I’m going to do everything possible to convince you it was either the wind, a bad vent, or an animal.”
He should let go of her.
But if he let go, then she’d stop touching him. And Sydney’s touch was even better than that cold beer he’d been craving.
“Don’t make me tell you,” she pleaded. And flashed him the big, woeful brown eyes that almost worked. Would’ve worked if he hadn’t gotten the big-eye treatment from his sister all his damn life every time she wanted something.
“Sydney.” With one hand, he smoothed the hair from her face. “As the business owner, and as your friend, and especially as your fake fiancé, you’ve got to tell me what just happened.”
Her teeth worried at her bottom lip. “I saw a snake.”
Okaaaaay. That had been a big scream, though. Really big. While Alex might be new to the area, he knew it wasn’t Florida. No pythons lurked along the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. “A boa constrictor escaped from the Baltimore zoo a hundred and fifty miles away and snuck in the house?”
“No. It was maybe as long as my hand. Skinny.” She shuddered again.
“That we can deal with. Without calling in animal control or an exterminator.” Which, God help him, they hadn’t budgeted for. At all.
“Technically, I think you already did. It was on a white piece of cardboard? Like a glue trap?”
That made things simple. “It wasn’t moving? Wasn’t chasing you? I don’t need to douse the place in gas and toss a match over my shoulder? Burn it all down?”
Her eyes narrowed. Dangerously so. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Only because I know that you’re not in danger up here. And because you’re adorable hanging on to me, all flustered. I kind of like stepping into the role of protector. Maybe, if we go digging around in the attic, we’ll find a suit of armor I can put on.”
Her hands dropped to her sides as fast as if he’d given her a shock. “Did you know about the snake?”
“You mean Reginald? The inn’s long-standing mascot?” Her mouth dropped open, and Alex bellowed in laughter. “No. I didn’t know about your snake. We were warned that they’re a known nuisance here at the edge of the river. And that having the heat back on in this place might draw them out initially. So we laid traps.”
“It can’t wriggle up the stairs?”
“Not if it’s already stuck on the trap. And more than likely dead.” Alex shuffled them inside, then kicked the door shut. “There. Now there’s a solid door between you and the snake, in addition to an entire flight of stairs.”
“Thank you.” Tension visibly drained from her face and body. Sydney no longer appeared locked in fight or flight mode. Well, just flight, given her sprint up the stairs.
Alex retightened the tuck of the towel at his waist. Because he was suddenly, intensely aware that they were behind a closed door.
In a bedroom. Even if the bed’s comforter hadn’t been washed in seven years.
They were alone.
And if he kept circling around that single fact, his towel wouldn’t be able to contain certain…parts for much longer.
He eased closer to the still-steamy bathroom. Put the depth of a tall armoire between them, angling his hips into the wood and away from her view. “Not a fan of the creepy-crawlies?”
“No. Not at all.” Sydney moved to the opposite side of the bed—aka as far away as possible from the door. “I had a snake in my bed once. In Thailand—where there’s a better than average chance that they’re poisonous, rather than the garden variety.”
“Yikes. Full disclosure? I would not be anywhere close to calm if I discovered a snake sharing my bed.”
She interlocked her fingers. Twisted them out and circled them around each other as if rubbing on lotion. Back and forth. Over and over. “I can handle mice. Bats in caves. Bears crossing the path when I’m hiking. Just not snakes. It scarred me. I mean, it didn’t bite me. But emotionally—yeah, I can’t handle snakes.”
Even though he’d only spent a handful of days with her, Alex had picked up on the fact that Sydney had some spitfire in her. Mostly from the way she’d aimed that temper at him during their initial meeting. Aside from that, though, she gave the impression that she was in control of herself. All the time. Even when throwing herself on his mercy to beg him to pretend to be her fiancé.
She was thoughtful. Reasoned. Not impetuous—again, aside from