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I put the bottles, the two glasses and corkscrew down on the round table by the floor to ceiling window. It had been a long day and a glass of wine sounded really good. Uncorking the bottle, I poured a six ounce pour into each glass then decided to make it eight before stripping down and getting into a robe myself.
The last thing I wanted was for Lainey to feel uncomfortable. If we were going to get drunk and watch movies in robes, then that was exactly what we were going to do. I propped the pillows up on the wall, grabbed the two glasses, and settled on top of the overly soft bedding.
A few minutes later, the click of the bathroom door echoed through the room, and Lainey’s head popped out. Her hair was wet, tucked behind her ears and highlighting a makeup free face. Her cheeks were adorably red, and her blue eyes sparkled on their own.
Her gaze landed on me, and those blue eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Getting comfy,” I said. “Wine?” I held up the glass and waited for her to decide.
She slowly eased the door all the way open, then stepped out of the doorway. Her fingers clutched the neck of the robe, tugging it tight over her ample cleavage. She didn’t let go of the material as she hurried over to the bed and snatched for a glass.
I pulled back before she could get the glass. “Nope. You need to get in the bed.”
She glanced at the other bed then back at the one I resided in. “Why, so you can add another notch to the bedpost?”
I knew it was a joke, but her words hit with a force I wasn’t expecting.
“Lanes,” I said, so I knew she was listening. “You will never be a notch on my bedpost.”
The easy upward curve of her lips turned down. The realization of how that must have sounded to her, washing over me. I insulted her without even meaning to. “That’s not what I meant.” I tried to recover, but her damn lips were still pointing down. I pushed off the pillows and leaned toward her, holding out the glass as a peace offering. “Here.”
She took the glass without hesitation.
“It’s not Vine Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s still pretty damn good.”
She motioned her head toward me. “What happened to your arm?”
I glanced down at the burn mark I got the other day in the workshop. “Oh, burnt myself. Bacon splatter.” The lie came out too easily, but I’d been doing it for so long. The guilt, however, was new and sat like a lead rock in my gut.
“You can actually add water to the pan to prevent the splatter. I don’t. I like to live dangerously.” The glass touched her lips, and as ridiculous as it was, I was jealous of a darn glass. She tilted it, not stopping until half the wine was gone. Good thing I poured eight ounces.
“Might want to take it easy,” I said.
“Why? We’re getting drunk, right? Wasn’t that the agreement?”
“Yes, but—”
She grabbed the bottle and eased onto the bed. “No buts.” She topped her glass off and handed me the bottle. “You need to catch up.”
“Slow it down there, Captain Jack Sparrow.”
“Did you know that the reason he walked the way he did wasn’t because he was drunk, but because he was at sea for such long periods of time, he wasn’t used to the steady land?”
With a shake of my head, I topped my glass off and put the bottle down. “Hitting me with random facts. I feel like I’m with Gio.” My nephew was a walking encyclopedia.
She reclined beside me, her back against the pillows I had propped up. Her head drooped to the side, her eyes blinking up at me. “What are we watching?”
“Whatever you want.”
Her legs crossed at her ankles, the robe hitting just below her knee, her bare feet showing off a pretty shade of pink on her toes. She swished her lips, her cheeks puffing up one at a time. The remote appeared in front of me, and she waited.
“What am I supposed to do with that?”
“It’s my fault you’re here, and you shouldn’t be punished further, so you should choose.”
“Punished? I have an excuse to take off work and sit on this super comfy bed with one of my favorite people. I am far from being punished.”
A smile lifted and touched the corners of her mouth. Her shoulder bumped into mine. “We both know I’m not even in the top five of your favorite people.”
