Page 43

As soon as the word is out of my mouth, my heart pounds in my chest.
Boyfriend.
I love the way that sounds.
A little too much, if I’m being honest.
It leaves me wanting more than we agreed to. I’ve wanted to be her boyfriend since the day I met her, but she has bigger issues to focus on right now.
She doesn’t need to worry about my unresolved feelings.
I give her hand a light squeeze. “How about we worry less this weekend and just enjoy the new scenery away from work? We will have plenty of time to worry and come up with a solution when we return home.”
Her stomach lets out a loud growl. “Yeah, that sounds great. I should enjoy the vacation and leave the worrying to next week.”
We turn our attention back to the show that is currently showing the end results of the house renovations.
Pointing at the bathroom that is being shown on the television, I say, “I really like the bright white tile in the shower.”
I love my darker tile better, but for a small spacelike theirs, the white really pops and helps make the bathroom appear bigger.
She nods. “Yeah, I was hesitant about the large hexagon floor tiles because it’s such a different shape, but it looks really elegant.”
I wouldn’t choose a large tile for a small bathroom, let alone a hexagon shaped tile, but they made it look really nice. “I agree.”
A loud knock sounds on the hotel door.
I throw the covers off of my legs and stand. “I’ll get the door. It should be room service.”
After looking through the peephole, I open the door and greet the room service attendant.
“Good morning. Thank you so much.”
I take the tray full of covered plates, a carafe of coffee, and two coffee mugs before closing and locking the door.
I place the tray on the cover in front of Staci before getting back under the covers on my side of the bed.
“That smells delicious.” Staci says, while pouring two cups of coffee.
She hands me one of the cups before placing the other one on her end table.
“Thank you,” I say when I turn back around.
She nods and gives me a smile in return as her stomach lets out an aggressive growl.
I laugh and say, “I better feed you before that thing attacks me.”
She chuckles, “I’m not normally this hungry this early in the day. I guess being able toactually sleep all night and relax has helped my appetite.”
I want to relish the fact that she feels so comfortable with me, but I don’t want to keep her waiting any longer.
I remove the plate covers and we each take a stack of pancakes before grabbing some bacon, sausage and hash browns.
She tries a nibble of bacon before asking, “I know you said you have a sister. Is she your only sibling?”
I love that she wants to know more about me. It feels almost like a real relationship with both of us wanting to learn things about each other.
“Yeah, my parents were happy with only having two kids, especially one of each. They keep nagging my sister for grandkids, though.”