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“Don’t ask,” Derek said.
Nara ignored him. “You know the one where you have to pop balloons? I wanted him to win me a unicorn.”
Kay pointed to the chair. “Oh, there it is. He must have succeeded.”
“Yes. I succeeded. End of story.” Derek leaned over to deposit his ornaments into the box. They clinked together as they settled. He wiped his hands together, dusting them off. “I certainly did not throw a million darts, missing each time, then with a stroke of luck hit two in a row only to miss the balloons and hit a woman’s backside with my last dart.”
Kay’s eyes grew wide, and then a hearty laugh escaped her. Nara couldn’t help but join in. Derek even sported his not-so-obvious smile.
“How did you get the unicorn, then?”
Derek’s shoulders slumped. “I had to beg the man to let me buy him.”
“Oh, my. That’s a story to tell the kids someday,” Kay said, wiping at her eyes.
Derek stiffened, and the mood in the room instantly cooled. He evaded Kay’s probing gaze and shrugged. “Yeah. For sure.”
“Oh, no,” Nara said, trying to pull back the lighthearted mood they had from just a few seconds ago. “I can tell right now, this is where that story ends. I can’t even imagine what would happen if I let details from tonight slip.” She tried to get Derek to bring back his almost-smile, but he just gave her a slight nod as he unhooked the last ornament.
Kay must have noticed the shift, as she forced a smile while depositing the tinsel into the box. “Well, what are you two doing tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure,” Nara said, feeling Derek out. “We have a lot of choices.”
“Maybe we can look at the pamphlets after we get this tree down,” Derek said standing back and surveying the size of the thing.
“No need,” Kay said, making a shooing motion with her hands. “The maintenance man will put it away in the morning. This thing is way too heavy for us. Thank you so much for all your help with the decorations. Go get back to your room. You should soak in the jacuzzi or something.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Derek’s ears turned red, and Nara quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him over to the chair to get Larry so he wouldn’t be so embarrassed. “Sounds good,” she called to Kay.
After they arrived in their room, Derek exhaled. “Well, that was uncomfortable.”
“See?” Nara tossed Larry on the bed and put her hands on her hips. “This is what I mean by we need to practice being a married couple. You got all flustered in there when Kay started talking about kids, and jacuzzi tubs. These are normal married couple things. If we’re going to fool the board of directors, we need to be more comfortable with these things.”
Derek sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re right.” He strode to the closet and opened the door, taking off his sandals. “I’ll try to not be so awkward.”
“You’re not awkward. We just don’t act like we’re in love. It’s not a big thing. It’s the little things.”
He rummaged through the closet, then moaned, leaning his head against the door. “Great.”
“What?”
“They took away the spare blanket.” He turned his gaze onto her. “That’s what I was using to sleep on the floor.”
Chapter 13
The look on Nara’s face was unreadable. Derek slipped back into his sandals. “I’ll go ask for more blankets.”
“Wait,” Nara said, putting her hand out. “Let’s think about this.”
He stared at her, sure he had a blank look on his face. “What’s there to think about? I’m not sleeping on the floor with no blanket.”
“I know. But look. The bed is huge.” She pointed, motioning to all the room on it. “It’s plenty big enough for both of us. And this might help us not look so unmarried around each other.”
Derek stared at the bed. Then his gaze traveled to Nara. Why was he always confused about what Nara wanted? Surely she wasn’t saying what it sounded like she was saying. “You want to sleep together?”
“Yeah, not in that way, but just in the same bed. There’s enough room. I doubt we’d even touch.” She took a step toward him. “We need to learn to be more comfortable with each other. I’m sure that’s why my dad insisted on this trip anyway.”
Derek was sure of it as well. But still, he swallowed, thinking about what Nara was wanting him to do. He knew she didn’t want a physical relationship. But he was a man, and she was a woman. And he was in love with her. How could he sleep next to her, knowing she was inches away?
