Page 17 of Karma’s a Beach

“Yeah, bam! No one’s going to push for details because we’ll say it’s just sex. Then that buys me a few nights so I can figure out how to talk to Roxie about our room situation. That is…if you’re okay with it being more than one night.”

His gaze narrows. “That depends.”

“On?”

“Do you snore?”

My bark of laughter echoes through the entire downstairs and I bury my face in the cushions until I calm down. When I look at Sebastian, he’s grinning widely, like he’s proud of the fact that he made me laugh like that.

“No one’s mentioned it to me either.”

But that’s probably because I haven’t slept with anyone in over a year.

Not something I want to disclose at the moment.

“So you’re saying we should go upstairs, and if we’re caught, we let everyone think we’re sleeping together and having sex,” he clarifies.

“Exactly.” Then I hold my breath and wait for him to tell me I’m crazy.

Instead, he stands, stretches, makes my mouth water, and then holds out his hand to me.

“I’m in,” he says.

When I put my hand in his and he gently tugs me to my feet, I let out a soft gasp because he’s stronger than he looks too. His hands are large and a little scratchy, and I am on sensory overload from that one touch.

“I’ve got your laptop and pillow. Do you want to grab some more water before we go up?”

I shake my head because I’m tongue-tied.

Wordlessly, we quietly make our way to the stairs and climb up to the third floor, and I’m a little embarrassed at how breathless I am. But I have a feeling it’s not all about the climb.

His room has a king-size bed, and I can see where he had tried to fall asleep on the left side.

He lets go of my hand and places the laptop down on the dresser as I walk around to the right side.

It feels weird to slip my robe off because it feels like I’m purposely exposing myself to him, but I do it quickly and get under the blankets as fast as I can.

After closing the door and shutting off the light, I can hear more than see him moving around before he gets in bed beside me.

“Are you okay?” he whispers. “Would you like another pillow or an extra blanket?”

“Nope,” I squeak. “I’m good.”

I lie there stiff as a board, staring up at the ceiling as the enormity of the situation hits me. I’m in bed with Mr. Handsome from the plane.

That’s when a giggle escapes and I’m mortified.

“Liv?”

“Hmm?”

“Something funny?”

Me and my stupid mouth.

Rather than fighting it, I roll onto my side so I can face him.

My eyes have adjusted to the darkness, and I can faintly see him.

“Okay, here it is—it just struck me as funny that I’m here with the guy I met on the plane.

I don’t know why I think it’s funny enough to giggle, but I couldn’t help it.

I thought you were really cute when we were on that flight, and it’s a little surreal that we’re here together now. ”

“Oh.”

Then I wait for him to maybe return the compliment, but he doesn’t and I’m wildly disappointed.

Would it have killed him to say that he thought I was cute, too?

Or maybe that he had regretted not asking for my number?

I’m not asking for a declaration of love or anything, but a simple reciprocal compliment would have been nice.

The silence stretches on until it becomes awkward, so I roll over and shut my eyes. “Goodnight, Ash.”

I use that name because it weirdly helps me keep the two identities separate. Sebastian is the guy I just embarrassed myself in front of. Ash is a guy I just met.

The bed is comfortable, and the day suddenly catches up with me, and I’m on the verge of falling asleep.

“I thought you were very attractive too,” he says. “I didn’t want to admit that and confuse things.”

I’m about to roll over when he finishes with, “Goodnight, Liv.”

My brain tries to form a coherent thought, but I realize anything else can wait until tomorrow when I’m more awake. Right now, sleep is claiming me, and I am here for it.

I wake up the next morning alone and I’m oddly relieved.

I’m also a bit disoriented because the room is pretty dark from the blinds and curtains, and I have no idea what time it is.

Sitting up, I glance around and realize there’s no clock in here.

My phone’s down in the room I should be waking up in, but I do have my laptop.

Stumbling from the bed, I whip it open and blink several times because I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

It’s after eleven.

“Ugh…so everyone’s going to be up to see my walk of pretend shame. Awesome.”

