Page 39 of First Bride to Fall
Too quiet.
The shower was no longer running in the bathroom.
She dropped Grant’s phone like a hot potato, then had to scoop it up off the hooked rug. Her movement caused her foot to slide off the pillow, which jettisoned to the floor, and her ankle slammed down on the chest, just as the bag of frozen peas crashed to the wood floor and split open.
Oh no!
Soggy tiny green balls rolled everywhere, including under the sofa.
She shut Grant’s album app and placed his phone on the chest, sliding it far, far away from her as fast as she could.
Too far.
Eeep!
Her elbow hit the stack of magazines, and it slid into a heap on the floor, landing on top of the frozen pea bag.
Nell set her feet down in front of her, her heart hammering.
She lowered the right one too fast and too hard.Ow, ow, ow!
Somethingclicked.
The bathroom door popped open, and Grant emerged, steam fogging up the small space behind him. He looked really handsome in a fresh pair of jeans and a sweater. He stopped toweling off his hair to goggle at the mess. “What happened here?”
Nell righted herself on the sofa, crossing her arms like she’d been doing nothing wrong.
Like sneakily spying on Grant by going through his phone.
“Looks like a tornado hit.”
“Er, not a tornado, exactly.” She winced. “There was a breeze.”
“A breeze?” He scratched his head.
“Yeah. I thought I heard someone at the door—”
“What? Out here?”
“It was a bird.”
He dubiously eyed the door. “Are you sure it wasn’t a bat?”
“A bat? Um. Maybe.” She puffed out a breath.
“I’ve had problems with bats before.” He cocked his head. “Was it a big one?”
She panicked. “I couldn’t tell. I just saw—shadows. Wing-shaped shadows.” A trickle of sweat ran down her temple. She wiped it back, pretending to be fiddling with her hair.
His brow creased. “But it didn’t get inside?”
“No, no. I quickly shut the door, but not in time to block the wind.”
“It can get kind of gusty up here,” he conceded with a forgiving look.
Nell’s pulse beat double-time. She licked her lips. “I’m so sorry.”
She started to scoot off the sofa, but he held up his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Sit tight. I’ll get the magazines.” He stepped forward, and something squished beneath his bare feet, sliming up between his toes. He made a disgusted face and lifted his foot, staring at it. Then he lifted his other foot and stared at that one, too. “Wait, are these peas?”
