Chapter Eighteen
I woke up to see Lucky, Lady, and Billy sprawled out on the couch. It was completely dark outside, and I had no idea what time it was or how long I’d slept. There was only a small lamp on in the corner, but all the other lights in the house had been turned off.
Quietly shifting in the recliner, I sat up and closed up the chair. Lucky opened one eye and quickly closed it, but the other two individuals were completely out. It was hard not to notice how cute Billy looked curled on the couch with both dogs, but noticing those things did no good. My stomach growled as I reached for my crutches and pulled them over.
It didn’t take long for me to get to the kitchen where I noticed the soup had been put away and all the dirty dishes cleaned and stacked back in the cupboards. My heart immediately filled knowing Billy had taken care of everything for me while I was busy snoozing.
My stomach growled again, and I opened the fridge to see my soup and the hot dogs he’d brought over. The hot dogs looked way more appealing. I pulled a gourmet dog out and hobbled on one crutch to the microwave and began heating it up.
I glanced outside again and noticed the sky wasn’t quite as dark as it had been moments before. I checked the clock on the wall and it said it was seven.
“Hot dogs for breakfast?” Billy asked, slowly walking into the kitchen.
“It’s seven in the morning?” I choked out. “I’ve slept for over fourteen hours?”
He nodded and drew a breath. “You’ve been under a lot of stress lately. You broke your leg, sprained you wrist, have to babysit a riley mutt…”
“You’re not so bad,” I teased and his smile only widened. “Thanks for the hot dogs.”
“Sure. I had a bit of the soup last night and it was really good.”
“Thanks.” I went to open the microwave and Billy was quickly by my side.
“Let me get this for you. Sit at the table and I’ll bring it over.”
I nodded and swung my way over to the table where I took a seat.
“You know it’s really weird. I haven’t heard back from Lucky’s owners except for once, yet I write them every day. They told me the cruise ship has wireless so I know they have access to email.”
“Do you think something happened to them?” He set the hot dog in front of me.
“I hope not. I haven’t heard on the news of any people going overboard.” I chewed my lip nervously. “But it is kind of weird.”
“If you were watching Lucky at your own house, I’d say maybe they’re the kind of people who just abandon their dogs with vets or boarding places, but you’re in their house.”
“Yes, exactly. Lucky and I will be here waiting for them no matter what.”
I took a bite of the hot dog, and it was just as good reheated. I let out a little moan of delight and Billy laughed.
“This is so good. There’s no way my soup would match this.” I took another bite and another. “My parents will be here in a couple hours. They’re staying where my sister stayed.”
“They’re not staying here?” he asked, surprised.
“No. I don’t feel comfortable inviting people over to stay in one of the guest rooms, even if they’re my own family. It’s not my house. I don’t usually ever have people at the house I’m staying at. This whole Hound Island experience has been totally different from the beginning. Usually, I’m a happy hermit while I’m pet sitting.”
“A happy hermit?”
“Yup. This honestly is the first time I’ve ever allowed anyone in the house, but it’s extenuating circumstances.”
He glanced at my cast and nodded in agreement. “That it is.”
“Your parents are going to be here for a few weeks.” He sucked on his bottom lip for a split second, which only made me think of kissing him.
Which then led me to inevitably being annoyed with myself.
I flipped my gaze away and nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you have them stay at my house? I won’t be there. It’s sitting there empty and that way I won’t have to worry about it.”
“We couldn’t do that.” I shook my head in firm protest. There was no way my parents were going to be staying at his house while they were here.
Absolutely not. I didn’t need to keep connecting myself to Billy. Escaping unscathed would only work if I kept my guard up at all times.
“I insist.”
“You might insist, but it’s not a good idea.”
“What are you talking about? It’s a great idea.” His smile turned to more of a wry grin.
“No, it really isn’t.” I cocked my head. “Remember that whole hospital conversation we had yesterday? It’s not a good idea unless something drastic has changed for both of us.”
He nodded, but I wasn’t sure he was actually listening.
“How about we let your parents decide,” he finally said, and I let out a frustrated groan.
“You’re stubborn.” I tapped my finger on the table. “Really stubborn.”
“I like to think of it as determined.” He rubbed his eyes, and I couldn’t help but notice how thick his black lashes were. There wasn’t a part of this man that wasn’t sexy. I was lucky I even had any lashes, and they only appeared after several coats of mascara. Men always seemed to luck out in that area. Even Lucky had beautiful lashes.
“Think of it however you want, but the answer is still no.” I shook my head. “Hildie’s giving us a great rate and—”
“Free is better.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in the kitchen chair.
“There’s no such thing as free in life.”