For some reason, I truly believed that we were going to pull this off and the only one who was going to know anything was Roxie. I planned on having a conversation with her where I told her the truth and no one would be the wiser.

But now?

Now I’m the girl who jumped into bed with a guy I just met.

Why did my stupid author brain have to go there?

Sleep deprivation decision-making is almost the same as drunk girl decision-making! They’re both bad!

Okay, okay, okay, I’ve got this. I use Ash’s bathroom to quickly splash some water on my face and try not to cringe at my reflection. After that, I put my robe on, grab the laptop and quietly open the door—I need to gauge whether or not anyone’s actually in the house.

I’m nearly blinded by the brightness, but I can already tell no one’s inside. I lean over the railing and I can see the back deck and spot everyone except Roxie out there. I’m sure she’s out on the beach with the dogs.

“Whew.”

With the coast clear, I race down to my room and shut the door.

“Well, well, well…look who finally came back. Good morning, minx.”

Oh no…

When I turn around, Roxie’s sitting in the middle of her bed with Mosy in her lap and stroking her like she’s some sort of villain in a James Bond movie.

The other dogs aren’t here and I’m a little flustered and have no clue what to say.

She’s watching me with a knowing smirk, and I desperately need her to tell me what she knows so I don’t put my foot in my mouth.

Did she already talk to Ash? Does she have the version where we did it, or did he tell her the truth?

“Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and you were gone,” Roxie begins slowly. “The dogs get me up early—especially when we’re staying someplace they’re not familiar with—and I was shocked to see your bed empty. Well…except for Gunnar. Sorry about that. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“Rox, you can’t promise that because unless he sleeps in another room or you put him in a crate, it’s not gonna happen,” I reason, sitting down on my bed. “And I hate the thought of him in a crate.”

“I swear he’s not normally a bed kind of dog. I mean, he has his own bed, but he doesn’t like to sleep in a people bed. He must really like you!”

Yeah, lucky me.

“If you want, I can take the twin and you can have this bed. Then if Gunnar hops up, you’ll actually have some space.”

“Uh…”

“Or…you can keep sleeping with Ash,” she says in a bit of a sing-song way.

Like a smartass.

Sighing, I make myself comfortable. “Alright, just say whatever it is you need to say. It’s obvious you talked to Ash already.”

“I did, but…he didn’t say anything to me about it.”

“So then how…”

“Process of elimination,” she tells me. “You weren’t in here. There’s no way you would have gone into Lolo or Van’s rooms, and I looked at every surface in this house. The only room I didn’t go in was Ash’s.”

“Oh.”

“And I also checked the garages and the cars,” she clarifies, “because I believe in being thorough.”

“What if I had gone out for a late-night walk on the beach and something happened to me, huh?” I demand, although I’m not exactly sure why. “I could have gone outside and been abducted!”

“Liv, come on. Be serious. You wouldn’t go outside alone.

That’s not who you are. Besides, all of your things are exactly where you left them when we came up to bed.

Except your laptop. Plus, when Ash came down the stairs, he shut his door like he was trying to be extra quiet. It all just added up.”

“Okay, fine. I slept in Ash’s room. It wasn’t planned. We both ended up in the kitchen at the same time. When I couldn’t get Gunnar to move, I decided to leave the room for a while and went downstairs to try to write.”

“But you didn’t write, did you, you little minx!”

“For the love of it, Rox, stop that! That’s not how it was!”

“Oh, please! Just yesterday you admitted in this very room that you were attracted to him; I just didn’t expect you to move so fast!”

“Does anyone else know?” I ask wearily, because the answer is going to determine how the rest of this conversation goes.

“No. I told everyone you were sleeping late because the dogs kept you up.”

“Oh, um…okay. Thanks. And did you talk to Ash at all?”

“I was having coffee out on the deck after watching a spectacular sunrise when he came down. Actually, it was a bit later than that. Sometime after eight. Anyway, he came outside and sat with me and started asking a lot of questions about the dogs and their sleeping habits. Do they all sleep on the bed? Do I think Gunnar would sleep in his room? Are they okay sleeping in new places?” She shook her head.

