Just that possibility has me summoning all the courage in my body when I say, “I’ll do it again,” I tell her. “Whenever I can. As soon as I can.”
“You don’t have to,” she says, and she looks away from me. I could cry out when I see her shutter the real Pia away.
“I want to,” I tell her, bringing my hand up to turn her my way. “It’s what I want.”
She offers me a knowing smile. “Do you think we’ll ever sing that song together one day?”
I hear what she’s asking me, but I know it’s not the real question.
“I hope so,” I tell her, because I can’t give her any other answer right now. “One day.”
Pia nods in agreement, and then her eyes fall closed.
“Sleep,” I say, and I kiss the tip of her perfect nose.
“Goodnight, Cassie,” she mumbles.
“Goodnight, Pia,” I say, but I stay where I am, watching her as she drifts into a deep sleep.
CHAPTER 25
PIA
It doesn’t happen often, but a loud noise wakes me up.
The thumping is clearly decipherable as a fist banging on wood, but it’s impossible for my ears to hear the exact words being barked through the hotel room door. Whatever they are, they’re apparently very urgent.
But not urgent enough to stop me reaching for Cassie before I do anything else. She’s right there next to me, her face pressed against my shoulder, and she’s stirring awake too.
Thump, thump, thump. More banging. More shouting.
“What’s going on?” Cassie says, rubbing at her eyes in a way I wish I had more time to commit to memory.
“Who fucking knows,” I say, and with great reluctance, I slip out of the covers. “Stay here. I’ll go find out.”
I grab a dressing gown from the bathroom on my way to the door, and as I get closer, I can now determine that it’s Martin shouting outside my door, yelling my name. And there’s also someone else, calling Cassie’s.
Oh, shit.
I open the door to a pair of very frazzled men. Martin is in a robe that matches mine, although it’s come undone and I can see a full chest of hair, which I did not expect. And Kevin is standing next to him in plaid pajama trousers and a white vest, revealing very toned shoulders and biceps, which I also did not expect.
“Hello boys,” I drawl, leaning against the door. “I assume you have a good reason for waking me up at the crack of dawn.”
Martin tuts me before pushing past me to walk into my room. Kevin gives me a quick nod and then follows.
“Come on in,” I say before kicking the door shut. “Men entering!” I yell out to Cassie. “Cover up!”
“Oh, my God, Kevin!” Cassie squeaks, and she is exactly how I expect to find her when I am also in the bedroom: sitting up in bed with the sheets wrapped around her, held in place with a double-handed death grip.
“Morning, Cassie,” he mutters. “Sorry about this.”
I head back to the bathroom, find the second dressing gown and toss it to Cassie when I’m back near the bed. Martin and Kevin are standing in front of the curtained window, looking equally anxious.
“Turn around, boys,” I order, and after a confused glance at each other, they do just that.
Getting out of bed, Cassie throws the dressing gown on and then proceeds to straighten the sheets.
“Cassie, no,” I say. “We all know what happened here last night.”
