The next morning was a shit show. When we woke up, the storm was still raging. The rain was so heavy that you could barely see a foot in front of you. There was no way we could go back outside to continue the activities, so I wasn’t surprised at all when Monika sent everyone an email.
Subject: Activities canceled.
I’m sorry to spring this on you, but the weather forecast will not improve today. You are, of course, welcome to stay at the hotel for the rest of the day. My team and I will plan another event to replace this one.
Before I had a chance to reply, there was a knock at the door.
‘Who is it?’ I called.
‘Dom.’
I scrambled to my feet, taking the bathrobe from the hook on the bathroom door and throwing it over me—I was wearing a shirt but was commando downstairs. I secured the robe around my waist before opening the door. ‘Come in. Did you read the email?’
‘Yes. What do you want to do? Want to stick around here?’
‘Hell no. Can you imagine anything worse than being trapped with Malcolm in a hotel?’
He snorted. ‘Yes. Being trapped with him and everyone else.’
I grinned. ‘All right. I don’t need a lot of time to pack.’
I didn’t know why I was so nervous. Last night it felt like something had passed between us, an understanding of sorts. Something more real than anything I’d experienced in years.
I loved that he’d opened up to me. After we fell on the ground, it felt like he was about to kiss me. Of course, I was probably projecting because I would have loved that… even though I knew it would just complicate matters.
“My bag’s already packed,’ he said.
“Wow. When?”
“I woke up too early and didn’t have anything to do.”
‘I can join you in the reception area in—’ I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. ‘—let’s say fifteen minutes.’
‘That sounds good. I can hunt down some breakfast if you want.’
I nodded. ‘Yes, please.’
We were such a great team. But I was relieved that we didn’t have to put on a show today. Yesterday had already been more complex than I’d anticipated… and more confusing. I didn’t think I could do one more full day.
I’d put my bag on top of the armoire, which was super high, so I shoved the desk chair over to it. I’d practically fallen off the dang thing when I’d set the bag up there in the first place.
‘I can do it.’ Dom obviously saw the precariousness of it all.
‘No, that’s fine,’ I said with bravado.
I stretched my leg up to the chair, and then I heard Dom suck in a breath. I glanced at him, noticing his eyes were fixed on my center.
My entire body was on fire, and my stomach turned into a tight ball. I’d forgotten I wasn’t wearing any underwear. And Dom had a direct view to my lady bits.
I gasped, quickly putting my leg down and wrapping the robe around my thighs.
He cleared his throat, turning to one side. ‘I didn’t see anything.’
‘Yes, you did. Don’t lie to me.’
‘I was trying to be a gentleman.’
I was so embarrassed.
‘I’ll just wait for you at reception,’ he said.
‘Great idea,’ I muttered as he went past me. I put my palms on my cheeks, closing my eyes and drawing in deep breaths, trying to calm down. It was no use.
How am I going to spend the next two hours in a car with him? Why did I think it was smart to ride here with him?
A few seconds later, I got a grip on myself. I’d focus on packing and just take it from there. I accidentally flashed him. So what? These things happened.
Though I didn’t know in what universe.
I threw my things in the bag quickly. Since I’d washed my hair last night to get all the debris out—no more creepy-crawlies, thank God—I didn’t bother with a shower. I refreshed my face, brushed my teeth, and applied some makeup.
Now I just had to face Dom.
I’d been through my fair share of embarrassing situations in my life. I could handle this.
Five minutes later, I was having second thoughts when I spotted Dom standing near the doorway in the reception area. This was going to be awkward. Since everything was paid for, there was no need to line up at the desk; we simply dropped our keycards in the box designated for them.
Taking a deep breath, I rolled my suitcase toward him. He looked immensely sexy in his polo t-shirt. His ink was on full display, and I approved. He should do away with shirts altogether. When you had forearms and biceps like that, why hide them?
‘We can go,’ I said, my voice squeaky.
‘I’ll take your luggage for you. This is our breakfast, by the way.”
He held up a large paper bag.
“I’ll carry that.” I took the bag from him. They’d obviously packed hot beverages, too, because the paper was warm.
He didn’t seem embarrassed at all about my little scene earlier. Should I bring it up? That had been my initial plan, but I simply couldn’t.
‘Okay, let’s go.’ Holy shit, my voice was even worse than before.
‘We have to run to the car. I have my jacket here for you. The hotel won’t lend us any umbrellas, though they wouldn’t help anyway. The wind is too strong.’
