it so it sat to the side of the entryway, it felt as though a piece of something I’d long been missing clicked into place in my heart.
I didn’t need New York.
I didn’t need to win the fashion industry.
I really could just do something because it made me happy.
I paced from the window to the door, then back again inside my tiny hotel room on Islamorada. We were only five minutes away from the LeFranc summer estate which made everything feel real in a way it hadn’t up to that point. We were in Florida. Committed. The thought made me jittery and uncomfortable. On what had to have been my five hundredth pass around the room, I gave up and grabbed my phone, my fingers hovering over Alex’s name on my screen.
I can’t sleep, I finally texted.
Alex replied immediately. Me neither.
TV?
It took a full minute for his response to come through. Come on over.
I grabbed my hoodie, tossing it on over my pajamas, and slipped on my flip-flops, trying not to think about why it had taken him so long to respond.
Alex was waiting at his open hotel-room door when I reached him. He backed into the room and held the door open for me, closing it once I was inside.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
Nervous energy had been pulsing through me all night as I’d stressed and worried about Sasha’s wedding, but this nervous energy felt entirely different. Heat radiated off Alex’s body and I itched to step closer, to breathe him in, to feel his solid warmth under my hands. I was tired of being angry. Tired of feeling hurt. Tired of being afraid and nervous and uncertain. But there was nothing uncertain about the man standing in front of me.
“Do you want—”
I lunged across the small space between us and cut his words off with a kiss.
He stepped back, obviously startled, but steadied himself quickly without breaking the kiss and wrapped his arms around my back. I took hold of his t-shirt, bunching it in my fists as I pulled him even closer. I tilted my head to the side and deepened the kiss, eliciting a whimpering moan from Alex that told me just how much he didn’t mind my forwardness. My hands moved up to his face then slid into his hair.
There were no guarantees concerning the next forty-eight hours of my life. Things could go perfectly well, or they could completely explode in my face. Either outcome could have a significant impact on my future.
But none of that mattered. Not with Alex in front of me, not with his hands on my skin, his lips tracing kisses down the side of my neck.
“Dani, what are we doing?” he whispered.
I arched my neck, leaning it back toward his lips. “I don’t know but I think we’re really good at it.”
He planted a kiss on the curve of my jaw, right below my ear just as a knock sounded on the door behind us.
We both froze, Alex’s hands tightening around my arms.
“Alex? You still up?” Isaac said through the door. “I’m going downstairs for a quick drink. You want to come?”
Alex cleared his throat. “I think I’m okay. Thanks though.”
“You sure?”
I leaned my forehead against Alex’s chest and smiled.
“Yep. I’m sure,” Alex said, laughter in his voice.
“Cool. See you in the morning.”
As soon as Isaac’s footsteps retreated down the hall, I half-expected us to pick back up where we’d left off. But then Alex released my arms and took a faint step away from me, perching himself on the edge of the dresser.
I stood in silence waiting for him to say something, but he didn’t even look up. My confidence fizzled. What had just happened? Everything had felt so right and then in a blink, it was wrong again. “So I guess I should get to bed?” I finally said, my voice soft.
Alex met my gaze. There was warmth there, but also a distance I couldn’t quite define. He’d pulled away from me, and I had no idea why. “That’s probably a good idea,” he said gently. “We’ve got a big couple of days ahead of us.”
“Right.” I pressed my forehead into my hands, mortified to be so blatantly rejected. “Got it.”
Alex sighed. “Dani—”
“It’s fine. I get it. I was just feeling . . . and you were always . . . but you’re right. It’s a big day tomorrow. We should focus.”
Alex reached for my arm, tugging me toward him. He wrapped his arms around my back, and I