Lisa amalgamated my stuff into the drawers on the left. Your things are on the right.”
She made a face. “Sorry. I didn’t realize she would crash your privacy while helping me.”
A snort escaped him. “I am devastated that she discovered I have mismatched socks in my sock drawer.”
Julia folded her arms over her chest then stared at him.
His brow rose. “What?”
“You’re being far too reasonable again.”
“Reasonableness is my downfall,” he confessed. “Sometime you’ll have to take it up with my sisters. I’m sure it’s their fault.”
“I’m sure.”
Still laughing, Julia grabbed what she needed from the drawers on the right then disappeared into the bathroom.
Five minutes later she gave herself a stern pep talk, staring into the mirror. “This is a no harm, no foul situation. Either he says yes or he says no, and either way, we’ll know how to proceed.”
A firm chin dip later, she opened the door and marched to the side of the bed.
Zach was tucked under the covers. He wore a pale-grey T-shirt, his broad shoulders and muscular chest visible as he sat upright, leaning on a stack of pillows. He had a reader in his hand, and—
Holy crap, that was sexy. “You wear glasses?”
The most adorable flush covered his cheeks. “Sometimes?”
She made sure her expression matched her approval. “I like them.”
“I like them too, since they help me see and all.” Still, he slipped them off, placing them on the side table. “They’re special glasses with a tint to them. They help me track better on digital devices. I don’t have much of a problem when it comes to paperwork, but screens are a different matter. My mom figured out that’s why I was getting wicked headaches back in high school.”
“Go, Mom.” Julia took a deep breath and settled on top of the covers of what she guessed was her side of the bed. “Can we talk about something?”
His expression turned inquisitive, his full attention on her.
She held out her journal. “Since I figured we’ll be all awkward sharing a bed because of not letting my dad find out the truth, I decided we may as well go for full-out embarrassment.”
Zach took the notebook from her. “What’s this?”
“I decided my third thing for us to do together.” She said it as drily as possible.
His expression changed just the slightest bit. A hint of disappointment, which was brutally satisfying, considering what he was about to read.
He opened the book to the page she had bookmarked. His gaze skimmed the page, and she knew the moment he hit the addition.
Zach glanced up, his blue eyes wide. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
His expression remained hesitant for about three more seconds before his smile bloomed into sheer satisfaction. “Sweetheart, I have zero problems agreeing to your third request. It’s a bit of a challenge, but it’s one that I’m more than willing to make the sacrifice to achieve.”
Julia laughed. “So glad you’re willing to throw yourself on the altar of fooling around. But let’s talk about that for a minute, before you get too excited.”
He wiggled his brows. “Very funny.”
Another jolt of amusement escaped her, but they still needed to discuss the matter. She leaned forward on her elbows. “We need to define fooling around.”
14
If karma were an actual person with a home address, Zach would’ve mailed her an entire box of cream-filled doughnuts. Chocolate-coated, maybe with sprinkles as well.
This was not the way he’d expected the evening to end.
Oh, he’d been hopeful, considering the whole jammed-into-one-room situation, but not in his wildest dreams had he imagined Julia handing over her notebook with the request they start fooling around down there in black-and-white.
Although he wasn’t as keen on having to define terms, he was willing. He patted the empty space closer to him. “Let’s talk.”
Julia’s lips twisted wryly. “I think I’ll stay here for now, thanks.” Her head tilted as she examined him. “First off, I trust you. Which is why we’re even having this discussion in the first place.”
“Thank you.” He folded his hands behind his head, getting comfortable for however long the process took.
Now that the evening would end with Julia not just in the bed with him but in the bed with him, he suddenly found he had a bucketload of patience.
She opened and closed her mouth a couple times. Her nose wrinkled—damn, why did he find that so adorable?
Words poured out of her as if she had decided her confession had to happen in the shortest time possible. “I don’t like sex. I mean the actual part where