Page 38 of Tempted To Be Mine

“Yeah.” I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to wake up. “You fell asleep on me first. You started it.”

It wasn’t a great argument, but my brain wasn’t quite awake yet.

“I started—” She shook her head, like she was trying to clear it. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Because you looked so peaceful.” I stretched, my back protesting from a night spent in a position it definitely wasn’t meant to be in. “Snoring. Drooling. The whole thing. No way I was disturbing you.”

Her eyes went wide. “I was not.”

“You were. Just a little. It was cute.”

“I don’t snore. And I definitely don’t drool.”

“Okay.” I held up my hands in surrender. “Whatever you say.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, but some of the alarm had faded from her expression. We were both fully clothed so it wasn’t like there was a scandal to deal with.

“This is fine,” she said finally. “We fell asleep. It happens. People fall asleep.”

“Exactly.”

“But we probably shouldn’t do it again.”

I sat up straighter, the blanket pooling in my lap. “Why not?”

“Because.” She gestured vaguely between us. “It feels like crossing a line.”

“What line?”

“The professional line. The friend line. I don’t know, Jeremy. A line.”

I studied her face, trying to figure out what was really going on behind those blue eyes. She didn’t look angry. She looked uncertain. Like she was trying to convince herself of something.

“Sure,” I said. “Of course.”

She nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Okay. Good. I’m going to shower. We have another long day.”

“Right. Yeah. I should probably head back to my cabin anyway.”

I stood up, grabbing my jacket from where I’d tossed it on the chair. Lucy was already moving toward the bathroom, putting distance between us. I watched her go.

“Hey,” I called out.

She paused at the bathroom door, looking back at me.

“Thanks for letting me stay,” I said. “Even if it was accidental.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Thanks for the food. And for making sure I didn’t freeze to death.”

“Anytime.”

She disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, I heard the shower turn on.

I let myself out of her cabin, stepping into the cold morning air. It was beautiful. Peaceful. I took a deep breath.

Her scent clung to me. I found myself inhaling deeper, holding it in my lungs like I was trying to memorize it. What the hell was that about?

I shook my head and started walking toward my own cabin. We were friends. That was it. That was all we’d ever been. She was my manager, my agent, my person who made sure I didn’t completely fall apart. The line she was talking about existed for good reasons.