"You were already planning to bring me here."
"Not like this." I run a hand through my hair. "I thought—I hoped—after the dinner, I'd tell you about this place. Ask if you wanted to see it. Make it a romantic getaway, not a..."
"Kidnapping?"
I don't answer.
She pulls out a pair of black leggings and an oversized flannel, holding them against her body like armor. "I'm changing.”
“Okay.”
“I need privacy,” she snaps.
"Bathroom's through there."
She disappears without another word. The door locks behind her with a pointed click.
I sink onto the edge of the bed and drop my head into my hands.
This isn't how I wanted this to go. None of this is how I wanted any of it to go. I had a good plan, and then Marcus opened his stupid mouth and Jade overheard and everything fell apart in the space of ten minutes.
Now I'm here, in this cabin, with a woman who hates me. A woman who will probably never trust me again, no matter what I say or do in the next seven days.
But I can't let her go.
I've waited too long and wanted her too much. I won't lose her now.
The bathroom door opens. Jade emerges in the leggings and flannel, her feet bare, her face scrubbed clean of makeup. She looks younger like this and softer, more like the girl from the blog than the polished woman I brought to the dinner.
She catches me staring and scowls. "Where am I sleeping?"
I gesture to the bed.
"And where areyousleeping?"
"Same place."
"Absolutely not."
“I'm six-two. The sofa's too short.."
"Then sleep on the floor."
"No."
"Phoenix—"
"It's a king bed. There's plenty of room. I'll stay on my side."
"Your side?" She laughs incredulously. "There are no sides! This isn't a negotiation!"
"You're right. It's not." I stand, crossing to the dresser where I keep spare clothes. I pull out a t-shirt and sweats.
She stares at me, chest heaving, and I stare back.
The tension between us is a living thing. It’s electric and dangerous, crackling in the small space. I can feel the pull of it. There’s a pull that's always existed between us, drawing us together no matter how hard she fights it.
She feels it too. I can see it in the way her breath catches and the way her pupils dilate.
