Chapter 16
I pace in the brightly lit hall outside the reception, waiting for her to slip out, too. But two, three, four minutes after her text, and there’s still no sign.
I weigh my options. Head back into the reception to look for her like Captain Obvious. Send her a text asking what’s up like a Pushy Dick. Or make my way to the bar like Cool and Casual Guy.
Before I settle on the no-brainer of Scotch, the text message light blinks.
Princess: Trapped by a very tipsy Jen. Give me a few minutes. Meet me in a dark stairwell? Vending machine on second floor? Library? Underneath a tree on the grounds?
I smile. So very Harper.
And I’m going to be so very me, now.
Nick: Room 302.
Once I’m inside my room, my bow tie is undone, along with the top two buttons on my shirt. I toss my jacket on the bed, kick off my shoes, and flop down on the mattress.
I grab the remote.
No time like the present to find out what’s on the tube on a Saturday night.
Clicking through the hotel menu, I learn that not only can I watch a ton of reruns, a plethora of cooking shows, and a host of filthy movies, I can also order my continental breakfast for tomorrow, plan a spa day, or take a tour of the hotel grounds on the interactive map.
Wow. That sounds immensely fascinating. Not sure I can contain my excitement at the mere suggestion of a TV-screen tour of the hotel.
I manage, though, stabbing the off button then checking my phone.
That killed ten minutes, but there’s still no text from Harper.
Flicking through some apps, I manage to carve another five minutes out of my night before I peek again at the texts.
That’s when I see the unsent status on my last note. Oh shit. I sit up, scrambling to resend the note that didn’t go through for whatever reason.
But before I can even click, there’s a knock on my door. When I cross the few feet to open it, I find Harper in her blue dress, her hair half-down, and one hand behind her back.
She wastes no time.
“My zipper is stuck. And you never told me where you wanted to meet, but I remembered your floor from when we checked in, and I knocked on a few doors, taking a chance, and someone down the hall asked if I had the chocolate-covered strawberries they ordered, and obviously I don’t, but they sounded really good, and well, here I am, thinking about strawberries and hunting for your room while my zipper is stuck. ”
A grin tugs at my mouth at everything she just said, but I key in on the last one. “Your zipper’s stuck?”
She turns around and shows me, and it’s a tangled, mangled mess, caught in the red strands of her hair. I grab her arm, pull her into my room, and guide her to the edge of the bed. Sitting her down, I appraise the zipper. “Your hair is in the zipper.”
“I know,” she says with a huff. Then softer, “Can you fix it?”
“Yes.”
She breathes a sigh of relief.
“What did you do to make this happen?” I push some of the loose hair off her back. The dress has two slim straps, and her shoulders are exposed. Her skin is pale, and I want to kiss it.
“I was in my room,” she says as I start working on the zipper, gently tugging a few strands from the teeth.
“I thought Jen corralled you?”
“She did, but then I escaped, and I didn’t hear back from you right away, so I went to my room to change into something else and let my hair down, and when I started to take off the dress, my hair got stuck and this happened.”
“My message didn’t go through. But I had texted you my room number,” I say, as I free more pieces of her hair.
“You did?” she asks, and I can hear a smile in her voice.
“Yes. When you sent me your list of meeting places.”
“I found you anyway. I wanted to find you,” she says, and I freeze, my hands stilling on her zipper.
Find me.
That’s what I’ve wanted from her—for the lightbulb to go off, and for Harper to see I’m the one she wants.
“You’re a good detective. I’ll get you those chocolate-covered strawberries if you want,” I tease.
“I don’t want that right now. I want something else.”
“What do you want?” I ask as I resume my work, practically holding my breath with the hope that she wants the same thing I do.
“I want the night with you not to end.”