Chapter 13
13
ETHAN
I breathed a sigh of relief when we pulled into the parking lot of the resort. “Finally.”
“I can’t wait to take a shower,” Mila mumbled beside me and pushed open her door.
“And sleep for about ten hours,” I replied after I opened my door and stepped out.
It felt like we were never going to get here. We'd boarded the plane in North Carolina and were en route when the pilot announced they were experiencing mechanical problems so we had to stop at an airport outside of Illinois somewhere. What should’ve taken an hour, according to the pilot’s announcement, took about six. We wandered around and got something to eat, all in an effort to pass the time at the airport before boarding the plane again, only to be grounded because of heavy storms for another few hours. After we finally landed, we still needed to rent a car and drive to the resort. Thankfully, Kyle sweet-talked someone at the resort into not giving away our room, considering we missed check-in.
We headed to the back of the SUV, where we pulled out our suitcases and bags, including laptops and equipment, before heading inside. Glancing around the lobby, I was surprised by all the amenities I could already see. The doors straight across from the ones we entered were glass and opened to pools and bars loaded with people obviously having a good time.
I shifted and saw Mila skirt around me and head for the long desk lining the wall to the right of us. I followed and stood beside her while we waited for the woman across the desk to finish her phone call.
She hung up the phone and smiled. “Checking in?”
“Yes.” Mila smiled. “It’s under Joe O’Neill.”
She typed a few things on the computer and nodded. “I see you here, and it looks like you’ll be with us for an extended stay.”
That was news to me, and I was certain Mila didn’t know we were booked for an extended stay, but she went along with it as if it were planned. “That’s right.”
She grabbed our key cards and handed one to each of us. “As you know, you came during our summer festival. The amenities are included in your stay, so please feel free to check out all the pools, hot tubs, and bars. Several activities are also scheduled each day for kids, but I’m assuming you don’t need that schedule.”
“No, thank you,” Mila replied.
She printed out a paper while she talked and handed it to Mila. Leaning over her shoulder, I saw a schedule of events for live music and karaoke nights listed as adults only. “This is our schedule of events for the remaining twelve days of the festival, specifically for adults if you’re interested. You can also find any of us if you have questions about activities on the lake.”
“Sounds good,” I replied.
“Obviously, since it’s a little after midnight, the adult activities by the pool are still going on. I can have someone take your things to your room if you’d like to join.”
“No, thank you. We just want to sleep,” Mila replied.
She nodded. “I understand. Do you need anything else tonight?”
“Just a bed.” Mila sighed. “It was a long day.”
“I heard you had a rough flight. Hopefully, your stay with us will be much smoother.” She smiled. “Enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, and we both turned to head toward the elevators. Luckily, it wasn’t a long wait, and no one else was getting on or off the elevator. Once inside, Mila faced me. “How the hell is she that pleasant at midnight?”
I chuckled in agreement. “Maybe because she isn’t exhausted.”
“Maybe,” Mila murmured when we stepped off the elevator and headed down the hallway. I waited for Mila to swipe the card before walking into the room where we both abruptly stopped. It wasn’t lost on either of us that we were staring at one bed.
“This can’t be right.” She sighed and dropped her head back to stare at the ceiling. “I’m too tired to deal with this.”
I knew what she meant. After all the shit we went through with the flight, even considering going back to the lobby to argue with the woman at the front desk that we were given the wrong room was too much to consider.
With a frustrated sound, Mila dropped her bag and pulled her phone from her pocket. After hitting a few buttons, she held it between us so we could talk. It was only seconds until I heard Kyle’s voice. “You finally make it?”
“Just got here. Why am I staring at one bed?” Mila asked while I put down the luggage I was carrying.
Kyle chuckled. “Sorry, kids. Didn’t want to be the one to tell you that they only had one room available, and you’re standing in it.”
“Dammit,” she cursed. “I’ll call the front desk.”
“Don’t bother,” Kyle said. “I didn’t do it to be a jackass. Nothing else was available anywhere. Apparently, this festival is a big deal. Once I learned that from the receptionist, I booked you to stay the remainder of the time, so your cover rings true.”
