Chapter 4
He kissed me. Drake Snow kissed me.
Lacy was still marveling at the sweet gesture as she twisted in her seat to watch Drake walk away. His broad shoulders and lithe swimmer’s build were eye-catching enough, but from this angle, it was his tight, muscular ass that caught and held her attention.
She frowned when she noted three other women in the room were also tracking Drake as he left. Once he was out the door, they all sighed and returned their attention to their breakfasts.
Were they convention attendees? Or just women staying in the hotel?
Lacy jumped when her phone vibrated a second before the ringer sounded. Seeing it was Rebecca, she swiped her finger across the screen and then lifted the phone to her ear.
“Good morning, cousin. Are you out of bed yet?”
“Headed to the shower. Can you bring me a coffee? Something large, black, and hot?”
“Will do,” Lacy said as she gathered the trash and dirty dishes.
After tossing the trash and setting the dishes in the half-filled pan near the garbage cans, she stepped up to the end of the line. It took a few minutes, but finally she headed back to the room with the requested coffee.
She smiled and felt lighthearted as she entered the elevator. Not only had Drake Snow kissed her, he’d called her Lacy-girl. A pet name. That meant he felt something for her, right? She giggled and wondered how she could sneak him away from the convention for some alone time.
She sighed when she realized she couldn’t.
She was here to work, not be a part of the various classes and panel talks scheduled for the day.
In addition to photographing the meals and quick shots of the various speakers at the beginning of their sessions, Rebecca had appointments scheduled to shoot with the other models in attendance as well as take headshots of a number of authors, and even do a few sexy boudoir sessions with some of the attendees.
Lacy had to be by her side to keep her on track timewise, as well as to help with anything else she needed.
Drake and the idea of snuggling in a closet somewhere would have to wait until later. Much later.
Entering the room she and Rebecca were sharing, she was pleased to see her cousin was out of the shower and dressed, though her hair was still wet and she wasn’t wearing any makeup. But at least she was out of bed.
Rebecca took the coffee from her hand as she headed to the bathroom. “Can you pull the beds together real quick? And set up the black-flecked backdrop in front of the windows. That way we can shoot in here instead of trying to find an empty room somewhere.”
Lacy took a deep breath and sighed. “Sure thing.”
They worked all day and by the time the evening’s party began, she was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a dozen hours.
But she also wanted to see Drake again. So instead of changing into her nightshirt, she exchanged her glittery sneakers for a pair of slippers that looked like cows and felt like she was walking on clouds.
Then she headed downstairs alone. She wasn’t sure where Rebecca was and at that moment didn’t really care. She’d done her duty all day, now she needed some me-time. And if she happened to find Drake and could pull him into a dark, empty room, so much the better.
Drake saw her in passing during the day.
Usually it was as she headed in one direction and he in another.
Or he was surrounded by women as she flitted past to sit at a table alone during meals.
He tried not to stare at her, or trail after her like a lost puppy dog, though it was a challenge.
It felt like eyes were always on him so if he paid her more attention than the women who had bought tickets to attend, there would be hell to pay.
He was tempted to ask her to meet him in his room so he could give her a long hug… and more… because she really looked like she could use one. And despite receiving dozens of hugs since the morning had begun, he could use one from the Little girl who had captured his interest.
When he saw her at the evening’s festivities, she looked like she was fading fast, and the party had another two hours to go. There was no way she would still be standing by then.
Finding himself alone for a few minutes, he made his way to her.
He pulled out the little folder the desk clerk had given him with two keycards in it.
Slipping one free, he held it in his palm as he approached Lacy.
She was sitting in a chair at an empty table closest to the door, looking half asleep.
Leaning over her, Drake took one hand and lifted it to his lips. As he kissed her knuckles, he slid the card into her hand. She blinked and appeared suddenly wide awake.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
He smiled and leaned even closer so his lips were only a few inches from her ear. “Go to my room. I’ll be up as soon as I can break away.”
She blinked again before nodding slowly. “What room?”
“Two-oh-two.”
“Wake me up if I’m asleep,” she said softly as she slid the card into her pocket.
“Or maybe I’ll just crawl in, cuddle up, and sleep with you,” he teased as Pam, one of the organizers approached him.
“Drake, we need you,” she said, sounding more frantic than usual.
Drake stared at Lacy until she nodded. Only then did he turn to Pam. “How can I help?”
Drake allowed her to pull him along in her wake toward the dance floor.
Apparently the DJ was having trouble getting anyone to be the first to sing karaoke.
After selecting a song, Drake took the microphone and turned toward the room.
As he waited for the DJ to queue up his song, he looked to where Lacy had been sitting just a moment before.
His heart dropped a bit when he saw she had left the party. He only hoped that she would be waiting in his room when he finally finished playing the part of Cover Model Daddy.
“All right, everyone. Let’s get this party started,” he said into the microphone as the introduction to the song he would be singing began to play.
He smiled when the room erupted in cheers. Looking at the screen, he began to sing. The sooner he could get through the night, the sooner he could get to the sweet Little girl waiting for him in his room.