Hayden walked toward the house, marveling at how odd—and oddly right—Katie felt in his arms.
“I like being carried, Hay-Hay.” She sounded as superior as Evie used to back when he’d first dated Violet.
A wavemaker in training, just like Evie.
“And I’m the boss,” Katie said firmly.
He chuckled, smiling at Evie as they approached the porch.
Her answering smile was strained. “Katie, can you go inside and help Gran set the table?”
“Okay.” Katie squirmed her way to the ground, then scampered up the porch stairs and inside.
Hayden stared at Evie as he ascended the stairs toward her. “Why do I get the feeling I’m in hot water?”
“Come with me,” Evie said instead of reassuring him he wasn’t.
He followed Evie to his bedroom. “What’s up?” He closed the door to give them some privacy because his wife was wringing her hands.
And pacing. At least, until she turned to face him. “Rhett’s girls are going to share a room up here with Katie.”
“Fun.” Hayden had always loved bunking down with his brothers.
Evie’s eyes widened. “That means we have to share this room.”
Hayden’s mouth opened. But he had no words. None.
Well, he had words. None of them appropriate to utter, given his wife didn’t want to kiss him and risk falling in love.
But that didn’t keep Hayden from staring at the bed. It was king-sized, plenty of room for two bodies, platonically sleeping or otherwise.
And then Hayden stared at Evie. She didn’t look as if the bed was big enough for two, platonically sleeping or otherwise. In fact, she was staring at the bed as if it were the enemy.
“You…uh…” Hayden ran a hand around to the back of his neck, which was gritty from the day’s range work. He stared at the hardwood floor, hoping that wasn’t where Evie wanted him to sleep tonight. “I…uh…”
“You’re going to sleep on the bed,” Evie said in a shaky voice.
And it was those tremors that drove Hayden forward, intent on providing reassurance. He took Evie’s hands in his. “Look, we didn’t plan on Rhett coming to stay.” He would have made a plan if he’d thought about it. But Hayden had far too much on his mind lately. “We can put pillows between us or whatever you need to put your mind at ease.”
Evie blew out a breath. “I’m worried.”
“About what? If not the sleeping arrangements?”
“This is getting way too…personal. Too…complicated.” Her gaze darted around the room. She looked anywhere but at him. “In Irene’s state, we can fool her, but…”
Hayden threaded his fingers with hers the way he had in the barn the first night he’d brought Mike home. “Talk to me.”
“First off, I…touched your things.” Evie’s cheeks bloomed with color. “I condensed your underwear and socks in the second bureau drawer to make room for my…unmentionables. Second, a pillow between us at night will be fine.” Her gaze flicked to the bed and then away, out the window and then toward the door. “And thirdly…” Evie looked from the door to his lips and then to his eyes. She swallowed thickly. “The third thing is…I’m not certain what the third thing is, but it involves how to convince your brother that our relationship is real.”
“Is this about the no-kisses thing?” That hurt. “I could just tell Rhett about our arrangement.”
“No. A secret is only a secret if it’s only between two people.” Evie’s voice had firmed. Her posture lifted. “If word gets out, Steven will take it to the judge. And I can’t risk that.”
Hayden glanced up at the ceiling, considering their options. But the reality was that they had no options. They’d made their proverbial bed and now they had to lie in it. “Do you think the occasional kiss on the cheek will be enough to sell the idea that we love each other?”
“No,” she whispered.
He stared into her eyes. They were the color of the sky outside today, a clear, cloudless blue. “I could continue to guess what you want, or you could tell me.”