Inn & Out (A Romantic Comedy) (Five More Wishes Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Obviously, he needs my help, but I’m willing to let him believe he’s in charge to expedite things. It doesn’t matter to me if he thinks he’s in charge. I’ll know the truth.
    He falls for it and takes my hand, giving it a firm shake. His hand is rough and warm, and outfitted with some kind of electrical shock system, because it’s causing a zing to pass through my body and rev up my dormant, suppressed female motor parts. Yowza. Danger, Will Robinson. I need to pry my hand away from him, but my hand has a mind of its own and is clutching on for dear life.
    “Let me go,” I say, forcefully. He drops his hand and rubs it with his other hand, as if it’s hurt. “Where am I staying? Where’s Aunt Eleanor’s room?”
    “She closed the inn ten years ago and moved into the guest house in back.”
    “I hope that’s in better shape,” I say, heading toward the door, but Thor grabs my arm.
    “We’re staying in the main house. The contractor is going to stay out in the guest house during renovations.”
    My ears perk up. “You have a contractor? I’m not paying for that.”
    He rolls his eyes. “Come on. I’ll show you your room.” I follow Thor up the Gone with the Wind stairs, careful not to hang on to the broken banister, to the second floor. It’s worse up here. There’s a wide discolored swathe on the wood floor where the carpet used to be, and the whole floor needs to be redone. So do the walls.
    “Walk along the left side. It’s more steady, there,” Thor says.
    “Are you kidding? Are you saying the floor isn’t safe?” Without saying another word, he wraps his arm around my waist from behind and pulls me close so that his pelvis is pressing against my backside. Never letting me go, he walks me this way to the end of the hallway past walls covered in faded, peeling wallpaper and streaks of dark mold on the baseboards. Oh, boy. The house should probably be razed to the ground.
    Finally safe, Thor lets me go and takes a deep breath, staring at his feet. He opens the door at the end of the hallway, and holds it for me, while I pass through. Inside, is a huge bedroom, like Jane Eyre’s when she gets to the castle. A massive four-poster bed is the main feature of the room. It’s made up with clean linens and a bunch of thick pillows. At the foot of the bed, there’s a large chest with a suitcase on it, which Thor picks up.
    “Am I putting you out?” I ask.
    “It’s okay. I’ll bunk somewhere else.”
    “I can’t throw you out, even if this is my house. I’ll just take another room.”
    He puts his hand on my shoulder. “No. This is your room until we get up and running.”
    His expression is serious and will brook no argument. It’s probably the only room that’s actually habitable, even though it looks like the Panzer Division came through it. But the other rooms are probably worse, and I realize that Thor is being chivalrous. It’s another nice thing he’s done for me after feeding me, but I refuse to thank him since he’s blocking me from finding myself and starting a new life.
    “The bathroom is over there, and out here is the balcony,” he says.
    He opens double doors to the balcony. I gasp. Up here, the view is even more amazing. It’s like we’re on the top of the world, but not in a Mount Everest kind of way but in a better Tony Stark Iron Man kind of way. I could stay here forever, even though the house looks like it was the victim of a nuclear attack. I step toward the balcony, but Thor pulls me back.
    “I wouldn’t go out there,” he says. “Not until we rebuild it.”
    “Is anything safe around here?”
    “I am.”
    Our eyes lock, and I’m having trouble swallowing, as if I’m allergic to his bangable hotness, and I’m going into anaphylactic shock. Get it together, Beryl. Remember you’re a bum magnet.
    “All righty then,” I manage, looking away.
    ***
    After getting my duffel from his golf cart, I set up my new room and unpack. I hang up my three outfits