Chapter 10 #2
“Deal?” I repeat, narrowing my eyes.
“Deal.” She nods and backs away, but there’s still a look of worry behind her gaze. “I promise the rest of the trip will be smooth. This is one weird day.”
“It will be,” I say. “This was out of your control—it was out of mine, too. It all comes back to the delay. Don’t beat yourself up.”
She smiles warily, and her fingers graze against the golden doorknob. “I’ll try not to.”
“Trust me. I can handle this.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but there’s nothing we can do.”
The poor employee has told me the same thing a few times, but I never know when to quit. My smile remains in place despite my energy being shot. It’s not his fault any more than it’s Evie’s. These things happen.
I may feel like a piece of crap tonight, but I’m not in bad enough condition to be a dick to an employee.
“You don’t have a single cot?” I ask. “Can you check again?”
He hesitates. “I can check, but I’m pretty sure…”
I’m dripping with desperation, and it’s not a good look. The other option is to sleep on the floor. Sharing a bed with Evie is not happening; I won’t entertain the thought.
Who knows what that would lead to?
Nothing! It wouldn’t lead to anything. I wouldn’t let it, and she wouldn’t… well, I doubt she looks at me like I look at her. Not that I’m looking at all. I am pointedly not looking at all times, and it takes up so much energy.
Somehow, the turbulence is to blame for all of this.
“It’s fine.” I wave a hand and step away. Time to quit. “I’m sorry for the mix-up.”
“No, we’re sorry. I’ll have someone send those room service vouchers to your account.”
“Thanks. That would be great.”
The least I can do is treat Evie to a snack before bed. Maybe we’ll have a drink, though I’m unsure if alcohol will fix this or make it all so much worse. I hate returning to the room, knowing I don’t have any good news to share with Evie.
Other than the free room service.
I hang my head as I go inside, taking off my shoes for the second—and final—time. “Bad news…”
“I figured.” She winces. “I’ve been looking for other hotels, but they’re all booked. You know how these conventions are…”
“I really don’t.”
She giggles. “Well, I have a few friends who go to them, and they all pile up with, like… six people in a room.”
“I guess that explains where all the cots are.”
She winces. “Probably.”
“It’s fine. Just bad timing.” I stand near the end of the bed.
Evie has already made herself at home. There’s a towel wrapped around her blonde hair, and she’s lounging in bubblegum pink pajamas with her iPad on her lap.
“What will we do?” she asks.
There’s a pink shift in her cheeks. I’ve caught it several times before, and it’s definitely there now. If I were a weaker man, I would touch it—brush my fingers against her full cheeks. Her blush would grow darker under my touch.
Instead, my fingers flex at my sides before balling into fists. I exhale shakily. “What we’re going to do is… you’ll order room service. We have a fifty-dollar voucher.”
Her eyes widen. “Really? Fifty bucks?”
“Really.” I almost smile. “Order whatever you like, even if we go over the voucher amount. Order some wine, too. And then we’ll sleep.”
“O-okay.”
I turn around and walk to the bathroom. “I’ll take the floor. Plenty of pillows for me to use. It’ll be good for my back.”
“Theo!” she calls. “You don’t have to do that.”
I ignore her. All I want is to get out of my dirty clothes. My carry-on doesn’t have much, but I have a pair of emergency sweatpants I can wear for the night. The shower is the first thing that’s going right. Warm water washes down my body, and I run my finger through my dark curls.
There’s nothing better than feeling fresh. The hotel soap isn’t my preferred, but it does the job, and by the time I’m dressed, my mood is considerably improved.
I quickly blow-dry my hair and step back into the room to find Evie with a plate of pasta and a bottle of wine.
“The service was fast!” she gushes. “That’s one good thing about this hotel, even if their online booking is messy. I hope you don’t mind me eating in bed.”
“Of course, I don’t mind. It’s your bed.”
She scowls. “Stop. This is a huge bed, and there’s plenty of room for two. You’re being weird.”
“Not wanting to share a bed with you is weird?” I lift a brow and sit at the little table, dragging the second plate of pasta closer.
Her expression drops. She focuses on twirling pasta around her fork, not meeting my eye as she takes the bite. It’s clear I’ve said something wrong, but I’m too tired to think about what that could be.
“Fine,” she says. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
I groan. “Now you’re being silly.”
“Am I? How silly are we going to get with this? Because we can both end up on the floor if you want to play chicken.”
“I don’t.” I do want a glass of wine, so I pour myself one—a large one. “What if we come up with a compromise? I’ll sleep on the floor tonight, but I’ll take the bigger room in the cabin.”
“I was already going to give you the bigger room!”
“And I was already going to insist you take it, but if you take the bed tonight, I won’t.”
“But…” She frowns. “I don’t like this.”
“Why not?”
“Because you paid for the room.” She gestures around. “You should get to use the bed.”
“The company paid for it,” I say. “It’s one night. Let’s not make this a big deal. We need to get through the night, and anything is better than sleeping on an airplane. Right?”
Staying in a room with Evie is torture. I knew it would be the moment we found ourselves in this situation. Being on the plane with her was brutal, with her hand inches from mine, but only being able to touch once.
She doesn’t understand why I can’t sleep with her, and I’m not brave enough to explain. That would require accepting something I’ve been fighting since we met.
“Fine,” she mutters. “I’ll take the bed.”
“Thank you.” I deflate.
Another deal gone right. She accepted the conditions, and I should feel victorious, but I don’t. Something is wrong. It’s so off.