“Perfect timing. The pizza just got here.”
Hayden is sitting at the table wearing a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed. Before I can decide, I’m distracted by the delicious smell of food. My stomach growls, and I’m reminded that I haven’t eaten since the late breakfast/early lunch eight hours ago.
“Oh my god, that smells so good.”
Tossing my bag back onto the loveseat, I join him at the table and reach for a slice without even bothering to grab a plate. A thin layer of grease sits on top of the cheese and pepperoni, and my mouth literally waters. The flavors meld together perfectly as I chew my first bite, and I close my eyes, moaning in satisfaction.
“Good?” Hayden’s rough voice causes my eyes to snap open.
“Yeah. Delicious, thanks.”
Hayden swallows hard. “What’s your plan for tomorrow? We’ll need to stop at least once to give the horses a break.”
Doing my best to ignore the instant flash of irritation, I take a deep breath before answering his question. “There’s a campground about three-quarters of the way. I booked a small cabin. Each plot is private with easy access to the bridle trail. They’ll have to sleep in the trailer if the weather is bad, but at least we should be able to exercise them and give them a break.”
I don’t miss Hayden’s frown as he looks down at his phone. “Yeah, let’s hope the weather holds up.”
His attention remains on his phone while I finish my first slice of pizza and reach for another. If I were alone, I’d probably polish off most of this pizza myself; at least that’s one good thing about unexpectedly sharing a room.
“Everything okay?” I ask when his eyes are still focused on his phone by the time I finish my second slice.
Looking back up, he paints on a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yeah. I was just tracking tomorrow’s storms. We’ll figure it out. But we do need to get started as early as possible to get ahead of it.”
I appreciate that he isn’t trying to take over, and I actually feel a bit guilty about my initial irritation when he asked about tomorrow’s plan. My mind flicks back to this morning, and I realize he hasn’t once tried to take over. There was no reason for me to be so angry with him when it’s my dad who has no faith in me.
“They said they’ll have staff in the barn starting at 5:00 a.m.”
“Okay, perfect. What time do you want to leave tomorrow?” he asks, once again taking me by surprise.
His expression is neutral, giving me no indication that he’s mocking me or hoping I’ll give the wrong answer. “It’s only about ten miles from here, so plan to check out tomorrow morning at around 4:30?”
Standing from the table, I stretch before picking up our garbage and making my way to the trash can on the other sideof the room. As much as I’ve tried to convince myself that sleeping beside Hayden wouldn’t be awkward, I feel awkward as hell, and I’m not even in bed yet. Hell, neither is Hayden. He’s still looking at something on his phone, so I climb into the bed and pull the covers up before he notices. In my periphery, I see him stand and walk toward the bed, stopping at the end. Focusing on the TV, which is mostly blocked by his large frame, I try to find something to watch.
“Slide over.”
His words startle me. I’d been working so hard not to notice him that I didn’t even realize he was beside me. “What?”
He gestures towards the door as if that explains anything, and I continue staring blankly. “I’m not going to allow you to sleep on the side closest to the door. Call me old-fashioned, but I also won’t have you walking streetside if we ever find ourselves on a stroll.”
I refuse to label the warmth flowing through my body. The thermostat must be set too high. It’s definitely not the way he automatically thinks of my safety. The way he shows that he cares. Or even the way he’s working so hard not to take over this entire trip. Instead of diving in to all the possible reasons for his actions and statements, I slide over and return my undivided attention to the TV screen.
Hayden throws in his two cents. “Just pick a crime documentary. Or Law & Order or something. If there’s anything you want to watch, I’m not picky.”
He gets into the bed beside me and rests his head on his arm. His eyes aren’t on the TV. They are on me. I try to ignore the burning sensation from his gaze, but there’s no use. I can feel him looking at me. And I can’t ignore it. But the longer I feel it, the more I’m convinced I need it.
Chapter 9
Miranda
Iwake with a start to the sound of my phone’s alarm blaring from right beside my head. Four in the morning comes early, no matter what time you get to bed. I don’t even remember falling asleep. What I do know is I can’t remember the last time I slept so well. It didn’t take long before I stopped being so aware of the man in the bed beside me. We watched TV and talked about nothing. It was nice.
Scrubbing a hand over my face, I turn over and am surprised to find Hayden still asleep. I always pictured him as the type to naturally wake at this ungodly hour, springing out of the bed and ready to start the day. But as he sleeps soundly beside me, I take advantage of the opportunity to take him in. His hair is unruly from sleep, and I resist the urge to find out how it would feel between my fingers. Allowing myself just a few more moments of indulgence, my eyes drift to his thick dark lashes and then the slight bump at the ridge of his nose—likelydue to a break. He stirs a bit before I get a chance to fully appreciate the perfect curve of his lips.
“Are you watching me sleep?” he rasps in a voice thick with sleep.
Shit.It hasn’t even been a full twenty-four hours, and I’ve already been caught staring twice. Scrunching my nose, I sit up and do my best to look disgusted at the idea of watching him. “Your snoring woke me up. I turned to see where all that noise was coming from.”
A laugh rumbles out of him, and the slight movement of his shoulders draws my eyes straight to the way his T-shirt clings to his chest. My body immediately responds, letting me know my moment of indulgence needs to end right now.
