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He opened the door to his bedroom. “This is our room for the weekend.” Gerard had already placed their things inside.
Merritt ambled around the room, looking at his belongings—photographs of him with family and friends, his model sailboat collection, trophies from sailing races.
“Sailing, huh?”
“I love being out on the water. Sailing, skiing, surfing. I love it all.”
Her gaze traveled around and landed on his queen-size bed. “Uh.” Her eyes turned to him. “How’s this going to work?”
“Well, first …” He stepped closer until he was in her personal space. “We’ll take off our clothes …” He loved the way her mouth fell open at that. “Then … we’ll put on pajamas, climb under the covers, put our heads on the pillows, and fall asleep. That’s how a bed works.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know what I mean.”
“We have to keep up appearances, and I’m not sleeping on the floor.”
Every time she rolled her eyes at him, he found her more adorable than before.
“Fine, but you stay on your side, and I’ll stay on mine. I don’t want any wandering hands. And there will be no spooning happening. Got it?”
He laughed.
“I’m serious, Augustus.”
“Got it.” He held his hand up and gave her the Boy Scout salute.
“Were you a Boy Scout?”
“No.”
“Then you can’t use their salute.”
He shook his head. “Do you feel like a nap before dinner?”
“I don’t take naps. Plus, my body is on California time. It’s the middle of the day there.”
He plopped down on the bed. “Well, I need a nap.”
“You aren’t going to show me around the house?”
He patted the mattress next to him. “Come on. We can practice not spooning.”
She stared at him, clearly not amused.
He rolled off the bed and stood. “Fine. A tour.”
He led her through the house, showed her the other seven bedrooms, the adjoining baths, the dining room, and the expansive kitchen with breakfast room that led out onto the pool deck and patio. Merritt seemed in awe with every new space he showed her, and he was proud to share with her the home he grew up in.
“Your mom has great decorating taste,” she said.
“Yeah, she does.” He liked that she said that. The house was large, but Mom had always made it feel cozy and warm.
They finished their tour in the family room, and Merritt took a seat on the sofa.
Gus couldn’t help but remember the last time he’d been in that room with his family—the night Sebastian had told them he was stepping down and moving away with Genevieve. He tensed up, remembering Dad announcing Skylar as president.
“What’s wrong?” Merritt asked.
“Nothing.”