AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wade’s eyes looked me up and down, lingering far too long on my body. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Toothbrush and all. I’m positive.” I leaned against the body of my car. Wade had paid upfront to have the alternator and battery replaced and the window repaired. I’d failed to tell him about the check engine light or that the repairman had said my coolant was leaking, but that was for future Ray to deal with.
“And everything’s sorted with your mom?” He popped the lid on the trunk of his car.
“Yep. Caregivers round the clock. But if something happens?—”
“We’ll drive straight back.”
I’d told myself for days now that everything would be fine. It was only an hour’s drive at most in the snow, and with enough preparation on my part, I could make it back if things went south for Mom. I’d only been away for a night at most over the last three years, and five nights felt like a lifetime in comparison.
I pulled my suitcase out of my car and pushed it into Wade’s waiting hands. His eyes looked from me to the empty trunk of my car, to my far too-light bag in his hands. “There’s no way this is all of it.”
I shrugged. “I’ve got my dress, underwear, bras, pajamas, makeup, toothbrush, toothpaste…”
His eyes bugged. “Your dress is in here?”
“Uh… yes?”
“The one you charged my card nearly seven grand for? That dress is in this bag?” He shook it in front of me as if to emphasize how light it was. “You can’t—… Ray. That should be in a garment bag. You know those long bags with the zipper up the front and a hanger?”
I leveled a glare at him as I snatched it from his hands, dropping it into the trunk on top of his two suitcases. “I know what a garment bag is.”
He blinked at me in disbelief. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t satisfying to fuck with him. “Did you even bring casual clothes? We’re going to be there for five days, Ray. You can’t be in pajamas the entire time.”
“You’re such a buzzkill.” I pulled open the back door of my car, keeping my eyes locked on him. An irritated twitch ticked in his jaw when I slid my actual suitcase off the seat along with a garment bag.
“Is this your idea of a joke?” he asked, his lips flat but the smallest hint of amusement in his eyes.
“April fools,” I grinned. I pushed the bags into his arms.
“It’s February,” he laughed, the veil of irritation slipping entirely. He placed my suitcase carefully on top of his own before hanging the bag in his backseat. “You’re positive you’ve bought enough to look the part?”
“I hope so. I mean, I spent like forty grand. If that’s not enough then I have no idea what is.” The words felt obscene coming out of my mouth. I recalled seeing the total flash-up on the card readers and I could feel my face scrunching up at just the thought of it. “You can return this stuff, right?”
Wade’s answering snort told me that he absolutely would not. “I could give it away if you don’t want it afterward.”
“To whom? The bunnies you’ve ghosted and will have to grovel back to after all this is over?”
His eyes rolled so far back into his head that I thought they might permanently stay there. “So mouthy,” he mumbled as he closed his trunk, securing everything in place.
Two nights ago, the photos we’d had taken of us with Jackson and Mandy had been posted on a handful of news websites. Wade had sent them to me, claiming they’d be enough to really sell it, and warned me ahead of time that there would likely be more photographers wanting pictures at the resort. It wasn’t anything unusual to him—in fact, he’d mentioned it with such intense nonchalance that I’d had to ask him to repeat himself. But as I walked around the car it was all I could think about. The moment we arrived at the Colchester Ski Resort, it was game on. Full-blown intensity until the quiet of the suite.
“Ready?” he asked.
I pulled the sleeves of my sweater down over my palms. “I guess. I’m a bit nervous.”
He sighed and opened the car door. “Yeah, I figured from the jokes. That’s not really like you.” He closed the distance between us, taking a full three steps before stopping directly in front of me, arms crossed over his chest. “What are you worried about?”
What was I worried about? Everything. Not selling it, not looking the part, not acting the part, sleeping in the same room as him, my body getting the better of me if we had to be publicly affectionate. The times when that had happened, I’d either run away or fucked him. Neither had been successful in being what they were meant to be, practice.
“If it’s because of my family, I’ll do most of the talking?—”
“It’s not that,” I sighed. “There’s a lot I’m worried about. But mostly it’s the affection stuff. I mean, I know we can’t avoid it, but the times we’ve kissed haven’t exactly ended well and I’m worried I’ll look either extremely uncomfortable or extremely turned on.”
He cracked the smallest grin and placed his hands on my shoulders, leaning down to my height. “You’re worried about kissing me?”
“Please don’t make it a big deal.”
