I raised an eyebrow at her. “And I’d be taking what, the bathroom? Why don’t I just give her my room, and I take the living room?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m talking about us sharing a room, smartass. We’re married, remember? We can’t exactly let her think we aren’t.”
I could hardly react before Hazel walked back with Lucia. “So, what’s the sleeping situation? Are we sharing? Or what?”
“She can use the spare bedroom,” Gabriella said, giving Lucia a big grin. “I just need to move a few things out of it.”
Hazel looked at her sister, a little confused, but didn’t say anything. I quickly realized that while Hazel might knowthe marriage was just in writing, Lucia didn’t, which meant we needed to make it appear we were happily married.
“I use it for an office anyway.” Which wasn’t entirely wrong because she did. Her room was spotless. I saw both of their rooms when I walked down the hallway, and they were on opposite ends. Hazel’s room looked lived in, while Gabriella’s looked like it was staged.
Lucia was situated, and Hazel was pulling clothes from her closet to let her wear. I stood in the kitchen, starting some chicken, while Gabriella set up her computer on the dining room table.
I flipped the chicken, listening as Gabriella got up and walked back into the kitchen. She paused next to me. “Thank you for all of this.”
I looked at her, taking her in. She smiled softly, her eyes were gentle as she looked at me. I felt my heart skip a beat as I looked at her.
“It’s nothing.”
“This isn’t nothing, Westley. You’ve opened your home to me, my sister, and another random person without a fight. Not everything is willing to do that.”
I adjusted the pan and moved the chicken around. “I know how important this is to you.”
“Well, either way, I want to thank you. So, how about a library date tomorrow? We can do some research and talk. Like we used to.”
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. I smiled. “That actually sounds nice.”
Dinner was quiet; Lucia ate slowly, and Hazel and Gabriella talked about anything to make her comfortable. I knewit was going to take more than a few nights to help Lucis get comfortable. She was going to need time to readjust to this new life.
After dinner, I found Gabriella in my bedroom trying to settle herself in. She was hanging clothes in the closet, and an alarm clock was on the other side of the bed. I expected her to be a little nervous about being in the room with me, but if she was, she wasn’t showing any signs of it.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to just sleep on the couch?”
She shook her head. “No, besides, if Lucia sees you on the couch, she will ask questions.”
I sighed. “Are you comfortable sharing a bed with me?”
She paused and looked at me. “Westley, we have slept together. I think we can share a bed.” She pulled the covers up and crawled into the bed.
I flicked the light off and crawled into my side of the bed. The house was quiet, except for the sound of my fan. I could feel the heat radiating from Gabriella and was very aware that she was in my bed. I suddenly thought of our last conversation when we joked about doing it in bed.
“Goodnight, Westley,” she spoke softly, her voice just near my ear. I adjusted my sheets. “Goodnight, Ella.”
I woke up before Gabriella did the next morning. I took in the way she slept and how she drooled a little on her pillow. Her hair was a mess, and I thought it was cute. I knew how hard she had been working, and she needed this sleep. I slipped out of the sheets carefully, trying not to disturb her.
I got showered and started a cup of coffee when I heard Gabriella coming out of her room. She offered me a smile. “Morning.”
“Morning, how did you sleep?”
“I slept pretty well, actually, thanks for asking. How did you sleep?”
“I slept well.” It took me a while to fall asleep, knowing she was next to me, but once I did, I actually slept peacefully.
“So, what time did you want to meet at the library? I have to run out to check on a few things, but I can be there by ten.”
Gabriella nodded. “Yeah, ten works. I need to jump online for a few hours anyway.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
