Easy Kisses (The Boudreaux Series Book 4) - Kristen Proby Page 0,13

with thoughts of a long, hot shower and a hot cup of tea when I suddenly hear, “What in the hell happened to you?”

My eyes close on a cringe, and I turn to find Simon staring at me in horror.

“Got caught in the storm.”

“You’re soaked through,” he says, indignation dripping along with the accent off his tongue, and my back immediately comes up. “How long were you out there?”

“I don’t know,” I counter. “How long does it take to run here from town?”

“From town?” He’s incredulous now. “You went to town alone?”

“Of course I did.” I feel ridiculous. I’m standing here, dripping all over the hardwood floors, arguing with the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I glance down and see that my black bra is showing through the ruined silk.

Perfect.

“I’m a grown up, Simon. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a hot shower and a change of clothes.” I turn on my heel and march to the elevator, relieved when I don’t have to wait for it to arrive. I make it to my room before I start to shiver and feel tears threaten.

“Good God, Charlotte,” I say in exasperation. “This is not worth crying over.”

I have visions of that hot shower and tea, so I order room service and make my way to the bathroom for that shower when my phone rings.

“Hi, Van.”

“Hey, mountain girl,” she says with a laugh. Savannah’s laugh was gone for so long that I don’t mind hearing it in reference to me. “I have some news.”

“Okay.”

“Kate’s preggers.”

“Holy shit! That’s great!”

“Well, it is, but she’s at the doctor because she started to bleed. It’s super early still, so this could be normal, or it could be bad.”

“Do you need me to come home? I can pack up now.”

“No. There’s nothing you can do here. I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

“But I really don’t mind—”

“No way. I’ll keep you posted.”

There’s a knock at my door. “Okay. I have to go, Van. I’ll call later, okay?”

“Great.”

We hang up and I answer the door, earning weird looks from the room service kid when he delivers my hot tea and cookies.

A girl deserves cookies after the day I just had.

I shut the door behind him, but before I can turn away, there’s another knock, so I open it, expecting it to be the same kid, but it’s Simon.

“I didn’t mean to treat you like a child,” he says, and my eyes fill with tears, completely pissing me off. “Hey, I’m sorry, love. I was just taken aback when I saw you and I was worried.”

“I’m not crying.”

“Okay.” He steps inside and wraps me up in a big hug, rocking us back and forth. His lips are on my head, and this could be the safest I’ve felt since I was a child and my father held me the same way. “What’s wrong, darling?”

“I’m cold and wet and embarrassed. And my sister-in-law is pregnant, but she’s bleeding, and Van doesn’t want me to come home, and I’m worried.”

“Shhh, love. It’s okay.”

It’s so not okay, but damn this feels good.

“Why don’t you go take that shower, and I’ll fix you some tea?”

“Okay.” I sniffle, mortified that I’m crying in front of him.

“How do you take your tea?”

“Lots of sugar,” I reply.

“You got it.” He steps back and waits silently as I gather some fresh clothes and walk into the bathroom. I lean my forehead on the closed door and take a deep breath before stepping into the shower. What is wrong with me? I never cry. Ever. I’m just going to chalk it up to being exhausted from yesterday’s hike and today’s wet run.

The hot water is heaven, and when I emerge ten minutes later, I feel better, but so tired. I really just want to curl up in bed and go to sleep.

I walk out of the bathroom and find Simon standing with his back to the room, looking out at the lake. My tea is steeping. One of the cookies is gone.

I might let him live.

“Do you feel better?” he asks without turning around.

“Yes.” I step toward him. “Thank you.”

“Don’t touch me.” His voice is perfectly calm, but his body is tense. “If you touch me, I won’t be able to keep my hands off of you, and I’m going to keep my hands off of you, Charly.”

I don’t even know what to say to that, so I just stay where I am, staring at his broad shoulders.

“I didn’t like the thought of you being out

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