Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
IRIS
C old sent shivers up and down her body, and Iris ducked her nose under the makeshift blanket in the gray morning light.
She lay against the heater formerly known as Sam. He was spooning her from behind, and although her back was toasty, her nose had frozen solid.
She sleepily remembered the absolute insanity that was five hours earlier.
This was going to make things very complicated when they got back to the real world—Discover if you need additional feather blankets, you call down and let us know. There is a hot tub on the premises; swimsuits are required.” He winked. “And for dinner, Bev here is making a mean pumpkin ravioli with squash blossoms and pureed cauliflower.”
“It’s better than it sounds,” Beverly said with a wink, waving as she went back to the kitchen.
“Oh, there’s Jerry now with your cart.” His husband came around with a burnished, filigreed luggage cart, on which he’d set each of their bags.
“If you’ll follow me, we’ll take you up to your room.” Still chewing on their cookies, they numbly grabbed the room keys from Alan as he waved them on and followed Jerry.
“I’m sure Alan gave you the rundown, but we’re so happy to have you. We’ve only been doing this for about a year, so you let us know if there’s anything we can do better. We’d love your feedback.”
“Are you open to adopting a thirty-year-old woman with a lot of anxiety?”
Jerry laughed. A booming, warm sound. “I’ll happily adopt you for the next two days. You let me know what you need, okay?” he said with a fatherly smile. “Alan and I never got to have kids of our own, so we try to take care of everybody else when they come through.”
The elevator dinged to let them out on the second floor. They walked down the hallway, following Jerry.
“Well, here we are!” He popped their bags off the luggage cart. “Let us know how we can make your day better. It looks like one of the staff will be right up with your drinks.”
“How do you know?” Iris said, cocking her head. Jerry had been talking to them this whole time.
Oh my god, I knew it; they’re Fae. They’re magic; this whole thing is magic. We’re now trapped in some sort of fairy circle and will have to sacrifice our souls to get out.
Jerry wriggled his wrist, drawing attention to the smartwatch on it. “Staff intercom. The building may be over a hundred years old, but we like to live in the now,” he said with a smile. “Enjoy your stay.”
Bewildered, they walked into the room and stared at one another as the door clicked shut. “Did we have the most perfect check-in experience?” Sam asked.
“With the most perfect staff,” Iris added. “They practically begged us to eat cookies.”
A soft knock came at the door, and Iris opened it to reveal a young man with a silver tray carrying two glasses of scotch and a small dish of spherical ice.
Sam grabbed the tray as Iris tipped the server. He had an array of pins on his name tag, including a he/him pin, a ‘pugs not drugs’ pin, and a “Bly is Fly” pin with a caricature of Nellie Bly, one of the first female reporters in the late 1800s and Iris’s personal hero.
She gasped as she clocked it. “Oh my gosh, I love your Nellie pin. Did you get that at the exhibit?—”
“That toured last year?” His face lit up. “Yes.” He held it out so she could get a closer look. “It was amazing, and was at the Burlington museum about fifteen minutes away.”
“I’m so jealous,” she said, stamping her foot. “Did they really have the outfit she wore to travel around the world in seventy-two days? And the original exposés she wrote? I heard her notes were included too.”
He nodded, eyes bright. “It was so cool. I’m finishing a journalism degree, so it was life-changing.”
“I’ve always wanted to see it. That’s amazing,” Iris gushed. “Good luck with your graduation,” she said with a smile and a wave.
She let the door shut and turned to see Sam staring at her. He leaned against the closet door a few feet away looking hot and handsome with that furrowed brow and a sultry smile.
As he stalked toward her, she realized they were finally alone.
And maybe her wildest fantasies would finally come true.