Unsettled, she looked away. Maybe she was vulnerable. Something had to explain the way her brain was working.
“Usually you accuse me of being a fairy princess.” She tried to lighten the atmosphere. “I’m trying to work out if drama queen is a promotion or not.”
“It’s a sideways move. Where are you staying? We need to collect your things and settle your bill.”
“Alec, you can’t just—”
“Either you disappoint my family by making me stay here with you, or you come with me. Your choice.”
She gave a choked laugh. “You heard my mom—I don’t make good choices.”
“You mean you don’t make the choices other people want you to make,” he said drily. “If you really want to stuff yourself with cookies you can do it at my house. My mother loves to bake. She’ll be delighted to have someone with your appetite to feed. There will be enough carbohydrate and sugar on offer to comfort an entire sorority.”
“You’re British. What do you know about sororities?”
“My father is American.”
“I didn’t know that about you.” She was starting to realize there was plenty she didn’t know about him, including the fact that caring for a sick woman didn’t put the smallest dent in his calm demeanor.
And he was decent.
Moody, irritating, insanely hot, but decent.
He could have made an excuse and left her alone. Instead, he’d stayed with her.
“What’s it to be, Sky? Are we spending the next few days in a hotel room or with my family?”
“I can’t just show up at your family’s home and join in a private gathering.” But the alternative was spending a week alone in a hotel room steaming mad about Richard and that was about as appealing as pulling her hair out at the roots. “Your mother won’t want me. I’ll ruin her numbers for the catering and mess up her seating plan.”
“Seating plan?” His brows rose. “People sit wherever there is room. If we run out of chairs, we use the piano stool. My family is very easygoing and my mother never quite knows who is coming until the day. And as for catering, she always cooks enough to feed half the village.”
Skylar tried not to compare that with her own experience of family occasions. Guests were expected to confirm. Last-minute extras were strongly discouraged. “This is your special time with your family and you and I aren’t exactly intimate.”
His eyes gleamed. “You’ve seen me naked and I’ve seen you naked. We’re a lot more intimate than we were this time yesterday. Do you need to go back to the gallery?” He moved around the room with stark efficiency, packing things into one small suitcase.
“No. I can call Judy.” She chose to ignore his comment about having seen her naked. She really didn’t want to think about how she’d ended up naked in a shower with a man who, until yesterday, she’d actively disliked. “Last night was the important bit. Fortunately it was almost over when this happened. She must be wondering what happened to me.”
“She isn’t. I talked to her before we left. She was the one who gave me your bag and coat.”
“What did you say to her?”
“That you weren’t feeling well. She obviously isn’t a fan of public proposals, so you had her sympathy. She told me to tell you that the exhibition was a huge success and to call her when you’re ready.” He gave her a long, searching look. “You’re pale. Still feeling ill?”
“No.” She was careful not to move her head. “But I could use some more of those pills you gave me.”
He walked into the bathroom and returned with the packet and a glass of water. “Take two.”
She swallowed them and drank the water. “About last night—”
“Forget it.”
“I won’t forget it Alec. I’m sorry you had to sleep on the sofa. It looks horribly uncomfortable. Are you aching all over?”
“No, and you need to stop apologizing. It’s starting to irritate me. I’m used to you arguing with me.”
Struck by another wave of dizziness, she closed her eyes. “I’ll start arguing with you as soon as those pills work.”
“You’re not going to look your best in the Christmas photos this year.”