Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
Aurora
It has taken everything in me not to call Deacon.
But I really want New York to be about making conscious choices. And I need a bit of time and space to figure out what I want.
Of course I want him physically. My hormones are clear about that. But do I really want everything that comes with it? Do I want a man who’s a father? A man who’s in a complicated relationship with his ex?
A man who’s a guest.
The last few days in the hotel, I’ve been able to focus because I know that he’s not around.
But today’s Sunday. He’s back. Now I’m in my permanent position as rooms director.
I have all the details of the occupancy of every room, and I may have seen the details for Room 325. Deacon Black is all checked in.
It gets to just after four in the afternoon when I find myself in the corridor for his room. I could take the elevators and avoid passing his door, or I could take the stairs.
It’s not a hard decision. I take the stairs. Not because I think we’ll bump into each other. He has no reason to be outside his door. I have no reason to knock. But something pulls me toward him.
My heart pounds louder and louder as I approach his door—and then at the last minute, I double back and head for the elevators.
I’m making this way too complicated. And it’s easy to unpick.
I don’t need to worry that I’m not able to give him more children. He’s asking me for dinner. He’s not giving me a ring.
And I don’t need to worry if he’s got an ex. It’s not like I’m wanting a ring from him either.
I don’t need to worry that he’s sleeping with other women. Of course he is. He’s built like a Greek god, and given the noises I’ve heard from his hotel room, the practice he’s had has helped him perfect his technique.
I want Deacon Black.
I want him even if he’s a guest. And that means Darcy’s right, I need to speak to Avril and Poppy.
I head down to the ground floor and right to their shared office. Lucky for me Avril and Poppy are both working today and now is as good a time as any. The door is open, so I knock as I walk in.
“Hey, Aurora. Did you see the occupancy rates?” Avril asks. “They’re up ten percent year on year.”
“I did see that,” I say.
“It’s the Aurora effect,” Poppy says.
I laugh. “I can’t take the credit.”
“You’d be surprised how much staff makes a difference,” Poppy replies.
“It’s true,” Avril adds. “We had a particular someone on reception at the beginning of the year and the numbers started to tank. The thing is, I know that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. People just didn’t extend their stays or use the restaurants and bars in the same way when she was here.”
I’d heard similar stories when I was working at The Rookery, but it was normally about managers. I’ve never known someone on reception to have such an impact. “I’m glad I’m bringing in the guests.”
“We love having you here,” Avril says. “Don’t we, Poppy?”
“A permanent job is yours if you want it,” she says.
I smile, but don’t respond. They might change their mind about that once I tell them about Deacon Black’s dinner invitation.
“I wanted to talk to you about something. It’s a little awkward.”
Avril’s eyes widen and she nods at the door. “Close the door and come and take a seat.”
I take a seat on a chair at the table. Poppy and Avril are still at their desks.
“Please don’t tell me you’re leaving,” Avril says. “We love you being here.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I’m here until the end of my contract. Although you might want to fire me—”
Poppy stands up and comes and sits in one of the other chairs around the table. “What’s going on?”
“You know I told you that I was stood up on that date the other week? Well, I didn’t really finish the story.
” I tell them how Deacon was also in the restaurant, and how he’d asked me to dinner again.
I leave out the kissing. I especially leave out the kissing in his room when I delivered him extra towels.
“I haven’t said yes because I don’t know if you’d think it was inappropriate.
I don’t want to do anything that would—”
“Is Deacon Black in Room 325?” Poppy asks.
Avril nods her head. “Yeah, that guy.”
“The one with the magic penis?” she asks.
“That’s the one,” she says to Poppy. Then she turns to me. “You know that he’s…never short of company,” Avril says, a look of concern on her face.
I nod. “Yeah, I know that. I’m not saying I definitely want to go to dinner with him, but—”
“You should definitely go to dinner with him again,” Poppy says.
“You think?” Avril asks.
“Absolutely,” Poppy confirms. “The guy is stunning. He belongs on a billboard in Times Square. And those women he hangs out with? Well, first, they’re not anything compared to you, and second, they seem to have a damn good time.”
I bite back a smile. She’s not wrong. About it all.
“But I wouldn’t want her to get hurt…” Avril says.
“She’s not asking us for relationship advice,” Poppy says. “She just wants to know whether we care about her fucking a guest.”
She’s not wrong about that either.
“Well, we don’t—” Avril stops herself and looks at Poppy. “Do we?”
“No, we’re pro fucking good-looking men.”
Avril nods her head like Poppy is talking about the importance of equal pay or something.
“I would never…socialize with him here.”
“Good,” Poppy says.
“Yes, that’s definitely a good rule,” Avril says. “We’ve never been asked this, have we?” she asks Poppy.
“No,” she says. “And we appreciate you coming to us. But you should get as much of that gorgeous ass as you can.”
“Do you like him?” Avril asks.
I shrug, not wanting to be too open about my attraction to him, but they’re not idiots.
The New York pigeons are attracted to Deacon Black.
“I haven’t dated much over the last few years.
And he seems interesting. Maybe. New York is an experiment.
I’ve been doing so many things the same way for such a long time, I just want to try something new. ”
“You need to take New York by the balls,” Avril says.
“You should definitely date,” Poppy says. “Just don’t put all your eggs into one basket.”
“Right,” I say. “I’m not dating to marry. I live three thousand miles away.”
“For now,” Poppy says. “You might fall in love with Mr. Room 325 and never go back to England.”
“Right. And sometimes it snows in July.”
“You never know,” Avril says. “My brother fell in love at first sight. He met Sophia through friends and married her the second time he ever met her.”
“Really?” I say. “Sounds…romantic. Are they still together?”
Avril nods. “Sophia’s pregnant again. They’re deliriously happy.”
“That’s nice,” I say. But I’m not planning on falling in love with Deacon Black. I just want to follow wherever it takes me.
“Oh, you should come to Sunday brunch. This Sunday. Are you free?” Poppy asks. “You can meet Worth and Sophia. There’ll be a bunch of us there.”
My heart floats in my chest like it’s a balloon and someone’s let go of the string. Avril and Poppy have been so good to me. But I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, being so familiar with them.
“Bring Deacon if you want to,” Poppy says.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I say, “but thank you. I’ll have a think about coming.”
“So, that’s a yes,” Avril says. “I’m putting you down as a definitely.”
New York is my summer. I’m here to have fun and get the most out of life. “Okay, that would be lovely. Thank you.”
“You can give us an update on Deacon Black.”
I laugh and stand up. Avril and Poppy are my bosses, but they act much more like girlfriends. “Thank you,” I say.
“But seriously, keep us posted,” Avril says. “I want to know what he does that makes those women scream so loud.”
Me too, Avril. Me too.