Not Fake for Long by Weston Parker
13
HARRISON
When I woke up, I knew without opening my eyes that Keira wasn’t in bed with me. The air was too still, the room too quiet. My hand skimmed her side of the mattress. It was still warm, but as I’d suspected, it was empty.
How did she get out of bed without me knowing?I was a light sleeper. Usually, I was awake at the slightest sign of movement or sound, but I’d been dead to the world until about a minute ago.
I sat up in bed, stretching my arms above my head and looking around for Dottie. She wasn’t in the room anymore either, which was strange. It wasn’t often that she was up before I was.
Scrubbing my hands over my face in an attempt to wake up properly, I climbed out of bed and put on a pair of sweatpants. Images of what Keira and I had done on that bed flooded my mind when I looked back at it. I wished she had stuck around for round two this morning.
Since she hadn’t, there wasn’t much for me to do except go about my normal routine. After hitting the bathroom and brushing my teeth, I went into the kitchen to put on some coffee and feed Dottie.
The metallic clinking of the kibble in her bowl always lured her toward it, but she didn’t come. She’d been here last night though, so I wasn’t worried. She had to be around somewhere.
While I waited for the coffee, I yawned and covered my mouth with the back of my hand. Once I was armed with caffeine, I went out to the porch as always, but the sight that awaited me wasn’t one I thought I’d ever see.
Keira was sitting in the old rocking chair in the corner with Dottie’s head in her lap. She was gazing out at the sun starting to rise, her fingers threaded into Dottie’s hair.
“Good morning,” I said, honestly surprised to see she was still here. “There aren’t many people who wake up earlier than I do. Did you sleep okay?”
She smiled when she heard my voice, turning her head to face me as she nodded. Her eyes were soft and lazy, setting my mind at ease that she hadn’t been awake for very long.
“I slept like a drunken sailor after a bachelor party. I’m just also used to waking up early. I like this time of day, especially out here. It’s calm and invigorating.”
“Would you like some coffee?” I asked, holding up my mug. “I didn’t know you were still here, or I’d have made you some.”
“I’d love some, but I can get it myself.” She moved forward to stand up, but I stopped her.
“Stay there. I’ll be right back.” I set my own mug down on the side table and was back a few minutes later with her mug on a tray. I’d also brought out cream and sugar, which was why I hadn’t just given her my mug to begin with. I didn’t know how she took hers.
Her brows lifted when she saw the tray I was carrying, and a teasing grin formed on her lips. “Wow. I didn’t realize this was a full-service overnight visit.”
I shrugged, laughing a little as I set the tray down next to my mug. “Yep. Orgasms and coffee. I wonder if I should add that to the website.”
“You’d have to build more houses to meet the increase in demand,” she joked, but I saw the flush spreading on her cheeks even in the early morning light. She added half a spoon of sugar and a splash of cream to her coffee, then lifted the mug to her lips. “Thanks for this.”
“You’re more than welcome.” I took the chair beside hers, settling in with my own coffee to watch as the sky slowly became lighter. “What time are you planning on leaving today? Think you’ll have time to take Molly out one last time?”
She shook her head, sighing as she pressed the corners of her mouth in. “Nope. I doubt it. I’m quite sure Hailey’s going to want to get home to Nick as early as possible. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Anytime.” A quiet minute passed between us, but it was a comfortable one. “Do you really think Hailey’s going to be ready to enter her ceremony on horseback after only that one short session on Friday?”
“To be honest, I think she’s probably already decided against it. I really appreciate all your help, but I doubt we’re going to be getting anywhere near the stables on the day of the wedding.”
I laughed again, and once more, I was surprised by how easy it happened around her. “That’s okay. As long as you had a good weekend and you’re leaving here happy, that’s all we can ask for.”
She raised her mug in my direction and grinned. “The coffee and orgasms definitely helped to make it the best weekend I’ve had for a while.”
“You’re welcome back anytime. I’d love for you to come again.” I pretended to tip a hat at her, which made her laugh before silence fell between us again.
Memories of the weekend played in my mind, and it occurred to me I wouldn’t mind having Keira stay longer. I was heading back to the city myself later, so it wasn’t an option to ask her if she wanted to stick around for another day or two, but maybe there was a different way of making sure that I would see her again.
“So I’ve got a wild idea,” I said suddenly. “If you need a date to the wedding, I could always go with you.”
She blinked back her surprise. “You’d really be willing to do that?”
“Sure. You said you didn’t want your mother hassling you about a date. So why not?” I had spoken without thinking, but the idea was solid. One night with her hadn’t been enough, and she’d said herself that her mother was going to crucify her for showing up alone. This way, she didn’t have to and I’d get to spend more time with her. “I’d be happy to go, even if you’re not going to be using the skills I taught you this weekend.”
“It’s not a bad idea, but you should know that it won’t be as simple as just showing up and saying you’re my date,” she said, sighing before she looked into my eyes. “My mother won’t just interrogate you about who you are. She’ll be pushing to know every detail, including when we’re going to get married.”
“Then I guess I won’t just be your date. I’ll be your fiancé for the night. How fun will that be?” It wasn’t like it would be real anyway, so whatever the label was didn’t really matter to me.
Keira, on the other hand, seemed hesitant. She bit the inside of her cheek and kept her eyes on mine. I could see the wariness in them, the uncertainty about whether she should take me up on my offer.
“I don’t know,” she said finally. “It doesn’t seem right to expect something like that from anyone, never mind someone I’ve just met.”
I sat forward and propped my elbows on my knees, linking my fingers between them but keeping my gaze on hers. “It’s not a problem at all. I really don’t mind helping you out, and if it means pretending that we’re engaged, then that’s fine too. Your mother is going to love me.”
She chuckled softly, but her features relaxed. “Let me think about it. Can I let you know?”
“Of course,” I said.
Long before I was ready for it to happen, our coffee was done and Keira was on her way back to the main house to pack. Dottie and I went over to see them off about an hour later.
Hailey was complaining about being up so early, but she was also eager to get home. She shot me a look before climbing into the car. “Thanks for everything, Harrison. Sorry it didn’t work out.”
Keira rolled her eyes at her sister, coming to stand in front of me once the door slammed shut behind her. She stuck her hand out, then seemed to reconsider and opened her arms for me instead. “Bye, Harrison. We’ll talk soon about the wedding. Thanks for everything this weekend, and please tell Ashton goodbye from us as well.”
“Will do.” Wrapping my arms around her waist, I held her tighter and for longer than necessary, breathing in the faint, nutty scent of her shampoo before letting her go. “Drive safe, okay? Let me know when you get home.”
She laughed slightly but then flicked her gaze up at mine and arched a brow. “You mean that, don’t you?”
“Absolutely. Dirt roads aren’t anyone’s friend. You’ve always got to be careful on them, but especially if you’re not used to them.”
“We’ll be careful,” she promised, lifted her hand in a wave, and then, with one last lingering look at me, climbed into her car.
Dottie whined when the engine started, and I had to hold on to her collar to keep her from taking off after them when they drove away. I spoke to her in a low voice until their car faded from sight.
“Don’t worry, girl,” I murmured, my eyes glued to the cloud of dust in the distance. “I’ll get her back here for us sometime, okay? This won’t be the last we see of her. I promise.”
The promise was made to myself as much as to Dottie, and it was a promise I intended to keep.
