After scrambling round for my belongings, I dart under the bed, seconds before the door opens. Sasha’s pointed boots come into view, alongside Chloe’s bare, tanned feet. God, even her feet are fantastic. So, this is what love feels like.
‘Are you okay?’ Sasha’s voice rings with concern.
‘Sure, why?’ The bed springs squeak as Chloe sits down. It’s so tempting to tickle her feet, but I daren’t risk being caught.
One day maybe, if I sort my shit out, Ryan and Sasha might even be happy for us. Surely they’d prefer us to be together than at each other’s throats?
‘You missed breakfast.’
‘I did?’ Chloe feigns ignorance.
‘It’s the first time you’ve overslept since you were a teenager.’
Chloe sighs and I silently will her to tell Sasha what she told me last night. To open up to her sister. To strike while the iron’s hot.
‘A combination of too much red wine and work catching up with me.’
The bed dips again and Sasha’s shoes hover next to Chloe’s feet. ‘We’re worried about you, you know. You’re working so hard. We thought we were doing a good thing asking you to take on this tour, but maybe we asked too much of you.’
‘No, the tour’s the best thing that ever happened to me. My business is booming. I met Pedro.’ She sniggers and I can’t help flicking her foot.
‘You should take some time off. Relax. Have a break from it.’
‘I can’t take my foot off the pedal now, Sasha. You know better than anyone what it’s like to run a business.’
‘Well, get some help then. Hire some more managers and start delegating.’ Concern weaves into her every word.
‘I will, I promise, as soon as I’ve got the new branches up and running.’ Chloe sounds so convincing, I almost believe her.
Someone else knocks on the door. I bite back my sigh. Doesn’t anyone in Huxley Castle have work to do?
‘Sash?’ My brother’s voice carries into the room a split second before I glimpse his trademark black Doc Martin boots.
‘Come in,’ Sasha calls like she owns the place. Oh wait, she does. The urge to pee is almost unbearable now.
‘Has anyone seen Jayden? He’s not in his room.’ Irritation tinges Ryan’s tone.
‘Nope.’
‘Megan’s looking for you downstairs,’ he says. I assume he’s talking to Sasha. ‘A guest’s complaining the duck down pillows have triggered an allergic reaction.’
‘Honest to god,’ Sasha sighs, as her feet touch the thick wine-coloured carpet. ‘Meet us in the spa at three o’clock, if I don’t see you before. I’ll have the girls bring up a breakfast tray for you. Divert your calls to Ruby. That’s why you pay her six figures. Get some rest.’
‘See you later,’ Chloe calls.
It feels like years before the door clicks behind them. Rolling out ninja-style, I run to the bathroom. When I’ve finally relieved myself, I turn on the power shower and hop in.
‘Mind if I join you?’ Chloe’s head peeps round the door. We’ve definitely progressed to the next stage of our relationship. She’s never joined me in the shower before, but then she famously never did the-morning-after.
Beneath the cascading droplets, Chloe lathers that delicious smelling shampoo through her hair, beaming up at me. Taking her hands from her hair, I place them on my waist to steady her and take over the lathering, massaging her scalp. Her eyelids flutter closed as she moans appreciatively.
‘I’ll do yours in a sec,’ she promises.
‘But then I’ll smell like you, and everyone will know we were together.’ My fingers work over her head before dropping to her breasts. I can’t seem to keep my hands off them. Inevitably, they always gravitate back.
Dubious eyes flick up to mine. ‘Maybe we should just tell them?’
‘What?’