“That’s a cynical way of looking at things.” His mouth curled slightly.
“It’s true. There’s always a price.”
“And what would the price be in this instance?” He propped his elbows on the table and waited for my reply.
“I think we both know.”
“I really don’t.” He shook his head.
“I don’t believe for a minute that you can’t figure out what the price would be if my parents stayed at your house. Don’t make me say it.”
He pressed his lips together, and I noticed a couple of fine frown lines along his mouth, which only made him look more ruggedly sexy.
Yeah. There would definitely be a price to pay.
“I’m curious why this doesn’t make as much sense to you as it does to me.” His brows furrowed together as he waited for my reply.
I let out an exasperated sigh and stood up, refusing to answer him. “Do you mind taking Lucky out? I’m going to hop in the shower and by the time I’m out, maybe my parents will be here.”
“And we can see if they like my offer.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
He shrugged and a faint smirk rested on his features. “If you don’t tell me what the price would be, I just might.”
I rolled my eyes and thumped past him to the stairs. Lucky and Lady were huddled together on the couch.
At least Lucky found love on Hound Island.
I maneuvered my way slowly up the stairs, careful to not take any one step too fast or wide.
“I could have carried you up,” he said from below.
“Well, I’m not sure you could be trusted once you got to the top.”
“How do you figure?” he asked.
The same level of frustration and fury I felt yesterday was bubbling up all over again. I didn’t like to be played, and whether he was doing it on purpose or not, I was extremely annoyed.
I pounded my way to the bathroom and turned on the shower before going to my bedroom to get a new pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. There were only so many pants I could get over my cast.
By the time I cruised back into the bathroom to wrap my leg in a garbage sack, I was fuming. Who did he think he was coming here and asking if I wanted my parents to stay at his house? Pretending there was no price to pay if we said yes. Of course, there was a price to pay. A big one.
I stepped under the warm stream, keeping my bad leg out of the shower as much as possible and washed my hair.
“What price?” I muttered to myself and felt my veins warm from the maddening ignorance Billy suddenly seemed to display about the entire situation.
I liked him. He liked me. But we couldn’t like one another because what we were doing could only count as fun.
And who came up with this idea of fun? I let out a groan as that answer popped into my head.
Me.
“Whatever. He’s leaving tomorrow and then I won’t have to worry about all the frustration that’s coming out of the woodwork. What price?” I scoffed. “The price is that I’d have to be connected to him for another few weeks, torturing myself as to why I couldn’t be with him one more time or ten more times. It would be a constant reminder that maybe I’m not that kind of girl that can just have fun without any consequences. That’s the price.”
“You okay in there?” Billy asked, tapping on the door. “I heard you yelling and—”
“I wasn’t yelling,” I stammered, mortified that I’d been talking to myself about a man who was only a flight of stairs away. “But, yes. I’m fine.”
I turned off the shower and felt all the tension return as suddenly as it had left.
As I towel dried myself off and unwrapped the garbage bag from my leg, my mind drifted to Billy on the other side of the door. Just the thought of how easy it would be to strip off his clothes and feel his body next to mine nearly sent me over the edge.
I let out another frustrated grunt and worked my leggings up over my cast.
“You sure you’re okay in there?” he asked, still standing outside the door.
“Yeah. Just having a bad morning.” My crutches fell over and I groaned.
He opened the door quickly, and I covered my breasts with my palms. His eyes flashed to mine, and heat fired through his gaze.
“I thought you might have fallen.” His voice was low.
“Nope. Completely upright and perky.” I cringed on the last word, but didn’t say anything more.
I didn’t have to. I could see it in his gaze. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. My eyes fell to his full lips, and I brought in a ragged breath.
“Billy, as much as I want to…” My voice caught.
“I know.” He shook his head. “And I heard you about the price you’d pay if your parents stayed in the house.”
I drew in a shaky breath. “I’m sure it came out wrong.”
“I doubt it did.”
“I just—” I began, but he cut me off.
“But I still think it’s a good idea.”
“You would.” I smiled, still keeping my hands firmly in place.
“I’m not sure either of us are the best at coming up with great ideas.” I wiggled my brows and he laughed, shaking his head.
“I don’t know. I think things have been going swimmingly well up until recently.”
I grabbed the towel and tossed it at him, but he missed catching it since his eyes fell to my breasts and I just laughed.
“Let me finish getting dressed, playboy.”
“Okay, but I still think it’s a good idea.” He closed the door slowly, and my heart somehow managed to inflate to twice its size merely thinking about Billy’s boyish grin, and suddenly hope from nowhere sprang into my life again.
And I knew I’d regret it, but there was nothing I could do about it.