CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Anna woke with a smile on her face. She barely remembered the last time she’d greeted the morning with her lover’s strong arms wrapped around her equally nude body. Afraid to move and disturb his sleep, she listened to him breathing. Nervous, she wondered what she would say to him once he woke up. They’d taken what was supposed to be a pretend relationship and made it real.
Or had they?
She didn’t know what Skylar’s take was on the whole thing. To him, last night might have been a one-time deal to get it out of his system. What if he just wanted to put distance between them?
She mentally prepared herself for the possibility. They hadn’t exchanged promises or anything. He was free to walk away whenever he wanted.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t untangle herself from him so that she could get dressed and face him downstairs instead of in bed.
His arms tightened around her, and his lips grazed her neck, sending a wave of heat through her. Every inch of her skin tingled in sexual awareness. Unbelievable. She wanted him again. His hand moved, absently cupping her breast, and desire ignited deep within. She didn’t want to wake him in case they weren’t on the same page.
She drifted off into a blissful sleep.
♥♥♥
The second time she woke her stomach rumbled, and the smell of bacon teased her nose. She cracked her eyes open a slit, expecting to see Grandma Dot standing over her again with a tray of food. Skylar had brought her a homemade breakfast, fully dressed in his suit while she was naked beneath the sheet. She turned over while holding the sheet to her at a modest height and sat with her back against the headboard.
“What is it with your family and breakfast in bed?”
He chuckled softly. “It’s your birthday. Besides, you are a beautiful angel, and you deserve to be treated like one.”
She blushed. “Watch out. A girl can get used to that kind of sweet talk.”
“Good.” After setting the tray on her lap, he circled the bed so he could sit next to her. “You should have someone serve you breakfast every morning.”
“Are you volunteering for the job?”
He grinned and took a piece of bacon off her plate. “What do you want to do today?”
“Don’t you have to work or spend time with your family?”
“They know it’s your birthday. Remember?” He settled back against the headboard. “We can do whatever you want.”
Anna couldn’t remember the last time she had spent a day doing something other than work. As a kid, she had loved ice skating. She couldn’t imagine Skylar on skates, but maybe he’d surprise her. Or they could go shopping. Christmas was fast approaching.
“If we’re spending Christmas with your family, I’ll need to buy gifts for them.” That was a daunting task. “I have no idea what they would like.”
“Don’t worry about it. I usually have my secretary purchase stuff online for them. Since you’re my girlfriend... fiancé, you can put your name on the gifts.”
She stopped chewing long enough to gape at him. “You don’t buy gifts for your family? You have your secretary do it? That’s awful.”
“If you want to personally shop for them, that’s fine by me. I’ll give you the money, and you can add my name to the tags.”
“Better idea.” The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. “Let’s go shopping today. We can go downtown to the mall and...”
The blood drained from his face. Too late, she remembered Clare and the boys had been gunned down at the mall, probably the very one she was thinking about visiting. She wanted to kick herself for saying something so stupid and thoughtless.
She set the tray to the side as Skylar bolted from the bed. He left the room before she could apologize. Worried he might leave without talking to her, she dressed in a hurry, jeans and a sweater from the bottom drawer. She raced downstairs, running straight for the door.
“I didn’t leave,” he said. He stood in the center of her living room wearing a forced smile. “Sorry. I just needed a minute.”
“I’m the one that’s sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”
He cut her off with a semi-violent gesture. “You have nothing to apologize for. You shouldn’t have to watch every word that comes out of your mouth.” Raking a hand through his hair, he said, “This is why I talked you into faking an engagement. My whole family acted like they couldn’t talk to me because they might say something wrong. I hate the idea of you doing it, too.”
“I won’t.”