7. Chapter 7 You Don’t Have to Worry about Me Coming on to You
Chapter 7: You Don’t Have to Worry about Me Coming on to You
J ENNY
Jenny threw herself on the bed in her room. She smashed the pillow over her face and groaned into it, hoping it muffled her voice enough that Wade wouldn’t check on her.
He’d been solicitous and attentive all day. She could see herself getting used to his care, but he was just being polite. It was so different than what she was used to that she read more into it than he meant. She hoped he didn’t realize how much she had misread everything about their day together before he set her straight.
When they reached their suite, they took a quick tour. It was quite lovely, but Jenny was too tense to admire the view. With the pillow over her face, she groaned again and thought back on their conversation as they walked towards their suite after exiting the elevator.
“This has probably freaked you out,” Wade told her in a solemn tone. “I promise, you have nothing to fear from me. You have my word. Even though you jokingly agreed to protect me from Suzanne—“
“You know I’ll help you,” she interrupted with a grin.
”—you don’t have to worry about me coming on to you or anything like that.“ Jenny’s stomach dropped, but she held on to her smile.
“I’ll prove it to you,” he continued. “You’ll be safe with me.”
Wade detailed a series of security steps to increase her comfort level in the shared space. He lent her the travel door lock he intended for his own room even though she trusted him.
He meant well, but it was a little insulting. On the one hand, there’s no visible marker for who’s a sexual predator and who isn’t, so she appreciated his concern. On the other hand, she spent the elevator ride wrapped up in fantasies of them sharing the suite the way they insinuated to Suzanne.
Jenny’s smile cost her. He clearly felt none of the attraction she did, or he wouldn’t have gone to so much effort to reassure her he wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole and a letter from the Pope. Her inner voice was more sarcastic than the words she let pass her lips, but she was close to letting it all out.
Jenny’s body reacted to being near Wade and smelling his light cologne. He was only a little taller than her. When he handed her the lock and explained it, her skin prickled. She wouldn’t even have to go up on her tiptoes to kiss him.
“They might have a different option in the hotel gift shop if this one—“ he droned on about the damned lock. It wasn’t that complicated.
“No, it’s fine, Wade,” she interrupted. “I trust you.”
“You shouldn’t. You don’t know me. Not really. You can never be too careful.”
“I know; you’re right. Thank you for caring.” Jenny’s smile was brittle, and she needed some time to re-center herself before she’d be able to pretend his rejection didn’t sting. “Do we have time to rest up before we check in for the conference, or is that something we should do immediately?”
Wade consulted his smart watch. “We have a couple of hours before things start, but it will get much busier the closer we get to the plenary session. Plus, the off-site events might be full if we wait too long, which would be a shame.”
He looked at her then and waited for her to respond rather than telling her what to do. Even in her frustration, she appreciated that. Acknowledging how different he was from any man she’d dated—not that they were dating, he made that very clear!—helped release a little more of her stupid angst.
Wade wasn’t the first guy to be uninterested in her as a woman, and he wouldn’t be the last. She shouldn’t have let Gloria convince her otherwise. Now things had the potential to be awkward between them.
Screw that. She wasn’t going to let herself feel down about this. Not only were there plenty of fish in the sea, but she was having an adventure. There were off-site events to explore; restaurants to hop, whatever that meant; and new experiences to enjoy.
She’d revel in the luxury of a posh suite with a polite roommate and stop crying about what might have been. She might splurge on a massage.
“Okay, what about this,” she said. “I need about five minutes to freshen up, and then we can head downstairs, check in, and figure out what we want to do from there. How’s that sound?”
“We don’t have to rush off quite as soon as that. I’m going to check in with the office to let them know that we’ve arrived if you want to call Gloria or anybody else. Would fifteen minutes be enough time?”
“That’s perfect.”
“Okay, fifteen minutes then. Sorry for rushing you; I don’t want you to miss out on any of the cool stuff. Some of the things here will no doubt bore you, but I think there will be plenty to keep you occupied.”
Jenny’s smile softened. Why did he have to be so damned considerate? Didn’t he know that just made him even more appealing?
“Thanks, Wade. That’s thoughtful of you.”
His cheeks flushed above his beard, and he awkwardly adjusted his glasses.
“Well, uh, see you soon.”
They separated and went to their respective rooms. Wade had graciously allowed her to pick, and she chose the room with a beautiful view of the winter weather outside.
After Jenny flopped on her bed, she engaged in a tiny pity party. For five minutes, she’d allow herself to wallow, but then it would be time to move on. She made it a priority to choose happiness. That meant she didn’t let herself focus on the negatives in her life for long if there was nothing she could change.
Of course, that also led to dating shitweasels like Chad, but one thing at a time.
Before she could fall too far down the rabbit hole of feeling sorry for herself, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She steeled herself to answer.
“Well?” Gloria demanded without so much as a ‘hello.’
“We just got checked into our room,” Jenny said with forced cheerfulness.
“What’s your room like? Never mind. I don’t care about that. Why were you acting so weird earlier? Wait a second. Did you say our room?”
