Anyone But Nick (Anyone But... #3) - Penelope Bloom Page 0,71

to get straight to Robbie’s office and settle this whole thing right away, but I had to get a hotel and wait until he’d actually be there. Even the thought of looking at him after knowing what he’d resorted to made me feel sick to my stomach. I was still trying to wrap my head around how it was possible to have missed his darker side after all the time we’d spent together. Except maybe it wasn’t so shocking. I’d thought of him more like a business partner or a convenience than a romantic partner. All I’d cared to see were the parts of him that lined up with the image I was trying to protect. And look where that had gotten me.

The receptionist at the hotel gave me a strange look when I told her my name, but I made it the rest of the way to my room without any incidents. I tossed down my small bag of luggage and collapsed onto the bed.

What the hell was I doing?

Chapter 22

NICK

I got a call just after three in the morning. I’d paid off every receptionist at every hotel within twenty miles of Robbie’s building, and one of them called to let me know Miranda had checked in.

I drove my rental to the hotel as fast as I could and stopped at the front desk. “Hey,” I said, handing over $500. “This is for you. Can you tell me what room she’s in?”

The girl—a dark-haired college-age kid with glasses—frowned. “Don’t you think that’s a little creeperish?”

I gave an exasperated sigh. “Haven’t we already crossed into creeperish territory by now? I just paid you five hundred dollars to tell me when someone checked in. What if I was a hit man? You didn’t have a problem with any of that.”

“Yeah,” she said. “But I didn’t tell you her room number, so . . .”

“For Christ’s sake,” I said. I dug in my wallet and pulled out another couple of hundred-dollar bills. “Does this help?”

She took the money. “Room 212.”

I took the stairs and found her room. It was only when I was finally standing just outside that I had the first moment of hesitation. Everything until now had been driven by pure adrenaline. She’d gone off without me to make this decision on her own. The only thing that made sense was finding her as fast as possible.

But what if she was right to come here? If Max ran that story, it could ruin her career as well as mine. Some old part of me was afraid of that, but I was surprised to find it didn’t matter to me anymore.

I knocked on the door and waited. When I didn’t hear any movement inside, I put my mouth close to the door. “Miranda. It’s me.”

A few seconds later, she opened the door. Her face crumpled as soon as she saw me, and she practically fell into me. I wrapped her in my arms and squeezed. I had half a mind to lift her off her feet and carry her back to the car and then back to West Valley, never letting go until I got her back where she belonged. But I knew Miranda was too strong willed for that. If I pushed too hard, I’d only end up pushing her away. So I made myself let her go and took a step back to smile.

“Since I had to do some detective work and a lot of last-minute travel arrangements, can you reward me with an explanation?” I asked.

She laughed softly. “I have to admit, it’s pretty impressive that you found me this quickly.”

“Yeah, well, I was just starting to get used to the idea that you might be mine soon. Then you set off across the country to go take a job for your ex-boyfriend. I might’ve shot down your plane if I knew you would’ve survived.”

She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t remember talking about this whole ownership arrangement.”

“There are some things you just take ownership of. It doesn’t mean they are yours. It means you decide that taking care of them matters more than anything else—that you’ll sacrifice whatever it takes to keep them happy and safe. I was kind of thinking more about that kind of ownership.”

She chewed the corner of her lip. “How am I supposed to go through with this when you say something like that?”

I slid my hand around the small of her back and pulled her closer. “This is the