8. That Bad, Huh?
Chapter eight
That Bad, Huh?
H uffing exasperatedly, I walk into the bathroom and run myself a warm bath. I take off the wet swimsuit and toss it in one of the sinks when I hear a knock at the door. I wrap a towel around myself so I can answer.
“Late night delivery!” the person on the outside announces.
I slowly crack the door, and I’m greeted by a new bottle of champagne and fruit tray.
“Are you sure this is for me? I didn’t order anything.” In the midst of my confusion, I open the door fully to let her in.
“It’s a gift from the other suite guest. He’s a VIP and said this needed to be delivered to you asap.” She looks over at me, seemingly impressed.
“Thanks. I don’t think I’ve met him but this is sweet?” She sends a small smile my way and places the fully stocked platter and bottle on a table.
“Mr. Rohan left you a note too,” she says on her way out.
Only one man has seen me tonight with a bottle and a tray. I reach for the note to confirm my suspicion.
Enjoy, Narcissus. Since you left before you could finish yours. There is a smiley face at the end of his sentence.
He’s so smug; it makes me want to leave the fruit untouched out of spite.
Out of sheer curiosity, I pick up the note to reread the exquisite penmanship.
I've come to the conclusion that I’m spending too much time looking over the words of a man who so far only arouses and irritates me.
So I drop the note on the table next to the delivery.
I feel better after my bath. It’s around one in the morning when I climb into bed and snuggle deep inside the comforter.
The day seems longer than it has any right feeling, and my eyes burn as tiredness finally hits me.
I want to talk to Ambra—I miss her. She’s my sounding board and has more experience with navigating relationships than I do.
I have Uziel, that’s it. After him, I retreated into a shell of protection—closing myself off from dating.
Thinking of that makes me more resentful.
But now there is this human , and there’s something about him I can’t shake.
I’m carrying more romantic trauma than I realize.
And having to marry the person responsible isn’t making it any easier.
And I feel stupid for even holding on to that hurt for this long.
We are grown and he seems different, but that might not be enough.
My feelings for Uziel are complicated at best. I exhale, a knot forming in my stomach at the thought of being his wife.
Because there is also Eliam, the charming and intoxicating nebula.
He might have started as a needed distraction, but if I’m being honest, I’m starting to like him.
I should know how to handle this better.
I groan and roll over so I can scream into a pillow.
Being awoken by extreme sunlight stretching across my face is becoming the norm.
I spread out and immediately get up, cutting my usual wake up routine short.
Fifteen minutes later, I am showered and wearing a short white dress that clings to my body, with a cropped denim jacket.
I’ve pulled my curls into a high ponytail and scrunched the ends to make them fluffier.
No one is randomly in my suite this morning, which gives me the perfect opportunity to explore on my own.
I grab a pair of shoes and head to one of the restaurants in the hotel, excited to have breakfast by myself.
The thought of ordering my own food is thrilling. The host takes me to my seat, hands me a menu then leaves me alone. Flicking through the pages, I realize I can’t decide and eventually settle on getting some of everything I want to try. When the waiter shows up, I rattle off my list.
“And you’re sure you want the blue lobster omelette, the red berry French toast with maple syrup, chia pudding, cucumber juice and a glass of Cuvée Rosé?”
“Yup! I think that’s it.” I hand back the menu.
“Alright. I’ll bring them out as they’re prepared,” he responds with a bewildered smile.
I look around the room, and watch the people around me, as natural light brightens the space gorgeously.
It’s interesting to see families interacting and couples having breakfast. I’m transfixed by the way the staff keeps popping in and out of the room with different combinations of food.
Overall, it’s a delight to witness how something as trivial as breakfast feels so cinematic.
I’m so captivated that when the waiter comes back, he unintentionally startles me.
“My apologies.” He politely rearranges the table to make space for some of my food. “The remaining items will be out any minute. Until then, please enjoy. ”
The food I’ve had on Earth is incredible, and I’m starting to wonder how stars ever pull themselves away from this place.
By the time I’m done, I’m completely stuffed and just want to take a nap.
I thank the waiter for the service and leave.
