ll probably die a horrible death. But I will if it means you’ll get some sleep.”
My jaw drops.
Wow! That’s… That’s chivalrousandremorseful.
Chewing the inside of my cheek, I slump onto the sofa, unwrap the box, and pull out the earbuds, feeling guilty for being a light sleeper.
“And if you download this white noise app thing that the lady at the counter suggested, you shouldn’t hear me at all.” Riley pulls his cell from his pocket and shows me his screen as he takes a seat beside me. “Apparently, it has over a hundred different sounds that promote peaceful sleep. Fans. Rain.” The corners of his mouth lift just slightly, and I don’t know if I want to laugh or punch him in the arm when he adds, “A ticking clock.”
“Very funny.” I reach for my cell to download the app. “Okay, I guess I’ll give it a try.”
“Sweet,” he says, slapping his thighs before standing. “Honestly, I never used to snore. Not before Krys?—”
Riley cuts himself short, and my sympathetic heart twinges a little. “You didn’t snore before your marriage broke down?”
He clenches his jaw. “No. Not as far as I’m aware.”
Scrunching my face, unsure if that’s actually the case, I can’t help but ask, “Maybe you did, and that’s one of the reasons?—”
“You think I’m getting a divorce because I snore?” He laughs humorously, but it turns bitter. “Trust me—it’s not. If I snored, Krystal would’ve told me. It would’ve been high in her arsenal against me.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean….” I shake my head regretfully. It was a stupid thing to say. “Thank you for buying these, but… they look expensive. I can’t let you pay for them. How much do I owe you?”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault you need them in the first place.” He slides his hands into his pockets, his eyes roaming over my white bathing suit cover-up. “You going for a swim?”
“Maybe.” I stand too. “But I have to work first.”
“You’re working on your vacation?”
“I have to.”
“You have to, or you’re choosing to in order to please your bitch of a boss?”
I draw in a deep breath, hold it for a moment, then let it out. “I have to.”
Riley presses his lips together, his eyebrows rising as he rocks back on his heels, but he doesn’t question me further, which I appreciate. Defending my choice to appease Georgia is draining, and I simply don’t have the energy to do it right now.
“I’ll see you later,” I say, hitching my bag over my shoulder before heading out the door and making my way to the adult oasis, choosing a cozy cabana by the pool.
The late morning sun sparkles above, heating my alabaster skin, so I lather on some sunscreen, open my laptop, and dive into work, making notes and suggestions for improvements where the manuscript is lagging. Other than some mild repetition here and there, her prose is eloquent, the character vernacular on point. She also knows her Greek Mythology, which is refreshing.
Completely enthralled in the love triangle between Dyetee, Persei, and Aydon, I startle when Riley asks, “Good book?”
“Huh?” I snap my head in the direction of his voice, my mouth agape at his casually reclined position on the lounge chair beside me, chest bare, abs impeccably rippled, taut legs crossed at the ankles, both arms raised behind his head, biceps flexed.
Oh, holy freaking peanut butter!
My hand slips across the keyboard, and I almost delete a portion of the manuscript. “Shit!”
Quickly amending my mistake by clicking the Undo button, Isave my notes and edits before closing the screen. “Y-Yes, it is good! Her writing voice is strong, and the story is engaging.”
