Allegiant (32 page)

I hear the door open behind me and the sound
of suitcases being set on the floor. “So,” Dane appears by my side,
“what do you think?”

I look up from the note and into his eyes,
my expression wracked with confusion.

“
What’s the matter?” he
asks, searching my face.

I swallow. “You brought me on your
honeymoon?”

Dane looks guilty and trips on his words.
“No! Well, yes…kind of.” He steps toward me as I step back.

I curse without thinking twice. “Teagan is
going to flip her shit! She already despises me!”

“
She has no idea we’re
here.”

I shake my head in disbelief. Have I stepped
into some sort of Twilight Zone?

He puts his hands on his hips. “Remember
when I told you her mom wouldn’t let up on the wedding plans? That
she made me book a honeymoon?”

I nod as I remember the conversation we had
in his car after the Halloween party.

“
Well, this is it,” he
says. “It was supposed to be a surprise; Teagan never knew this was
the destination. And since it’s non-refundable and I’m not getting
married…” he trails off and sighs. “I think it turned out to be
quite convenient if you ask me.”

My face falls as I attempt to process
everything that’s happened in the last 24 hours. Super excited
about future – check. Forced to run away from home and abandon said
future – check. Tucked away on a tropical island on someone else’s
honeymoon – check. I glance down at the letter in my hand and
slowly hold it out to Dane. “There’s an emergency number listed in
case you need it.”

He takes the paper. “What? Are you upset
now? Mad? Talk to me.”

I blink in slow motion. “I’m not sure what I
am.” I bend to pick up my backpack and then stand, frowning. “I’m
overwhelmed. Everything’s happened so fast…”

His eyes search mine. “Tell me about
it.”

We stand there regarding each other for
silent seconds. A realization hits his features and he backs away,
pulling his phone from his pocket. “I forgot; I need to send some
messages.”

He opens his email and runs his finger up
the screen, scrolling. “One to my dad,” he says, staring at the
phone, “telling him I’ve been called out of town for work.” He
selects the message and hits send. “And one to my boss,” he
continues and scrolls some more, “with my resignation.”

“
Wait!” I blurt out. “Don’t
send that! When did you decide to resign?”

“
On the plane while you
slept.” He gives me a knowing look. I wasn’t really
sleeping.

“
You can’t resign from your
job! Especially over me!”

“
Emma, I was going to be
fired anyway,” he says. “This just gives me an excuse to quit
early.” He deliberately holds out the phone, so I can see him press
send.

I look away and fight the angry tears behind
my eyes. Is there any part of this man’s life that I haven’t
ruined? I work to pull myself together as I gather my suitcase. “I
need a shower and some sleep,” I mumble as I walk past him and into
the great room. “This way?” I gesture to my left.

He shrugs in ignorance and grabs his
suitcase to follow me.

We walk through the living
area and around the corner. A modern kitchen greets us, complete
with an island and breakfast bar. Fresh fruit, crackers, cheese,
and a bottle of wine sit in a basket on the island next to a white
card that reads
Congratulations!
I choose to ignore it and keep walking. At the end
of the hallway is a large set of double doors. I press down on the
handles and push the doors open, revealing a spacious master
suite.

I step inside as my eyes roam the room in
awe. The dresser, armoire, and bedside tables are all made of a
rich, dark wood. Large sliding glass doors make up most of the wall
to my right and through them I can see a spot lit patio. The same
tile and exposed beams found in main part of the home cover the
floor and the ceiling, but these walls are painted in a pale sage.
More fresh flowers and plants adorn the surfaces in the room, and
there is even enough space for an additional wicker couch and
chair. And the bed – is there a bigger size than a king? This bed
is huge, made of the same dark wood, and covered in plush beige
comforter with a leaf design. I abandon my luggage to walk forward
and run my hand across it. I want to dive into this bed and never
get out.

