The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(21)

“True,” she said.

He opened the door to let her in, and she came back into the room.

“You can wash up in the bathroom, and I have an extra T-shirt and shorts in my toiletries bag if you need to borrow them. I always roll up a few garments in my carry-on in case my luggage doesn’t make it. Looks like it paid off this time.” Before she could say anything, he went over to his bag and pulled out a gray T-shirt and a pair of navy-blue running shorts, handing them to her. “They’re clean.”

“Thank you,” she said from the doorway of the bathroom. As she headed in to change, he walked over to the bed and pulled the covers back for her. The crisp white sheets were calling her name.

When Hannah came back into the room, Liam was on his side, facing away from her. She climbed into her bed, clicking off the lamp he’d left on by her bedside, plunging her into darkness until her eyes adjusted to the low light. Hannah lay in bed with the covers pulled up, her arms on top of the blanket, suddenly wide awake. She sharpened her hearing to home in on Liam’s breathing, straining to hear over the hum of the heating, but she couldn’t make out any deep breathing.

She’d enjoyed being with Liam tonight. She conjured up the look in his eyes when he’d listened to her. It was unique to him, and she doubted he even knew he was doing it, as if he were studying something that he really appreciated.

Hannah took in a deep breath and tried to unwind. Beginning with her toes, she focused on relaxing her muscles, moving to her legs, and then—

She squealed, throwing off the covers and jumping out of bed.

“What is it?” Liam said, clicking on the bedside lamp and climbing out of his covers, while squinting at her as his eyes adjusted to the light. His gaze slid down her bare legs in his shorts and up to the T-shirt, a hint of interest surfacing on the pout of his lips.

“I’m so sorry. I think I felt a spider,” she said with a shiver. “I swear. It crawled across my shin.” She lifted the sheet and shook it to see if she could find it.

Liam moved over to her and as he leaned around her, she felt it crawling on her. “It’s on my arm!” she shrieked, sending her backwards and knocking into him, making him laugh out loud.

“That was my hand,” he said. “I was just trying to get around you.” He went over to the side of the bed and lifted the sheets, shaking each blanket. “I don’t see it. Hopefully, you scared it away.” He double-checked, letting her see.

Hannah took in a steadying breath. She hated spiders. But it looked like whatever it was had vanished. Perhaps it was a loose thread or something. “Thank you,” she said. “Sorry again.”

“It’s no problem.”

He switched off the light, and they both climbed back into their respective beds.

All riled up now, Hannah had to try again to bring herself back down and relax. She looked at the digital clock on the dresser: 1:45. Ugh. She turned her thoughts back to her muscles, attempting to clear her mind. Then, unexpectedly, she felt it once more. This time it was on her shoulder. In a panic, she jumped out of bed. Liam laughed again from his side of the room.

“I can’t help it,” she said into the darkness. “There’s something crawling in my bed. I’m not joking.” She put her hands over her eyes. “It’s getting so late. I just want to sleep, and I know you do too. I feel awful.”

“If you don’t mind sharing, you’re welcome to have the other side of my bed. I haven’t felt a single critter in here,” he said. “I’ll just turn toward the window. And then let’s be sure to mention it to the front desk in the morning, so they can let housekeeping know.”

Hannah didn’t make a habit of crawling into bed with people, but this was an emergency. She was not sleeping with a spider. And she was locked out of her room. So there was only one thing she could do, and that was to take Liam up on his offer. She slid under the covers, feeling his warmth beside her, making her skin prickle, every nerve on high alert as he lay on his side, facing the window.

Before long he’d dozed off, rolling onto his back, their arms and legs nearly touching. Hannah felt his fingers resting next to hers, and all she could think about was the softness of his touch when he’d rubbed her arm to wake her up in the car. She tried to remember the last time Miles had even rolled over and given her a kiss, and she couldn’t recall. The more she thought about it, the further back her emptiness spread until she realized that she’d been lonely for a very long time. Tears welled up in her eyes, making her already aching head pound. One teardrop slipped out of the corner of her eye and ran down her temple. She tried to clear her mind of it all, but she was struggling.

She spent the next half-hour working on relaxation, and finally she started to feel the weight of sleep fall upon her, her limbs becoming heavy. Her breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm and her consciousness was waning. Then, her eyes sprung open again when Liam turned over in his sleep, draping his arm across her body, his face snuggled into her neck. She turned her head to try to view his face in the dark, the slightly spicy scent of his soap delightfully welcoming. She lay there, barely able to calm the pounding of her heart, unsure of what to do. If she tried to untangle herself, she might wake him up.

She wiggled a tiny bit, but then he pulled her in closer and his head tilted toward her, his lips finding hers. His kiss was soft and gentle, and it felt strangely perfect. Her shoulders relaxed just as his eyes flew open and registered the situation. He sucked in a short gasp, and she could tell he was horrified she’d think he was taking advantage of her. She offered a smile through the dim light of the room to let him know that she knew he wasn’t. They both stared into each other’s eyes, for what seemed like forever and a brief moment at the same time, before he swallowed hard, his face closing up.