I tilted my head at him, confused. “I already have a jacket on.”
“You can put it over your head, or your hair will get wet.”
“That’s no problem.” I waved my hand, then grinned. “Let’s see who gets there first. Race me.”
‘With your track record, you’d just manage to hurt yourself.’ He smiled, then started laughing.
‘Catch me if you can,’ I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door.
I had to make an actual effort to see where I was stepping and to locate the car.
We weren’t the first ones to leave, as the parking lot was significantly emptier than yesterday. I only realized I’d passed his car when I heard the sound of the engine starting and turned my head.
Dom was quite a bit behind me, but he’d clicked on the remote, starting his vehicle.
‘I’m so cold,’ I muttered to myself when I got inside the car. My clothes were sticking to me. It wasn’t awful, but it was uncomfortable. I took off the jacket, putting it in the back. The bag with our breakfast was soaked.
Dom joined me a few seconds later. He wasn’t in any better shape, water dripping from his hair.
‘Want me to turn on the heat?’ he asked while he got rid of his jacket.
‘Yes, please.’
I opened the breakfast bag. It contained toast, bacon and coffee. I didn’t care much for the bacon, but I did need something to warm me up.
Grabbing one of the cups, I took a sip and then sighed. ‘Oh, this is good. I can feel life coming back to my limbs. By the way… I won.’
He winked. ‘You’re here in one piece, so I consider that my win.’
There was a playful glint in his eyes. I had to address the elephant in the room.
‘I’m sorry about… before… in the room.’
His eyes glinted even more. ‘As I said, I didn’t see much.’
‘Right, just the essential parts,’ I filled in for him.
He grinned. ‘Something like that. Don’t worry about it, Reese. It was just unexpected, that’s all.’
‘You don’t say. I’d be shocked, too, if someone flashed me their pussy.”
He swallowed hard and then covered his mouth with his hand, stifling a fit of laughter. Then he started to choke.
Well, today is off to a good start.
‘I’m sorry, my humor is way off this morning. It usually is when I’m nervous.’
He cleared his throat. ‘There’s no need to be nervous, Reese.’
I handed him his coffee and breakfast so he could get things situated before we started our drive home, then grabbed my phone.
“Let me just text my gran that I’ll be back earlier. Maybe she has time to meet up.”
“You’re really close to your family. How about your dad? You mentioned your cousins but not him.”
“He moved to London after they sold the bookstore chain. He remarried recently, and now we have a half sister. I wish I could be closer to them, but it’s hard, even with all the technology. I try to make up for my absence with presents, and I’ll shower her with gifts on Christmas. She’ll love everything that’s on my list.”
“You already have a Christmas list?”
“Oh yeah. I have many people to shop for, so I always start early.”
We spoke about Christmas shopping a bit longer, and then about everything under the sun. It was so easy talking to him.
“Where do you want me to drop you off? Home?” he asked when we entered the city.
“No. My grandmother texted me that she’s at The Happy Place.”
“Then I’ll take you there.”
The city was surprisingly empty, but then again, it wasn’t even lunchtime. I was disappointed that the storm had interfered with our plans. It meant I hadn’t seen the last of Malcolm.
When we arrived in front of The Happy Place, I moved to take my half-full cup of coffee from the cupholder and nearly knocked it over. I was jittery again.
He squeezed my hand. “You’re still nervous.”
“I am.”
“I thought we cleared the air about what happened in the room.”
I widened my eyes playfully. ‘I wasn’t even thinking about that, but now I am. Thanks for reminding me.’
He chuckled. ‘My bad. So what is it?’
“I’d hoped to put the charity events behind me this weekend, but Monika said she’ll make new plans because of the weather today. Now I’ll have to figure something out.”
We both got out of the car. He took my bag out of the trunk, frowning.
‘What do you want to figure out?’ he asked.
“What to say when people ask why you’re not there.”
“I will be there, Reese.”
“Oh.” My body started buzzing. “Are you sure? I mean, that’s more than you signed up for.”
“No, I signed up for being your fake date for the duration of the event.”
“Are you sure? They’ll probably suggest a few days for the next event, but I’m sure not everyone will be able to make it. It won’t be suspicious if we say you already have plans on all those days.”
“Reese! I don’t want you alone anywhere near that moron.”
My insides warmed up at that. His voice dripped authority and maybe even a hint of protectiveness. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. We’ll be in touch. And judging by how this weekend went, the next event will be explosive.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I instinctively knew he was right.