Dane breaks my bed-swimming fantasy by
walking into my line of vision. He heads for an open door and flips
a light switch. “I found the bathroom,” he says, clearly not as
impressed as I am in regard to the room’s decor. I look at the bed
of dreams and sigh, wondering if the guest room contains the same
thing. Obviously this will be Dane’s room; he paid for the place. I
turn and walk back toward the double doors.

“
Where are you going?” he
asks.

“
To find the guest room,” I
say, tired. I grab my things and head down the short hallway,
passing the kitchen. I walk through the living area and head for
the opposite side of the house. There’s a closed door off the
entryway and when I get to it, I pull the handle with gusto and
blink into the darkness of a hollow space. I fumble for a light
switch and end up hitting a button. I jump as a bright light pops
on and one of the garage doors starts to loudly rise. The garage? I
found the freaking garage?! Where’s the guest room? A house this
size surely has more than one bedroom. I sigh and press the button
to lower the door. After closing the interior door behind me, I
cross my arms and survey my options.

“
There’s supposed to be
another suite in the pavilion off the patio,” Dane says, appearing
around the corner.

I frown at him. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“
You walked away before I
could.”

I make my way to the glass wall and find one
of the sliding door handles. I unlock it and step out into the
tropical night with Dane behind me. A warm breeze blows, rustling
the palm trees that dot the patio. I spy the pavilion on the
opposite side of the swimming pool and walk around the blue water
to reach it. The pavilion door is another sliding one, and I locate
the handle in the dim light and pull. It’s locked.

“
You have got to be kidding
me,” I groan and rest my head against the glass.

“
Let me try,” Dane
volunteers and gives the handle a tug. “Yeah, that’s locked,” he
says and steps back.

“
Maybe there’s another
keypad?” I ask and start searching the stone wall for
buttons.

Dane cups his hands around his eyes and
peers into the pavilion against the glass. “It wouldn’t matter,” he
says and moves down a few steps to look again. “There’s nothing in
there but patio furniture.”

“
What?” I copy his stance,
pressing my hands against the glass and looking inside. Tables and
chairs in various shapes and sizes are crammed together and stacked
haphazardly on top of one another. I back away from the building.
“I think this qualifies as not finding everything to our
satisfaction.”

“
They probably figured we
wouldn’t need two bedrooms,” he says in defense of the retreat
company. “Besides, I only gave them – what? – eight hours notice?
We’re lucky the place was even available.”

I scowl. “I thought you said you
prepaid?”

“
I did,” he sighs,
exasperated. “But I never gave them a time frame. We still hadn’t
picked a wedding date.”

I stare at the ground. All I want to do is
shower and go to sleep. That’s it. That’s all.

“
C’mon.” Dane reaches out
and takes my hand. He turns me around and tows me toward the main
house.

“
Where are we
going?”

“
To bed.”

I stop walking and try to pull my hand away.
“I’m sorry?”

“
Don’t be dramatic,” he
says over his shoulder and tugs my arm, forcing me to follow.
“We’re tired, it’s late, and we’re sharing a room. Get over
it.”

We step over the threshold into the main
house and he slides the door closed behind us, never letting me go.
My mind flashes back to the night of the Halloween party, where he
led me around by my wrist. We walk over to my suitcase and
backpack, which I abandoned by the garage, and he picks them up in
one hand. He leads me down the hallway and back in to the bedroom,
tossing my bags on the bed.

“
There,” he says and lets
go of my hand. He regards my expression and rolls his eyes.
“Please. It’s not like we haven’t slept together before.” He walks
around to the opposite side of the bed, unzips his suitcase, and
starts to unload his clothes.

I reach for my bag to
follow suit as my mind races with sarcastic thoughts. Sure, why
shouldn’t we share a room, let alone the same bed? There’s
absolutely
no way
this will be awkward, none at all. I forcefully unzip my bag
and start to rummage through it for clean underwear and pajamas.
What is he thinking? Isn’t he the least bit uncomfortable with
this? He knows the truth now; he knows James is still in my
life.