“Our cover?” Ethan rubbed his hand over his face. “I thought we were just a couple on vacation.”
“Well, now you’re a couple there for the festival. It’s a lot less suspicious that you would have heard about the festival and planned your vacation.”
“Makes sense,” I agreed.
“After you called me to push back your arrival, I called the front desk to change your time, and the woman who answered explained that the only reason they even had a room available was because a couple had to leave due to a family emergency. It was only luck I booked when I did.”
“Can’t you do what you do and make a room available?” I asked, knowing it was a long shot.
“I could, but that wouldn’t be fair to the families who booked this trip months ago.” He sighed. “If you want me to do that, just say the word.”
“No,” I answered abruptly. “You’re right. We can make it work.”
“You sound tired,” Kyle pointed out.
“We’re exhausted. We tried to get some sleep at the airport, but you know how that goes. You’re not really sleeping. It's more like resting your eyes. Except Mila.” I glanced at her and grinned slightly. “She can sleep anywhere.”
“Good to know.” Kyle chuckled. “Do you at least have a view?”
Mila shook her head and walked to the windows. “Pool view. As far as I know, the pool is only for guests, so unless he’s staying here, which would be coincidental, our view is useless.”
“Go to the lake,” Kyle replied. “Seems like there’s a lot of shit to do there.”
Mila lifted her head. “You’re lucky we’re over 1500 miles away right now.”
Kyle laughed, and I shook my head. He was enjoying this way too much. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you face-to-face. Call us with updates. Brody’s anxious.”
“I think we all are,” I replied before saying goodbye and watching Mila slide her phone back into her pocket.
“Guess we could drive around and see if there’s anything else with vacancies.”
“I’m not getting back in that car.” Mila spun to face me. “We’ll make do.”
I frowned at the loveseat. “I can sleep on that.”
“I could too, but that’s ridiculous. We both need a good night’s sleep so we can start fresh tomorrow. Pretend I’m one of the guys. I’m sure you’ve shared a bed with one of them in the past.”
“You’re forgetting I’m new to this,” I reminded her. “I usually set up the security systems. If I have to travel to do that, it’s with Brody, and we just get separate hotel rooms.”
“Well”—she sighed—“this isn’t unusual when you’re in the field.”
“So you’ve had to do this?”
She nodded. “Yeah, a few times with other agents and especially during my last assignment with Nick. We slept at the clubhouse a few times and shared his bed. We were supposed to be dating, so it made sense that he would take me there for parties, and I’d stay.”
“Was it awkward?” I asked.
“A little the first night, but after that, it was like sleeping beside a brother.”
With only a nod, I grabbed the bags we dropped and put them against the wall, ensuring they were out of the way. This was not going to be like sleeping next to my sister. I’d done that when we were young and went camping, but I already knew this would be nothing like that.
Mila grabbed her bag and gestured toward the bathroom. “Care if I use the bathroom first?”
“No, go ahead.” I dropped my duffel bag on the bed and dug around until I found a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I usually only slept in my underwear, but that wasn’t an option. It would be hard enough sleeping next to her.
Within a few minutes, she walked out of the bathroom, and without a glance, I moved past her and went in, closing the door behind me. It was obvious she’d been in these situations before. She handled it better than I was, but she wasn’t attracted to me. I had a feeling that if I hadn’t been attracted to her, it wouldn’t have felt like I was walking into my worst nightmare.
I changed, brushed my teeth, and turned off the light before walking into the room, which was dark. I stumbled over something but caught myself by grabbing the dresser's edge.
Before I could say anything, Mila spoke. “Sorry. I guess I should’ve left the light on. It was habit to shut it off.”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could see the outline of the bed and Mila lying on her side facing the doors leading out to the balcony. Pulling back the covers, I climbed in and settled on my back, staring at the shadows on the ceiling. This was a king-sized bed, so if we stayed on our sides, we wouldn’t touch each other throughout the night. But just knowing she slept beside me was a problem.
“Night.”
I closed my eyes when her soft voice sounded in the dark room and tried picturing anything else to distract myself. When my sister and niece came to mind, I slowly smiled. “Night.”