“I’m not surprised. It’s still snowing.” She pulled the drapes back from the window and looked out.
“Anna, you’re in a towel. Maybe you shouldn’t stand in front of the window like that.”
With a quick peek over her shoulder, she gave me a saucy grin. “Are we not into voyeurism?”
I clenched my fists at the idea of anyone else seeing her naked. With a quick shake of my head, I reached down and grabbed jeans and a sweater from my bag. “No, are you?” I asked, slightly dreading her answer but suspecting she’d say no.
She laughed. “Hardly.”
I watched her walk to the dresser and open it. She had unpacked her clothes and put them away, which was clearly a woman thing since my clothes were still in my carry-on.
“I know we said we wouldn’t ask personal questions, but you know that I have a brother, so it’s only fair you give me something,” I said.
Her eyes met mine. “Are you asking me if I have siblings?”
I nodded and slipped on my jeans. Annalise pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she watched me. “Are you not going to put on any underwear?”
Glancing down, I shook my head. “No.”
“You’re going commando?”
I laughed slightly. “I often do. Plus, I’m running out of them.”
She shook her head and went back to searching for clothes. How she’d been able to pack so much in her carry-on was beyond me.
“So, do you? Have any siblings?” I pressed.
“Yes. I have a sister and an older brother. My brother is married with two kids I have yet to meet since he lives in Ireland.”
“Ireland? What’s he doing there?”
“He works for Intel. He met his wife, my sister-in-law, Kate, over there. They got married and had twins last year.”
I pulled a sweater over my head and sat down on the bed to put on my socks and sneakers. “Wow. Twins, huh? Identical or fraternal?”
“Fraternal.”
“Is that on your side of the family or Kate’s?”
Annalise shrugged. “I think on my dad’s side.”
“What do you mean, you think?”
She turned and faced me. “My biological parents died in a car accident when I was six months old. My older sister Meg was two, and Jax was four. We were adopted by a family who was only looking for a baby, but then they saw the three of us and took us all in. My parents are amazing. They raised us like we were their own. They told us what they knew about our folks whenever we asked, but we try not to ask too many questions now. I would never want them to think we didn’t love them.”
I frowned. “I’m sure they wouldn’t be upset if you wanted to find out about your roots.”
With a warm smile, she nodded. “No, of course not. It’s just, I never knew them, and Jax and Meg don’t really remember them. So, we don’t ask a lot of questions. Twins aren’t in Kate’s family, so we assume they’re on our side.”
All I could do was nod. “I get that.”
She tilted her head. “What about you, Roger? Just the one brother?”
I paused for a moment, trying to decide how much I wanted to share with her. Did she need to know my father had a bastard son? That my mother and father hadn’t loved each other when they’d first gotten married? That my mother had spent more time away from us than she had with us? Of course, now their marriage was strong and solid, but that was a lot to throw at a person. I decided less was best.
“No, I actually have two brothers. Never knew about one until recently.”
Her brows rose. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I said. With a sigh, I stood up. “It’s a boring story.”
She nodded, taking the hint that the conversation was over. “I’m ready if you are.”
I motioned for her to go first, then followed her out of our hotel room and to the elevator. When the doors opened, Mary and Dylan were standing in front of us.
“Fancy meeting you guys here. Going down for breakfast?” Mary asked with a grin.
“We are,” Annalise replied. “How was the club last night?”
“We didn’t stay long. Pretty sure Monty and Lynn stayed until it closed down,” Dylan answered.
Mary looked between the two of us. “Did you two enjoy your evening?”
“Yes, we did,” I answered as Annalise’s cheeks turned red. “Very enjoyable evening.”
Dylan gave me a knowing smile while Mary and Annalise locked eyes. Something seemed to pass between them.
The doors opened to the hotel lobby, and the four of us made our way toward the restaurant that served breakfast. Mary spun around and faced us before we could walk inside. “Oh, if you want them to service your room, you need to tell them. They’re short-staffed and don’t have a full cleaning crew. The girl at the front desk told me this morning.”