Page 26 of Double Booked

“I think you broke one of your own rules,” he said.

“Which one?”

“The one about not leaving clothes lying around.”

Dammit! He’d obviously seen her bra hanging on the bathroom doorknob. “I didn’t think you’d be going into my bedroom,” she argued.

He chuckled. “No worries. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Suddenly, it struck her. Just because he’d never been in love, that didn’t mean he wasn’t dating anyone. “Are you… Is there…?”

He raised his eyebrows and waited.

“Are you dating someone?”

He looked amused. “No. Why?”

“I just wondered if some woman is upset about me being here.”

“No. I haven’t dated anyone for a while.” He plunked down in the chair across from her.

“How come?”

“Too busy, I guess. I travel a lot for my job.”

“Don’t you ever get lonely?”

He ran his hand over the leather arm of the chair, almost like he was caressing it. “It’s not hard to find company if I want it.”

Her eyes widened, though she didn’t doubt it was true.

“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I meant—”

She held up a hand. “I get it. You don’t have to explain.” Looking down at herself, she realized she was still wearing her coat and shoes. She bent over to unlace her shoes and groaned.

He popped out of the chair. “Let me help.”

Before she could refuse, he kneeled in front of her and began untying her shoes. “How ridiculous that I can’t untie my own shoes,” she grumbled.

He carefully removed her shoes and set them aside. “You know what you need?”

“A masseuse?”

He smiled. “I was thinking of a soak in the hot tub.”

She’d hadn’t used the hot tub yet, mostly because of him. If she’d been alone, she probably would have soaked in it every night, but she didn’t want him seeing her in a bathing suit. It was daunting enough wearing a swimsuit in public, but with it being just the two of them, it seemed even worse.

He tugged on the sleeve of her jacket, breaking her out of her reverie. “I can get it,” she said, brushing his hand away.

“I’m serious about the hot tub. The warm water will ease your aching muscles.”

She gave him a funny look. “I can just soak in my bathtub.”

He gazed at her for a long moment, making her shift with discomfort.

“What?” she said, when she couldn’t take the silence anymore.

“Are you afraid?”