We ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of us hungrier than we’d realized. The snow continued to fall outside, blanketing the parking lot and the world beyond in pristine white. It was peaceful, sitting here with Hayden, watching the snow while we shared breakfast. It felt... right, somehow.
“You know,” Hayden said, breaking the silence, “I’ve been thinking about what to do today.”
“Yeah?” I took a sip of coffee, watching him over the rim of my cup.
“There’s a movie channel included with the room. We could order dinner later, maybe watch something?”
“Like a date?” I teased, but my heart was racing at the suggestion.
He rolled his eyes, but there was no real annoyance behind it. “If that’s what you want to call it, sure.”
“I’d like that,” I said, surprising myself with how much I meant it. “What kind of movies do you like?”
Hayden shrugged, pushing his empty plate away. “I don’t know. Action, comedy... not really into horror.”
“Let me guess, you scream at the jump scares?”
“Shut up,” he muttered, but he was smiling. “I just don’t see the appeal of being terrified for fun.”
I laughed, finishing the last of my breakfast. “Fair enough. No horror movies.”
After we finished eating, I pulled out my phone to check for messages. There was one from Dolly asking if we were okay, which I answered quickly, letting her know her nephew was just fine. Then I glanced up to find Hayden standing by the window, watching the snow with a contemplative expression.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, moving to stand beside him.
“Just... thinking about how weird life is sometimes,” he said softly. “A week ago, I was miserable and alone, planning to hide out in Sagebrush until I could figure out my next move. And now I’m trapped in a honeymoon suite with a hunky cowboy and feeling better than I have in years.”
I couldn’t help but grin at that. “Hunky, huh? So, you admit you think I’m hot?”
Hayden blushed, those freckles standing out even more against his reddened cheeks. “I think we established that pretty thoroughly last night.”
“Yeah, but it’s nice to hear you say it.” I moved closer, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him against me. “For the record, I think you’re pretty damn gorgeous yourself.”
He leaned into me, his body fitting against mine like it was made to be there. “Even with all these freckles?”
“Especiallywith all those freckles.” I pressed a kiss to his temple, inhaling the clean scent of hotel shampoo in his hair. “So, movie date it is. But that’s not for hours. What should we do until then?”
Hayden turned in my arms, a sigh escaping his lips. “Let’s go see if they have that gym,” he grumbled. “I’m gonna need to work off this massive breakfast.”
“Me too,” I grinned. “Come on, let’s go see what they’ve got.”
Chapter 16
Hayden
“Okay,” Diego said, a bewildered look on his face. “That might’ve been the weirdest and strangely erotic movie I have ever seen.”
“Right?” I replied, finally glad someone understood. Tommy never did. “David Bowie has this… justvibeabout him.”
“And a huge bulge.” Diego shook his head. “That part definitely helps. It’s hard to miss.”
“There’s that too,” I conceded. “But the whole film is just like… strange and fantastical and… and…”
I couldn’t find the right word.
“Surreal,” Diego nodded, findingexactlythe right word.
“Precisely.”
