She does a few more things then passes us the keys for the room. “Wi-Fi password is on the sticker inside the holder. Dining room closes at ten p.m. every night, and the bar closes at midnight. If you need anything during your stay, please don’t hesitate to let us know.”
We head to the elevator and take it up to the third floor.
Andrew uses the card to unlock our room’s door and I step inside. It’s certainly the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Andrew’s apartment—there’s a lot of wood furniture and a mix of fabrics. In one corner of the room is a fireplace with two armchairs angled toward it and a table between them. It’s the perfect place to cozy up with a book and some hot chocolate.
The room has some Christmas decorations too—garland on the fireplace and a medium-sized tree in the other corner of the room. A door in the middle of the far wall leads to the bathroom, I assume.
“This is really nice.” I look over my shoulder at Andrew, who’s looking past me, mouth set in a thin line. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s only one bed.” He pushes a hand through his hair like I’ve noticed he does when he’s stressed or frustrated. “My mum booked the room. I didn’t even think of the fact that she would have only booked one bed. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, Andrew. We’re both adults.” I chuckle and set my purse on the end of the bed then walk over to him. “I mean… I was sort of hoping we’d only need one bed on this little trip anyway.” I go on my tippy-toes and bring my mouth to his, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He returns the kiss then forces himself to step away. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, Kenzie, and you’re making it rather difficult.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman. Maybe I think they’re overrated?” My voice is coaxing and low.
“Jesus, woman.”
Before he can say anything else, there’s a knock at the door. It’s the porter with our luggage, and he brings it into the room. Andrew tips him when he leaves, then turns to face me with his hands on his hips.
“So… what should we do?” My tone makes it clear that what I want to do involves the two of us being naked.
“I’d really love a shower after that stressful drive. Do you want to go first?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to unpack before all my clothes get wrinkled. You go ahead.”
He nods and walks over to where the porter left his luggage.
“When are you expecting your parents to arrive?” I have to admit, I’m nervous. I haven’t even asked Andrew what he’s told his parents about me. Do they think I’m his girlfriend, his friend… something in between, which is probably closest to the truth?
Andrew glances at his watch. “I’m surprised I haven’t heard from them yet. Any minute, I suppose.”
“All right, well, you shower and then I’ll freshen up.”
“Right.” He takes his things into the bathroom and closes the door. I think I might hear the door lock click into place, which means he’s really taking this whole gentlemanly thing seriously.
I get to work unpacking and settling in. When I go to check the view from the big window to the right of the fireplace, I can’t make out the lake because of how hard the snow is falling. Deciding to enjoy this peaceful moment, I sit in one of the chairs by the fireplace, relax, and watch the snowfall.
It feels like being in a Christmas movie. The setting couldn’t be more perfect.
I hear the water from the shower stop and I do my best not to think about the fact that Andrew is naked behind the door and what he looks like. My libido doesn’t get the message though. Try as I might, I’m still trying to picture what he might be doing behind that door. The faucet goes on and off a couple of times and I wonder if perhaps he’s shaving. I noticed he wasn’t his usual clean-cut self when he picked me up.
I picture him wrapped in a white towel, shirtless, beads of water running down his muscular chest, and leaning in to drag the razor over his face. I’ve always thought there’s something innately sexy about watching a man shave.
The shrill ring of a phone startles me from my thoughts. I look at the small table beside the chair and realize it’s not my phone. It must be Andrew’s.
I can’t really make out what he’s saying as he’s talking low, but he’s put the call on speaker. I hear a woman with a posh English accent speaking, though I can only make out a few words of each sentence.
But then he must come closer to the door with the phone in his hand because I very clearly hear his mother say, “It’s been so long… and after what happened with Audrey…”
“I do not want to discuss Audrey, and if you do ever meet Kenzie, you are not to bring her up. Understood?” His voice is clipped and clearly irritated. He really doesn’t want to talk about Audrey, whoever that is.
But what I know is that if he doesn’t want to talk about her, she’s exactly what we need to discuss.
ChapterTwenty-Five
Andrew