As for myself, I tended to favor a more natural look, which meant that I could probably get ready in near-darkness if I needed to.
With a huff, Waverly turned away from the bathroom and pushed past me yet again. She headed toward the third bedroom – the one where I'd been staying.
The door was shut, and with good reason.
I told her, "That one's mine."
She turned to face me. "Oh really? Do you own the house?"
Already, I didn't like where this was going. Grudgingly, I replied, "No."
"Then if I were you, I wouldn't be so picky."
My fingers clenched. I was picky?
She had no idea what she was talking about. I hadn't even picked the bedroom. Brody had picked it for me, on that very first night, when he'd insisted that I stay here.
I told her, "I didn't pick it. Brody did."
With a tilt of her chin, she said, "Yes, well, that was before I came along."
And with that, she turned and flung open my bedroom door.
As she looked inside, I looked, too – scanning the bedroom with fresh eyes. The room had a double bed, a decent size dresser, a medium-sized closet, and a small private bathroom.
All of this was clearly visible, since I'd left the closet and bathroom doors wide open. Maybe that had been a mistake.
Waverly pointed toward my duffle bag, resting atop the only dresser along with a small pile of receipts. "Whose stuff is that?"
Wasn’t it obvious? "It's mine. You did hear me say this is my room, right?"
With a little laugh, she replied, "Not anymore."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
"It's mine now."
Talk about nerve. I gave her a stiff smile. "Are you sure? I mean, have you checked the bathroom lighting?"
"It doesn't matter," she said. "I'll have them put in new lighting tomorrow."
"Who?" I asked.
"The construction guys," she said, as if this should've been obvious. "Seriously, how long can it take?"
Not being an electrician, I had no idea. But this was the least of my concerns. As far as the bedroom, now I didn't know what to do. The truth was, she actually had a point about it not being my house.
If Waverly weren't being so heavy-handed about it, I might've volunteered to switch on my own. Sure, I liked having a private bathroom, but I'd shared bathrooms before. It really wasn't such a big deal.
And yet, the thought of sharing a bathroom with Brody – well, that made me feel just a little bit unsettled.
Thinking out loud, I said, "Maybe Brody should take this room. And you and I can take the others."
She frowned. "Why would we do that?"
"Because," I explained, "that way, Brody can have his own bathroom. And you and I can share."
She looked at me like I'd just suggested drinking out of the toilet. "You're kidding, right?"
"Um…no?"
"Well forget it." She turned and pointed once again toward my duffle bag. "Now grab your stuff and pick another room."
"Oh, come on," I protested. "You can't be serious."
With a scoff, she said, "Well, I'm not going to move it."
Obviously, she was missing the point. I tried again. "Yeah? Well maybe I'm not going to move it either."
"Sure you will," she said, looking very sure of herself.
"But—"
"And don't forget anything in the bathroom."
I bit my lip. I hated the thought of being driven out. But could I truly refuse?
She was a producer, and I was a temporary consultant. On top of that, I'd been a late addition to this whole setup.
My shoulders slumped. As much as I hated it, I felt compelled to do what she asked. "Fine," I said. "If it's so important to you."
Still, my face burned as I strode into the bedroom and grabbed my duffle bag off the dresser. With quick, jerky motions, I retrieved the few shirts I'd hung in the closet, and then reached for the pair of jeans that I'd left lying across the bed.
As I stuffed the loose clothing into the duffle bag, Waverly called out from the open doorway, "And you are planning to change the sheets, right?"
My teeth were grinding now. "No. But I can point you toward the washing machine."
"Why should I have to wash them?" she said. "I wasn't the one who slept all over them."
"And I wasn't the one who insisted on changing bedrooms."
"Now you just being a poor sport," she grumbled.
Whatever. Silently, I stalked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me – because the last thing I wanted now was an audience for this latest humiliation. With a string of muttered curses, I scooped up the few toiletries I had – a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, and my tiny makeup case.
One by one, I tossed everything into the duffle bag.
And then, I took a deep, calming breath. I could do this.
Sure, it was embarrassing, but the worst was over, right?
Wrong.
Because when I emerged from the bathroom, there wasn't just one person watching from the hallway. There were two.
Chapter 27
Arden
Brody was standing behind Waverly as they both eyed the interior of my bedroom – except it wasn't my bedroom, not anymore.
It was Waverly's bedroom. And from the look on her face, she was loving every minute of my inglorious departure.
Behind her, Brody didn't look nearly as orgasmic. His eyebrows furrowed as he studied the duffle bag slung over my shoulder. In a low voice, he asked, "What's going on?"
Waverly gave a little jump and whirled to face him. "Oh, there you are!" she breathed. "I didn't hear you come in."
"Obviously." He looked back to me and said, "Going somewhere?"
My chin jerked upward. "Yes, actually. I just don't know where. That's all."
Now he was frowning.
Waverly spoke up. "What she means to say is that we're switching bedrooms."
Brody's mouth tightened. "Is that so?"
Just then, my cell phone rang in my pocket. From the ringtone, I knew exactly who it was – my cousin Jason.
My breath caught. Finally.
I blurted out, "I've got to take this." During the past couple of days, I'd been
