Chapter 8
8
brOCK
I should go after her. No, I should stay here. It wasn’t like there was much I could do. So I got all my clothes back into place and snuggled under the blanket, doing my damnedest to sleep.
It was useless. Hours ticked by and sunlight gradually began to filter in through the windows on the far wall of the pool area. Finally, when my phone said it was seven a.m., I climbed off the chair, folded up the blanket, and stacked it on top of the pillow, carrying all of it toward the lobby with me. If the road was open, I could get the hell out of here and head down to my shop to check in on things and shower and change.
But the big question was, what would I say to Porsha? I should at least speak to her on the way out, right? Maybe I could get her number and set up a time where we could chat later.
As I neared the lobby, it became clear that a private conversation wasn’t in the cards this morning. Whatever was going on, it involved a lot of people in that one space near the main door. Normally, I would have dropped the bedding and gotten the hell out of there, but now I was attached to the night clerk, and if she was involved, I couldn’t just breeze through.
“Someone’s getting me out of here.”
That voice was all too familiar. It was the man with a wallet full of cash. I braced myself as I rounded the corner to see that this was going to be a whole lot of drama.
I fucking hated drama.
“I’ll take you down the mountain personally,” Alex said. “Just let me talk to some of the other guests and figure out what everyone else needs.”
“You!”
The wife of the man demanding a ride had spotted me. She was standing next to him, still wearing her hair disheveled and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her husband’s hair was pretty mussed too. Together, they both looked like they’d had a rough night. It was quite a contrast from the well-put-together, dripping-in-money look they presented last night.
I shifted my attention to Alex and asked, “The road’s open?”
Alex nodded, but he looked confused. “You’ve been here all night too?”
I scanned the lobby for signs of Porsha. Finally, my gaze landed on the desk and found no sign of her. Had she gotten fired? Shit, if Alex had somehow found out what we’d done last night and it cost Porsha her job, I’d never forgive myself.
“A driver was stuck at the roadside,” I said. “I was on my way down and stopped for coffee when I heard the road was closed. I had to bunk here for the night. No other choice.”
“Where did you sleep?” the dude with money asked. “I haven’t seen you.”
“Back there.” I hitched my thumb in the direction of the pool. “Anyway, I can give someone a ride.”
That was my way of expertly shifting the subject. The last thing I wanted to do was explain how I’d gotten into the pool area and why I’d slept there. I didn’t want anyone to know exactly where I’d been sleeping.
What if there were security cameras? Security cameras could’ve been recording the whole time. Why didn’t I even think to check for that?
My heart was racing as again I looked around for signs of Porsha. Asking about her would only make things worse.
“Why don’t I get Porsha out here and we’ll make a plan?” Alex asked.
Only then did I realize how tense I’d been over whether she was still here or not. My body relaxed. She was on site. Her job was okay. I hadn’t destroyed her entire career before it started.
Suddenly, though, her quick exit made more sense. I’d been beating myself up all night for getting so involved with someone who clearly wasn’t all that into me, but that wasn’t why she’d run out of the pool area.
Of course, she’d panicked. What we’d done had been highly unprofessional. I shouldn’t have let it happen. I’d put her job at risk. And that was the last thing I’d ever want to do. But she’d been hard to resist.
All I could do was vow never to do anything like that again. Not in her workplace, anyway.
“I can only fit one in my truck,” I said. “It’s a tow truck. It’s not really meant for passengers.”
“I’ll sit on his lap,” the wealthy woman said. “Just get me out of here.”
It had to be pretty bad for this woman to agree to sit on her husband’s lap all the way down the mountain. I didn’t know much, but I knew that.
“I think that’s illegal,” a woman’s voice said.
I knew that voice. I was pretty sure I’d hear that voice in my dreams for the rest of my life.
I turned to see Porsha entering from behind me. She was coming from the same hallway I’d just emerged from. There was more down that hallway than the pool. The linen closet, where we’d gotten all the blankets and pillows, was just one example. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been peeking in the pool area to see if I was still there.
Our eyes met and held, and suddenly I knew everything was going to be okay. We just had to keep things professional in front of her boss. The warmth in her eyes was exactly what I needed right now.
A laugh behind me pulled my attention away from Porsha. I turned to see the wealthy woman shaking her head.
“There’s no police in this town,” she said. “It’s not like anybody’s going to give us a ticket for it.”
“Authorities shut down the road,” the man told his wife. “They could still be patrolling the area. I don’t want to risk it. Who else can take us?”
“Like I said, I’ll take you,” Alex said. “You just need to give me a few minutes to get everything squared away here.”
“I could use a ride too,” Porsha said.
I turned back toward her. She shrugged, giving me a weak smile.
“My dad drove me here,” she said. “He was worried about my safety. He thought my car couldn’t make it.”
“He was probably right,” Alex said. “I can squeeze you into my car too.”
“I’ll take you,” I rushed to say. “I’m heading down the mountain right now. I need to get to work.”
We walked to my truck in silence, keeping plenty of distance between us. But as soon as we were inside, doors closed behind us, we came together like we’d agreed on it beforehand.
It wasn’t a passionate kiss—not the kind that leads to sex. It was a sweet, romantic kiss—the kind that told her I was hers. And the kind that made me very hopeful she was on board for spending the rest of our lives together.
Finally, I pulled back. “We should go. But how about I take you to dinner tonight before your shift?”
I held my breath, waiting for her answer. This was it. I was pretty sure she’d say yes, but there was a small chance my heart would be broken here.
“I clock in at seven,” she said.
I let out a whistle. “A twelve-hour shift?”
She nodded. “But only for four days. Alex and his girlfriend still pick up the slack. So I’ll have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off.”
“Well then, we’ll have dinner tonight and plan to spend some serious time together, starting Wednesday.”
She smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
As I pulled out of the lot and headed down the treacherous road toward downtown, my heart couldn’t be fuller. I had the woman of my dreams by my side.
Icy roads were nothing. I could face anything as long as Porsha was with me.