“Ash is a great guy, but he clearly had an agenda and considering where I found Gunnar this morning, I knew he was the reason you weren’t there.

But I think it’s adorable how you ended up in Ash’s bed. ”

“It was a last resort,” I murmur. “I had just planned on sleeping on the sectional in the den.”

“So…wait. Nothing sexy happened?”

I could be honest, but then I’m right back here sharing a bed with a dog tonight while wearing earplugs.

“I…uh…”

Roxie holds up her hand to stop me. “You know what? That’s me just being a little too nosy.

Sorry. You haven’t even talked to Ash about last night, so that’s something that needs to happen first.” She puts Mosy down and scrambles off the bed before coming over to hug me.

“For what it’s worth, he’s a great guy. Plus, what a great way to enhance your vacation, right? ”

I’m sure I look horrified, because that’s how I feel.

“Relax, Liv! Even though I hate all males, I seriously miss sex. I’m a very open-minded and liberated woman who doesn’t mind…you know…taking care of business on my own, but you have a sexy and genuinely decent guy who is definitely into you! Take advantage of that!”

“You’re kind of making it sound icky. And wrong. I don’t want to take advantage of Ash. Especially because he’s a nice guy.”

“You obviously got over the ick, and we’re too old to keep using that word, so stop it.

I’m just saying, maybe there’s a reason the two of you were on that plane together and then the funeral and now here.

Think about it.” She hugs me again. “We were all thinking of just doing sandwiches for lunch and then going out for Mexican for dinner. What do you think?”

As if on cue, my stomach growls loudly. “I think I’m starving and down with anything.”

“Well, why don’t you shower or do whatever you need to do and then come down and join us?”

“Okay.” Roxie’s almost to the door when I stop her. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to say anything to Van or Loren about last night.”

She makes a zipping motion over her lips. “They won’t hear it from me.”

“Thanks, Rox.”

“See you downstairs!”

I opt for a quick shower and afterwards, slip on my bathing suit with a floral sarong and put my hair up in a bun.

I’ll deal with the aftermath of that decision when it’s time to get ready for dinner.

For now, I’m trying to be quick since everyone’s going to notice how late it is and how I’m just now joining them.

But I can’t focus on that, otherwise I am most definitely going to look guilty.

If what Roxie said is true, everyone thinks the dogs kept me up all night—which is not a lie—so all I need to do is focus on that.

“Don’t offer any other information,” I quietly remind myself as I grab my phone and sunglasses and head out of the room.

I can hear people in the kitchen but have no idea if it’s everyone or just some of them, and that’s where I head.

“Hey! Look who’s finally up!” Vanessa says cheerily. “Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes, please!” But I head over to the Keurig—one of the more modern additions to the house—to make it myself. “I hear we’re making sandwiches for lunch. Anything I can do to help?”

“No, but thank you. Zayne ran to the store to grab some salads for us to have on the side,” she tells me.

“You’d think we would have everything we need by now after two huge grocery orders yesterday.”

Roxie, Loren, and Mike are sitting at the kitchen table talking, and Zayne walks over and puts his arm around Vanessa’s waist. “Hey, Liv.”

“Hey! I hear you ran out to get more stuff for our lunch. Thanks!”

“It was purely selfish of me. I’m big on having like…a lunch platter. Big sandwich, several sides, and a drink.”

“We went to New York last month,” Van explains. “Decided to try Katz’s Deli. Holy cow…”

“It was freaking awesome!” Zayne finishes for her. “Plus, that is now my sandwich goal!”

“He’s not kidding,” she adds, before kissing him.

They’re totally adorable and I’m about to comment on it when Sebastian walks into the kitchen. Our gazes instantly meet, and he looks even better today—although I’m not sure how that’s possible.

I finish putting cream and sugar in my coffee when I notice him walking toward me. My heart races, and I try hard not to make that noticeable.

“Good morning,” he says, his voice low and gruff, and it makes me tingle.

“Hey,” I reply softly, but never get to utter another word because suddenly I’m in his arms and being kissed within an inch of my life.