Luckily, there is an elevator assigned to the penthouses close to the restaurant and I’m able to slip between the doors as they are closing; I giggle at the fact that I’ve made it.
“Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back if you want, Narcissus. I won’t judge you too much.
” My brain didn’t register the elevator’s only other occupant before, but it’s hard to miss him as we stand facing each other, eyes locked, just like last night.
I groan and turn my back on him, determined to keep my amazing morning intact.
“What? You’re not even going to say thanks for the fruit this morning? ”
I’m getting tired of being stuck in small spaces with this man. “When people continuously disrespect me, I don’t see a need to thank them.”
“Whoa, disrespect? When did I do that ?” His question is breathy due to his stifled laugh.
“You’ve called me a name, what is it, three times now?” I’m technically talking to the elevator doors.
Juvenile? Maybe . But I have no intention of turning around, so he can keep talking to my back.
Glancing upwards, I realize there isn’t much more to go until we get to the top.
This elevator moves quickly since it doesn’t stop for any other floor.
We are soon there when he reaches forward and presses the emergency stop button.
“What are you doing?” I spin around in a panic.
“Trying to apologize.” He scratches the back of his neck and I hate that I find the action endearing.
“I’d prefer if you’d—” a sneeze breaks up my sentence, “—let me out. Now .”
He stares at me like he hasn’t heard a word I said. “Bless you.”
I huff a sigh and prepare myself to ramp up the protest. But before I can, an unseen voice sounds in the small space. “Everything okay, Mr. Rohan?”
“All good. I’m just having a conversation that couldn’t wait until I got to my room.” He winks at me and I roll my eyes.
The man, whose voice is coming from a place I still can’t locate, starts to laugh. “Read you loud and clear, sir. I understand. No one will bother you for as long as the conversation lasts.” His emphasis on the word conversation makes me grumble.
“As if,” I retort, right before the elevator line goes dead. To say I’m irritated would be an understatement. I lean against the left side of the elevator, eyeing my captor. “What is this , Mr. Rohan? Do you usually imprison hotel guests?”
“It’s Gabriel. But you can call me Gabe.” He’s too charming for his own good. I blink at him without responding, which he takes as permission to continue talking. “I thought we should finish our conversation before we got off the elevator. ”
“We weren’t having a conversation. Unless you count you being a complete—” I stop myself from finishing the sentence, sigh, then force a tight-lipped smile.
His laughter lights up the space. “A what? Dick?”
“You said it, not me.” I’m now faux inspecting the fingers on my left hand.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Well, that’s putting it mildly. “Although, in my defense, I did catch you ogling yourself in the mirror.”
“Okay, well, thanks for that shitty apology.” I push up from the wall and reach for the button to start the elevator again. Gabriel grabs my hand to stop me.
Energy flares radiate from the place where our skin connects but he doesn’t seem to notice. I immediately pull my arm back, mouth open as I stare in shock.
“Don’t think I’ve ever repulsed someone so much before, Nar—” The word wedges itself in his throat as I all but sneer at him.
He tilts his head slightly to the right, then squints his eyes. “Have I— Have we met before?”
“Nope.” The answer comes out blunter than I’d intended before I sneeze again.
He doesn’t say anything as he presses the emergency button, and the elevator purrs to life.
I exit first, then Gabe steps around me in silence, disappearing around the corner.
Something about the interaction makes me feel like I should apologize, which is insane since he’s the one being an ass. I sigh and hurry back to my suite.
As soon as I get inside, I walk over to the couch, grab a throw pillow and scream into it.
“That good, huh?” I don’t expect to hear his voice and it scares the shit out of me.
“Eliam, when are you going to stop breaking into my room?” I hurl the pillow at him.
He catches the projectile—not fazed by my antics—and fluffs it before tossing it back onto the chair I’d plucked it from.
I walk around and plunk down into a seat, throwing my head back so I can stare at the ceiling.
Eliam moves to sit next to me, then reaches over and grabs my feet from the floor.
I stop looking at the ceiling and glance over at him.
Without a word, he starts massaging my soles.
“You don’t have to do that.” I try to pull my feet back when he slaps me playfully on one of my calves.