“Not wanting to share a bed with you is weird?” I lift a brow and sit at the little table, dragging the second plate of pasta closer.
Her expression drops. She focuses on twirling pasta around her fork, not meeting my eye as she takes the bite. It’s clear I’ve said something wrong, but I’m too tired to think about what that could be.
“Fine,” she says. “I’llsleep on the floor.”
I groan. “Now you’re being silly.”
“Am I? How silly are we going to get with this? Because we can both end up on the floor if you want to play chicken.”
“I don’t.” Idowant a glass of wine, so I pour myself one—a large one. “What if we come up with a compromise? I’ll sleep on the floor tonight, but I’ll take the bigger room in the cabin.”
“I was already going to give you the bigger room!”
“And I was already going to insist you take it, but if you take the bed tonight, I won’t.”
“But…” She frowns. “I don’t like this.”
“Why not?”
“Because you paid for the room.” She gestures around. “You should get to use the bed.”
“The company paid for it,” I say. “It’s one night. Let’s not make this a big deal. We need to get through the night, and anything is better than sleeping on an airplane. Right?”
Staying in a room with Evie is torture. I knew it would be the moment we found ourselves in this situation. Being on the plane with her was brutal, with her hand inches from mine, but only being able to touch once.
She doesn’t understand why I can’t sleep with her, and I’m not brave enough to explain. That would require accepting something I’ve been fighting since we met.
“Fine,” she mutters. “I’ll take the bed.”
“Thank you.” I deflate.
Another deal gone right. She accepted the conditions, and I should feel victorious, but I don’t. Something is wrong. It’s so off.
Chapter Eleven
THEO
We make it through the night and onto the next flight, but I’ll be a zombie when we’re in Finland.
Sleeping in a car isn’t so bad. I finally sleep on the ride to the cabin, and it’s more than I’ve slept all night, which I spent tossing and turning on the floor while Evie slept peacefully.
No regrets. I’ll do it again if it means she can keep her comfort.
“It’s beautiful out here!” Evie gasps as we walk through the winding path to the cabin. “I picked well, don’t you think?”
Fresh, lush, green grass surrounds us, and the trees climb to the sky. Off in the distance, there’s a lake with ripples of trees reflecting onto the surface. I may be bone tired, but I can still appreciate the beauty of nature. The sight alone invigorates me.
“You did,” I say. “The view is fantastic.”
“And most of the others will be down the street,” she gushes. “A few chose to stay at a hotel in the city, but many of them are here to enjoy the great outdoors with us.”
I push into the cabin and set our bags down.
The space looks better in person than in the pictures, but it’s still more modern than I would prefer. There’s a nice, big kitchen. I’m sure Evie will love it. On the other hand, I’m partial to the fireplace in the living room and the hardwood floors.
“Not too shabby,” I say, walking through the room.
“Did I pick well?” She bounces on the balls of her feet and looks at me with hope gleaming in her crystal blue eyes.
