Contracted For Love: Famous Love Series by Tracey Pedersen Page B

taken selfies and signed shirts for at least half an hour as Charlotte watched on with interest. He’d finally called a halt to it and insisted they call it a night.
    Now they were headed home and he couldn’t help but remember that they were supposed to share the same bed tonight. Things were about to get interesting.
    He parked the car and she slid out her side and slipped into the house without a word. Jack followed her inside to find her standing in the dining room, biting her lip.
    “What’s up? Suddenly realised where you’ll be sleeping? Want to sleep in the spare room?” he asked hopefully.
    Charlotte turned to him and rolled her eyes. “No, I do not want to sleep in the spare room. I’m not scared of you, Jack. I want to raid the fridge, but I was just wondering if Mrs. Jones had already gone to bed.”
    “You’re hungry? Didn’t you have enough at the restaurant?”
    “Of course I did, but I wanted a piece of fruit, or something else sweet before bed. I haven’t eaten nearly enough fruit today. Can I go in there?”
    Without a word, he headed toward the kitchen. After a moment, she decided to throw caution to the wind and follow him. Relieved to see that Mrs. Jones was nowhere to be seen, she got a glass from the cupboard and poured herself water from the tap.
    As she drank it, Jack motioned toward the fridge. “We have bottled water; you don’t need to drink from the tap.”
    “Why?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Why can’t I drink from the tap?”
    “You can. I was just pointing out that you don’t need to.”
    “I like tap water. Why would you bring bottled water into your house?”
    “Because it’s better.”
    “It tastes mostly the same, and plastic bottles are bad for the environment. I only use them if I’m out, or if I’m somewhere tap water isn’t safe to drink. Don’t order any extra water on my account.”
    “Alright, I’ll let Mrs Jones know. I just assumed you’d prefer bottled.”
    She finished her water and then washed the glass and placed it on the drainer. “You need to come to Australia with me.”
    He choked on his own drink of water, which he’d taken from the fridge. “What?”
    “One day, you’ll need to visit Australia… with me. You need a bit of loosening up, and a week or two out of the limelight could be just what you need. There’ll be no bottled water when we stay with my family.”
    “Wouldn’t we stay in a hotel?”
    She laughed and he tried to ignore the urge to smile. “No way—my mother wouldn’t hear of it. We’ll stay on the farm. You can ride horses, and my brothers will challenge you to wood chopping competitions. We’ll have barbecues, and you’ll drink Aussie beer and only tap water before bed.”
    “I wonder how your family will like me. Wouldn’t it just be easier to avoid us meeting too much?”
    “Probably, but that’s not realistic, is it? What couples don’t introduce each other to their parents?”
    “Plenty in Hollywood, actually.”
    “Well,” she pursed her lips in annoyance, “I might be hanging around on the fringes of the rich and famous at the moment,” she waved her hand in his direction as she opened the fridge to peer inside, “but I don’t intend to become one of you.” Charlotte squealed as she saw the array of fruit stored on the top shelf of the fridge. “Can I eat these berries, or do you think Mrs. Jones has plans for them?”
    “Go ahead. If she had plans, she’ll just order more.”
    She sat at the kitchen bench and closed her eyes, savouring each berry as it passed her lips. She offered Jack some, but he shook his head as he took his own seat opposite her. He could hardly take his eyes off Charlotte and the way she slid each berry across her tongue. The look of pure bliss that followed as she closed her eyes was soon too much for him and he quickly stood up and excused himself.
    “Do you remember the way to our room?”
    “I do. Don’t worry Jack, I won’t stand you up. I’m a sure