We both started laughing again, like we had been all night. Bonnie’s etiquette guide had been far more entertaining than expected. Maybe I owed her one after all.
“Anyway—what?” he said.
“Elle. MacPherson,” I said. “TheBody.”
“Oh.” A quiet chuckle. “Of course.”
It was a good name for him, and he seemed to find it funny. Hopefully, it would stick. Seeing Liam like this—normal, unguarded—reminded me of when we first met.Chesty McSweatpants. It still kind of suited him, honestly.
He was only a couple of feet from me. The idea of stackingcushions between us, like he’d suggested earlier—whatever makes you comfortable—had felt ridiculous. We’d seen each other naked; we’d had sex. Why pretend we were strangers accidentally upgraded at a conference?
“I had fun tonight,” I said. “With you.”
“I always have fun with you, Andrea.”
A thin wash of light slipped through the curtains. I stared at the ceiling, listening to the slow, steady rhythm of his breathing beneath the hum of the air-conditioning.
“Are you asleep?” I whispered.
“Yes. Are you?”
I smiled into the dark. “Out cold… Actually, I’m freezing. Do you mind if I turn the AC down?”
“Of course not. I’ll get it.”
“Why are we whispering?”
“No idea.”
He climbed out, the mattress lifting with his weight, then settled back beside me a moment later.
“Better?”
“Thanks. A little.”
Outside, the rain tapped softly against the window. A sudden clap of thunder overhead made me flinch, followed seconds later by a flash.
“Okay?” he said.
“Yeah.” I’d stupidly only packed a set of tiny silk pajama shorts and a little vest. Trying very hard not to look like I was trying. Was my subconscious really that obvious? I was paying the price now.
The shape of his back rose under the quilt, wide and dark.
“I’m still cold,” I said.
“Want me to find you a blanket?”
“No. Thanks, though.”
I edged closer, feeling the heat from his body under the covers.
I knew he wasn’t close to being asleep, just as surely as I knew his arm was warm, and that I wanted it around me again, like before.
“Liam,” I whispered. “Would it be okay… if we just… I mean, I don’t want you to think—”
“You don’t have to explain, Andrea,” he said. “Come here. I’ve got you.”
I’ve gotyou.
