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“Two weeks? Who fumigates for two weeks?”
Her cheeks turned pink and she bent to pick up the popcorn bowl, her dark hair spilling forward. “I just want to be sure it’s safe in there before going back. I don’t want to breathe in poison. To tell you the truth, the whole thing freaks me out. I can’t stand bugs.” She shuddered.
Derek sighed, his shoulders slumping. “All right.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said as she tossed spilled kernels into the bowl. “I know you just got married and I’m a huge inconvenience staying here in the guest bedroom…”
Nara suddenly realized what that would mean, having Brielle in the guest bedroom, and she chastised herself for feeling happy that she and Derek would have to share a room again. What was wrong with her? She wasn’t in a real marriage. Why did she constantly need to remind herself of this?
“That’s fine,” Derek said. “I know you have nowhere else to go.”
Relief flooded over Brielle’s features. “You’re right. I don’t. Thanks for letting me crash here. Hopefully it won’t put you guys in an awkward position.”
“It’s fine,” Derek ground out, shutting the door. He made a face, then smoothed out his features. “Well, that was the family room.”
“Looked cozy.”
“Yeah,” he said under his breath. “Let’s finish the tour.”
He showed her the home gym and theater room in the basement, then they went upstairs to see the guest bedroom and the office, which had Derek’s lighting and camera equipment in the corner. The master bedroom sat nestled in the upstairs turret. Large windows let in a cascade of light. She loved the way the master bedroom felt special, in the circular room. “This is perfect.”
“I’m sorry Brielle moved in for a week or two. That sort of ruins my plan to make the spare bedroom your sewing room. I can kick her out if you’re uncomfortable in here with me.”
“Oh, no, that’s fine. She can stay.” Nara touched the soft duvet. “I don’t want to kick her out. She’s your sister.”
“Okay. I’m just a little worried about it.”
“Why?” Nara asked.
“She doesn’t know.” Derek gave a lame motion toward the staircase. “You know. The truth.”
“Oh. Well, then this will really be a good trial run. If we can fool Brielle, we can fool anyone.”
“I guess.”
He looked so disheartened, like he was sure they would be found out and disgraced. She walked to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s fine. All we have to do is practice our PDA in front of her.” Nara winked.
A delightful blush colored his cheeks, and Nara decided this next week was going to be fun.
Chapter 21
Derek rolled over, again, trying to find a comfortable position. It was just impossible with Nara next to him to get any sleep. He’d tried. Hadn’t been able to sleep at all last night, and tonight was looking to be another anxious night full of pent-up energy.
Finally, he sighed and quietly slid out of bed. It wouldn’t do him any good to just lay there. And his tossing was probably disturbing Nara’s sleep. He just needed to think for a while.
He slipped on a pair of slippers from his closet and then snuck down the staircase making sure it didn’t creak. The moonlight filtered in the windows so he didn’t have to turn on any lights. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the kitchen before opening the back door to the patio. The cool night air felt good against his skin. He sat in one of the deck chairs and took a bite of his apple.
The small copse of trees behind his house held shadows of the night. He stared into them, wondering what creatures were awake back there. An owl hooted, and he smiled. That owl had been living in the tree behind his house since he moved in. For some reason, he loved listening to its haunting sound.
He took another bite of his apple. It was colder than he’d expected. A breeze sent a shiver through him. He probably wouldn’t be out a long time tonight. Too bad. He liked sitting out on his deck when he couldn’t sleep.
Nara was upstairs, sleeping in his bed. That thought should have made him happy, but instead, he couldn’t stop the voice inside his head from ruining everything. The one that said she was not his wife. The one that told him it really was a sham of a marriage, as she had put it.
He’d done what Richard had wanted and gone along with this scheme. But things weren’t going to work the way he’d hoped. And at the end of these two years he would just have more heartache than had he never married Nara to begin with.
The door creaked, and he turned to see Nara wrapped up in the duvet from their bed. She stepped out. “Derek?”
“Yeah?”
