Page 97 of First Bride to Fall
She flashed him a smug smile, and his stomach dropped. Man! Had she figured out his ruse that quickly? Or maybe she hadn’t and she was just fishing? Trying to test out the waters to see if he’d crack, spilling all his truths about his nonexistent childhood pet and imaginary food issues? But she’d said the last bit about the cleaning with purpose. More purpose than anyone fishing for information could muster.
Which meant she probably had him completely and totally figured out.
Argh. Okay. This was getting out of hand. He wasnotgoing to let Nell get the best of him or act like she saw through him. No matter how momentarily exciting a few of their interactions had been.Shewas the one who’d tried to use him as her insta-groom, and he could not let himself forget that. Tomorrow, he was going to double down on his double down and make her want to walk out of here once and for all.
Chapter Seventeen
Nell woke up the next morning feeling rested and happy. She stretched under the covers, and a few muscles ached. But that was okay. They were good aches. Well earned.
Wait. Why did she think that?
She opened her eyes and sat up in bed, remembering where she was.
At Grant’s cabin.
She glanced around the compact room with its knotty pine walls and sparse furnishings. Her phone was on the nightstand, and she’d plugged it in. Oh yeah, when she came in here to change into her pajamas. She’d fallen asleep on the sofa afterward, and then Grant had carried her here and tucked her in. Her heart fluttered at the drowsy memory of being snuggled in his arms, and then the warm sensation of having the covers sweetly draped over her. She’d believed herself to be dreaming, thinking it couldn’t be real.
Then, she’d awakened in the middle of the night feeling hungry and had caught him cramming his mouth full of her apple bread. Ha! The bread he’d claimed he couldn’t eat. She giggled remembering the look on his face when she’d surprised him in the kitchen. She was pretty sure all that bunk about being lactose free and loving tofu bacon was a pure fabrication, too.
Grant was so full of himself and full of baloney. She wassoon to him. He didn’t stand a chance of kidding her any longer. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t keep playing along until he completely gave up. He seemed to be softening last night. Maybe things were getting close to being over? Her heart hurt, and she had really mixed feelings about that. She didn’t like the new Grant very much, but she’d begun falling for the old one. And she’d seen tiny glimpses of his former self last night.
She picked up her phone, seeing numerous text messages had come in from her sisters.
Charlotte:Grant’s so great!
Misty:What kind of hot games were you playing with that hose?
Nell shook her head.
Misty again:Hope you got that shower. Woo!
Big wink-y emoji.
Charlotte: Frowny emoji.
Sorry he can’t eat chicken.
Nell fell back against her pillow, holding her phone up in front of her.
She grinned a goofy grin and texted a pic to the group.
No reason to let them know that Operation First Bride had blown apart.
They’d probably gloat.
Thanks, girls. Love you!
Charlotte:If that’s not a woman in love, I don’t know what is.
Then Charlotte sent a pic ofherface, grinning from ear to ear. She was also pointing to her ring finger.
Guess who’s going to put a ring on it first?
Nell’s heart pounded.
Charlotte?
But Charlotte didn’t answer.
