He searched her face for a moment, then nodded. “I’m going to take a quick shower.” She wouldn’t say he ran away from her, but his gait was definitely faster than a walk.
She sat there for a moment in the empty room, gathering her composure. Stupid Viktor! He had triggered her kidnapping trauma and made her all weird in the brain around Krish. First going hungry so she could get him a salad, then the kiss in the woods, and last night spreading her legs for him. Yeah, this was all Viktor’s fault.
Annoying.
The clock on the wall said it was seven, which was early for heron a normal day, but not when they were running for their lives and, she assumed, needed to get on the road.
That’s right. You’re not here to have no-strings-attached sex with a man you met in a bar. You’re on the run, your life is in danger, and you’re just days away from never seeing this guy again. You can’t be annoyed that he called sex—or almost sex—with you a mistake.
You don’t want him, and he doesn’t want you.
Plus, you’re going to see his mom shortly.
Ugh. If there was anything that could douse ardor, it was parents.
Sejal hoisted herself out of bed. The shower sound was loud in this room, reminding her of what had woken her up last night. Did Krish normally shower twice a day?
Maybe he needs to wash away memories of the night.
Her lips turned down. Damn it, no more vulnerability.
She’d washed her underwear and left it drying on the radiator. She put on her panties and bra and tried not to think about how Krish had stripped her underwear off.
His mom. Think of his mom.
She ran instantly cold. Wow, this was actually a great mental trick.
She dug into the clothes. Patrick had left her what was clearly Krish’s mother’s joggers and sweatshirt. They were probably oversized on the petite woman, but they came to Sejal’s ankles and were snug around her hips. She tugged at the sweatshirt. It was gray, with a big red maple leaf on it. She liked Canada, too, so it was cool.
She made the bed quickly, mostly so she wouldn’t have to look at the rumpled covers. Since she was alone, she did what she’d been too tired to do last night and snooped.
The place was so... homey. The big room was decorated in a charming farmhouse style that was vintage instead of old-fashioned, with whitewashed furniture, pale cream bedding and curtains, and a floral wallpaper. It could have been anyone’s second home, a vacation retreat. Except for a few key things.
“What are you doing?”
Sejal shut the dresser drawer and looked over her shoulder. “I’m clearly stealing the silver from your mom’s—” She got distracted by his outfit. “Wait. Please tell me that’s not what you’re wearing.”
He looked down at his gray sweatsuit. It was identical to hers, except where hers was snug, his fit perfectly, probably because he and Patrick were roughly the same size. His feet were bare.
So odd, his naked feet. They were big and strong, but oddly vulnerable. She hadn’t noticed his feet before, but then again, she didn’t tend to notice anyone’s feet.
“Patrick has always tried to get my mom to wear matching clothes.”
She turned to face him. “We cannot be walking around wearing matching clothes.” Not when they were very much not a couple, as he’d made clear.
“There’s not much we can do about it now. We’ll go shopping for new clothes after breakfast.”
“We have time for breakfast? And to go shopping?”
“We have lots of time. It’ll take at least the day to get a new clean car and money.”
“Ah.” Yay. More time to feel awkward around Krish.No. If he’s not feeling awkward about this, you won’t, either.
“Thanks for making the bed.”
“No problem.”
He rocked back on his naked feet. “So, um, we should talk about the elephant in the room.”
