“We should do something,” I state as I look around us. My gaze travels to our surroundings and then back to Bray.
He grins. “I have an idea. Come on,” he says as he helps me up and then takes my hand and grabs the wine.
I follow him up to the main house. “Where are we going?” I hiss as I look around us.
“Somewhere Ava and I found,” he says.
We walk down a dark wood-paneled hallway, and he stops in front of two brass sconces. Giving me a wink, he turns one to the side, and the wall pops open.
“What?” I manage as I peek into a room. He flips a light switch, and I realize we’re in a secret library.
I step farther inside. “Holy shit! This is so cool,” I say as I turn in a circle, taking in the two-story room with what has to be several thousand books. It’s not enormous, but it’s also not small. There are two big oversized leather chairs and a small table in the corner. And a desk and chair in another corner. Otherwise, it’s just giant dark wood bookcases with several ladders allowing readers to reach the books on the second story.
“Right? Ava wanted to look for the key in here,” he explains.
“Are we key hunting?” I ask with a laugh.
He pulls me to him and takes a swig of the wine, handing me the bottle. I do the same and he takes the bottle and sets it down. “I have a better idea,” he says.
“What’s that?” I ask as he pulls me closer to him.
“We can keep kissing,” he suggests with a smirk.
I laugh. “You brought me here just so we could kiss without getting interrupted, didn’t you?”
He shrugs as he wraps his hands around my waist. “Maybe,” he says coyly.
I wrap my arms around his neck. “I’m not opposed,” I whisper as I lean up and press my mouth to his.
“Good,” he murmurs against my lips. “Because we have a lot of lost kissing time to make up for.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Bray
I wake up early. The sun is barely starting to emerge.
It takes a moment, but suddenly last night comes swimming into my consciousness. Did I just fuck things up?
I feel the panic start to set in, and I grab my pants and a t-shirt and head out to the patio. No one else is up yet, so I have the place to myself.
For reasons I don’t understand, the only thing I think of doing is calling Lanie.
I check the time. It’s late back home, but she might be up.
I video chat her.
She answers immediately. “Bray-bay?” she says. She’s clearly in her pajamas, and she’s curled up on her sofa with what looks like a book.
“Hey, were you sleeping?” I ask.
She yawns. “No, not yet. What time is it there?” she asks. I’d posted on social media about going to Italy, and she liked the post, so I guess she remembered.
“It’s like five in the morning,” I say as I sit down in a chair.
“Damn. Ever try sleeping in?” she mutters.
I laugh. “No. My jet lag has me all messed up.”
