We both stand awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Our glances flit to the bed, impossible to ignore in the middle of the room.
“You should take the bed,” Emmett says. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“You paid for the room, that hardly seems fair,” I protest.
“I’m a gentleman,” Emmett argues back.
“Is that what you tell all the girls you seduce?”
“Are you feeling seduced?”
“I wasn’t talking about me!”
I cross to the far side of the bed in a huff and slide under the covers. The linen sheets have been washed nearly to death, but it smells clean, and the mattress is soft enough to sink into.
I toss the other pillow to Emmett, and he lies down on the floor on the other side of the bed. I blow out the lantern, and the room is drenched in darkness, the only light coming from the flickering embers in the fireplace.
I can’t get settled. I’m too acutely aware of Emmett’s warm body on the floor, just feet away from me. From the sound of blankets rustling, he can’t get comfortable either.
I lie still and listen to Emmett and the tapping of the rain on the windows until my whole body feels electric. After a few minutes, I can stand it no longer. “Oh, for goodness’ sake, just come up to the bed. It’s big enough for two.”
The mattress creaks as Emmett climbs up and settles in next to me. He lays his head on the pillow and then turns to face me, both of us on our sides. He’s so close I can feel the heat of his breath, see the fringe of his dark lashes and the way his hazel eyes glint in the low firelight.
“I bet you wish I was seducing you right now,” he whispers, a ghost of a smile on his mouth.
“What would you do if I were one of those girls you take out into the garden during balls?”
“I took you to the garden during a ball.”
“You know what I mean.”
Emmett looks at me for a breath and then slowly extends a hand,laying it, featherlight, on the side of my face, his thumb at my jawbone.
A shiver goes through me. “Your hands are cold,” I whisper.
“The girls I seduce aren’t usually this critical of me.”
“Am I not one of those girls?”
If I were, this is the part where they’d kiss, right? I bet he’d cradle their jaws in his hands, really gentle, and tip their heads to taste them better.
If we were anything but friends, we’d probably be kissing by now.
“You belong to my brother.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
He sighs heavily. “You know what I mean.”
“What would you do, Emmett?” I ask, even though I know I shouldn’t. I have a perverse need to push him to reject me outright so I can extinguish this stupid, insufferable fire in my rib cage that ignites in his presence.
“You’re being mean, Ivy.”
The rain on the windows mirrors my own frantic heartbeat. Just the heat of his body next to mine sets me on fire.
I roll over on my back, terrified I’ll lean in and kiss him if he keeps looking at me like that.
“Have you ever kissed someone?” His voice is so quiet I can hardly hear it over the sound of the storm.
