“Uh- no.” She had to remain firm. She took the plastic bag her mom packed and put it into the fridge. “Definitely not. For starters, you’re not feeling well.”
“I feel well enough.”
“Nope. No way. You got through dinner with my family. I think that’s enough of a selfless act for one night.”
Trace rolled his eyes. “You just don’t want to be distracted. You want to have that talk about the reunion, even though you’re going to be amazing.”
Ash shook her head. “Nope. Not having this conversation. Now, get into bed. We can talk about it in there so you can finally lay down and take a break.”
“Oh. Bed. Maybe you do want to discuss sexual favors after all.”
She grumbled under her breath, but she couldn’t help but smile. I could get used to this. That was the scary part. Trace wasn’t permanent. He’d agreed to help her because he was a nice guy. A good guy. Maybe even because for some crazy reason, he found her attractive and liked having sex with her. What they were doing wasn’t a real relationship and it wasn’t permanent.
She had no idea what an actual relationship meant. She didn’t even know if she wanted to. She had a life. She had her writing. She had her romance to keep her busy. She had a job. She had her family. She was happy before she met Trace and she’d be happy after.
Still, as she followed him into her bedroom, watched him greet Slappy, who didn’t bother to unfurl out of his tight little cat ball, pull back the blankets and slide into her bed, a sharp pang hit her right in the chest. She’d say right in the feels, but that saying always sounded so stupid. She did reach up and rub the spot, right over her heart, where the pain emanated from. Go figure, it didn’t exactly diminish.
Trace stared up at her. “You look like you’re thinking too hard.” He patted the spot beside him on the bed. “Come on. Slide in here and let me make you feel good. You’re wound up so tight it looks like you’re literally going to come undone at the seams.”
“No way. Not like that.”
“Well, we can cuddle, can’t we? I promise not to get too close and spread my disease all over you. It would be a shame if you were too sick to go to your reunion tomorrow.”
She rolled her eyes as she pulled back the sheets. “Yeah. A real shame. Maybe I should get you a paper bag and you should breathe into it and then I’ll inhale it all. Maybe we should have a really long make out session where we swap enough spit to drown a small country.”
“That sounds good to me.”
“I was kidding. And not because I want to get sick.” She slid in beside him. As she leaned in, threw her arm over him and rested her head against the solid wall of his chest right above his heartbeat, her tongue felt too thick for words.
Trace waited patiently while Ash tried to gather enough of her scattered wits to actually form language. Right when she opened her mouth, he smoothed his hand over her hair. He dug in at the end, pulling her elastic free and spilling her long hair out of the bun she’d worked it into. He made a noise low in his throat, something smoky and sensual and deep, while he caressed her hair. He dug his fingers in at the end, massaging her scalp gently. She nearly whimpered, it felt so good.
“I had a good time tonight.”
Lord, was there anything more sexy than a guy saying he had a good time enduring her family? Especially Jason? He was just the worst. She knew he’d bug her unmercifully, but poor Trace had to sit through it.
“Really? You don’t have to say that. I would totally understand if you told me that my family was nuts and that your faith in humanity was severely rocked by meeting them.”
He laughed, that deep rumble that she loved so much. His chest vibrated beneath her cheek. “No, they were nice. Your dad is funny. He tries anything he can do to keep the peace. I think he’s embarrassed by how you guys talk to each other, but he gives you space, since you are adults and he obviously loves you and thinks the world of you and gets that you’re brother and sister and you’re going to have that sibling rivalry your whole life because you’re close to each other. Your mom is amazing. She’s nice. Even if she harps on you to be with someone, she’s probably just worried about you being lonely. She obviously cares. And she sent me home with a get better soon package. That’s the nicest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. Your brother is- well- he’s your brother. Why do brothers exist if not to drive their sisters crazy? I’ve asked my sister this a hundred times myself, so I get it. Although, I would never bug her like that in front of anyone.”