“Oh, Gloria,” Jenny moaned. “It’s awful.”
“What’s wrong? Whose ass do I need to kick?”
“Mine. I’m so stupid. I’m so unused to men being nice that I read everything wrong. I threw myself at him, but he made it very clear he wasn’t interested.”
“You can’t be talking about Wade. I know he’s interested. You must have misunderstood.”
“He told me I didn’t have to worry about him coming on to me. That’s pretty damned clear,” Jenny snapped but immediately felt contrite. “Sorry, it’s been an emotional day. I’ll give you all the details later. We’ve only got a few minutes before we need to check in for the conference.”
“Oh, they have the best off-site events. You don’t want to miss them!”
“So I’ve heard,” Jenny said dryly. “I need to freshen up before we run the gauntlet again, but here are the highlights. I met Suzanne and implied he and I are dating because she’s been hanging all over him. We’re sharing a suite, because all the single rooms were booked up. He told me not to worry because he doesn’t think of me like that, and he gave me a lock for my door. Now, he’s working on a schedule, so we don’t have to interact or see each other if we don’t want to.”
Jenny took a quick breath and rushed to get the rest of it out.
“But that’s not all. While he dealt with some work, I listened to one of my audiobooks and got all nipply in front of him. He was so horrified by my breasts he forgot how to speak. Oh, and then that audiobook played over the speakers of the car while we were driving. Of course, it was on a very sexy scene, and naturally I dropped my phone so I couldn’t turn it off right away. That’s when you called.”
Gloria’s laughter rang in Jenny’s ears.
“Girl, you are hilarious! I know you’re just yanking my chain. There’s no way all that has gone on in the five hours since you left!”
“I’m considering witness protection, or I could just find a new job, I guess. That would be cheaper, but it would suck.”
“Wait, are you serious? Did that happen?”
“Yes,” Jenny’s voice rose to near hysteria. “Yes, it all happened and more. Right now, I need to pee and redo my hair and makeup in case I have to battle a gorgeous, evil witch again. I’ll call you back once I have some free time.”
“Holy shit, woman! I can’t wait for the long version of all of that. You’d better call me back. But I still think you’re wrong.”
“Wrong about what?” Jenny asked.
She was distracted. After a glance at the time, she realized she needed to get a move on it if she didn’t want Wade to think she was one of those women who took forever to get ready. Jenny sorted through her toiletries bag and suitcase to gather what she needed.
“You’re wrong about Wade. I doubt he was horrified by your breasts. As I’ve said a million times, you’ve got a great rack. He might have been embarrassed or stunned, but that’s not the same thing. The audiobook thing sounds hilarious, and I want to know more about your run-ins with the evil witch.”
“I’ll call you later, but right now—“
“Before you hang up, look in your laptop bag.”
“What? Why?”
“I got you a present, just in case you didn’t jump on my ride-a-geek plan.”
Jenny snorted, but talking with Gloria always eased her anxiety.
“I’m scared.” And she was. God only knew what Gloria would deem equivalent to a conference hookup. “Your ideas are sometimes…”
“Brilliant? Astonishing? Life-altering?”
“Outlandish.”
“Same thing. But hurry up! I want to know what you think! Actually, no, wait. Hang up and call me back on video. I want to see your reaction.”
“Oh, God. You got me a dildo, didn’t you?”
Jenny saw her blush spreading in the mirror as she said the words out loud. She could read the most provocative things in her books, but real life was a different story. Her confidence level would never let her act out her fantasies.
“I didn’t get you a dildo,” Gloria retorted. Then she snickered. “I got you a vibrator. I bet you didn’t bring anything with you.”
“I shouldn’t have brought anything like that, but I did, and now I’m being punished for it,” Jenny replied. “But it’s moot. I’m on a work trip, and now I’m sharing a suite with a co-worker. There’s no way I could possibly—“
“Oh, yes, you could. A hot bath, a glass of wine, one of your books, and you’ll be fine. I’m sure the walls are thick enough that he won’t hear the buzzing. It might be good if he did. Then you’d know I’m right about his interest.”
“I’m hanging up now,” Jenny sang out.
“Love you! Call me later!”
Jenny finished getting ready. Luckily, she was having a good hair day, and her skin was relatively clear, so it only took a few minutes to freshen up. She traded out her hoodie for a fitted blazer, so she’d look slightly more polished, but there was no time to change her T-shirt and leggings.
As she swapped out her shoes and put on a chunky statement necklace to zhuzh up her outfit, her eyes strayed towards her laptop bag. She resisted the pull, but it occupied so much of her mind that she almost plowed into Wade when she opened her bedroom door.
“Wow, you look great,” he said as he took in her appearance. “Not that you didn’t look nice before. But the jacket, and the lipstick, and the jewelry. It’s… nice,” he finished lamely.
Jenny took a deep breath to calm her heart rate. It raced after her wild conversation with Gloria and the rush to get ready.
“Thanks. I’m ready if you are. Sorry I’m late. It doesn’t normally take me so long to get ready, but Gloria called, and I lost track of time.”
“Let’s get checked in then.”