I catch a glimpse of him under my lashes as
he locates what he was looking for. He tucks a pair of dark blue
sleep pants under his arm, picks up his toothbrush and toothpaste,
and looks at me. “I’ll just be a minute. Then you can shower or
whatever.”

I nod as he turns to head into the bathroom,
closing the door behind him. I sigh and return to digging through
my clothes. I’ve found the underwear, but I can’t find my pajamas.
And what am I going to do with all of these jeans and sweaters? I
can’t wear this stuff here. I’m going to have to pick up some new
clothes. Either that or roast to death.

Minutes later, when Dane emerges from the
bathroom, I’m still searching.

“
What exploded?” he asks,
eyeing my strewn clothes and empty suitcase.

I throw my hands up. “Apparently I forgot to
pack pajamas.” I look up from the bed and stop in my tracks. He’s
standing in the doorway shirtless, wearing only the pants. My eyes
slide over his hard chest and I blush, remembering the last time we
were in a bedroom alone together.

He smirks upon seeing my reaction and tries
to contain it, stepping forward to snag a t-shirt off his clothes
pile. He walks around the bed toward me, pulling it over his head.
“Are you sure?”

I roll my eyes. “Um, yeah. I’m sure.”

He peruses my garment mountain and a slow
smile spreads across his face. He reaches out and plucks a pair of
underwear off the bed; unfortunately, they’re the pale pink granny
kind. “Yet you remembered these?” he asks, grinning.

“
Give me those!” I grab
them from his hand. “You’re not helping!”

He laughs and then reaches across to his
pile. “Here.” He tosses me one of his t-shirts. “Wear this.”

I unfold the black shirt to find it’s a
concert tee from a Kings of Leon show.

“
That should be big enough
to cover everything,” he says, chuckling. “Even if you’re wearing a
pair of those.” He nods toward the underwear in my hand.

I narrow my eyes and hold the shirt to my
chest. I pick up my toiletry bag and shower supplies, and then
skirt around him toward the bathroom. “Not everyone can afford to
shop at Victoria’s Secret you know.”

I hear his voice from behind. “Well, maybe
we can change that.”

My face flushes and I turn around. “I
wouldn’t bet on it,” I snap and shut the door with my foot. The
nerve!

The bathroom is just an impressive as the
rest of the house. There’s a sunken tub with spa jets surrounded by
candles and a separate shower, along with two sinks, and mirrors
that travel from the counter to the ceiling. It’s not difficult to
catch a glimpse of yourself in such a large piece of glass, and I
cringe at my reflection. I look like absolute hell. Anyone who
looks like this should be wearing granny panties.

I set my things on the counter and then take
my shampoo, conditioner, and razor to the shower and place them
inside. I turn the faucet and hold my hand under the water, waiting
for it to warm up. Once it’s toasty, I step out of my clothes and
under the water, letting it beat on my back. I turn around and
realize the showerhead is adjustable and play with the settings. I
find one pattern that’s particularly nice and stand beneath the
pounding water with my eyes closed. I have died and gone to shower
heaven.

After I use all of the hot water, I get out
and dry off with what has to be the softest towel on the planet.
What is this made out of? Kittens? I get dressed, pulling Dane’s
shirt over my head, and turning around to check my reflection in
the mirror to make sure it’s long enough. It hangs shapelessly off
my body and, thankfully, falls to the middle of my thigh. I cannot
believe I forgot to pack pajamas. I brush my teeth, comb through my
wet hair, gather my clothes, and take a deep breath. I’m sure Dane
has found more things to ridicule me about, especially since I left
my stuff lying all over the place.

To my surprise, I open the door to a
darkened room. Once my eyes focus, I can see that our clothes and
suitcases have disappeared and Dane has crawled beneath the covers
to sleep on the side nearest the bathroom. I tiptoe around the foot
of the bed, dropping my dirty clothes on the floor. I carefully
pull back the blankets, so as not to wake him, and my body tenses
as I slowly lower myself to the mattress.

“
It’s not made of glass you
know.”

“
AHH!” I jump and pull my
knees to my chest. “You scared me!”