Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,71

of my business.

East: You’re in the movie theater. What the hell are you doing in there?

Ben: Why are you stalking me?

East: Because you’re being cagey. And I see you have a guest. I will immediately

turn off the surveillance. Because nobody needs to see that.

Ben: You’re an arsehole.

East: I know. Have fun with the woman you’re not into.

I turned off my phone. I didn’t need my mate getting into my head. Besides, this was about Livy. I’d told her cook’s choice on a movie. We had thousands available. What she chose surprised me.

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?”

Her grin was sweet. “I love this movie. And the screen is so big. I’ve only ever seen it on TV.”

“Your pick, you can have whatever you want.”

She snuggled into the seat next to me. “Ugh, I should have brought a blanket. Can we pause so I can go get one? I might pick up some sweet and salty popcorn too. You want any candy or anything?”

“Oh, you’re adorable. Hold on.” Did she really think I was going to send her upstairs to concessions?

I pulled a remote out of the side of my chair and tapped in a request.

She frowned at me. “What are you doing?”

“You said you wanted a blanket and popcorn, right?”

Her brows lifted. “Seriously?”

I grinned at her. “Owning the place has some perks.”

“Jesus. What’s it like to get everything you ever want? Doesn’t that get boring?”

I shook my head. “Nope. And I don’t always get everything I want. Some things I have to work for. And it’s better when I work for them.”

Way to be obvious.

“But it must be odd to press a button and have blankets appear out of nowhere.”

“Well, I pay people to make sure that those things happen for anyone who stays here. I want people to know comfort. To have a sense of being taken care of. Like you have family even when you’re far away.”

Her smile warmed me from the inside as she grinned up at me. “So, you do this at all the hotels so that people have a sense of family?”

Heat started to creep up my neck as the embarrassment hit. “A little. When I was a kid, I would watch people bend over backward to make sure that my father had everything he needed exactly how he needed it. And eventually they got so good at their jobs that he didn’t even have to ask; whatever he needed would just appear. But then I noticed at school and other places that most people didn’t have that, and I wanted to provide that kind of experience for people.”

“Why, Bennet James Covington, you do care about people.”

I brushed off the sentiment. “It’s my job.”

We were interrupted by one of the bellhops. “Mr. Covington, here are your popcorn and blankets.”

Olivia grinned up. “Thank you so much.”

Tucked into her blanket, she scooted closer to me. But the arm of the seat was in the way. I hit a button on the remote, and the arm retracted down, forming a love seat of sorts.

Her eyes rounded. “What? That’s insane.”

“It’s great, huh? Come on. If you want a cuddle, let’s do this.”

“You’re spoiling me. How will I ever return to normal life?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she didn’t have to. What is wrong with you? “Oh, I’m sure you’ll manage.”

She grinned. “Or I can just bring my normal life back to you, and therefore, I shall not be tempted by such extravagances.”

“Sweetheart, I have no idea what normal even is.”

“No, you wouldn’t, would you? Is it lonely? I mean you live in the hotel. Before I turned up, it looked as sterile as a hotel. You have no personal touches in the loft. Don’t you want that?”

I thought about East’s place with his photos and art and that lived-in quality. “I guess I don’t put the effort into that. I focus on other things. You don’t realize how lonely you are if you’re always doing something else.”

“Well, not to worry, I shall add warmth.”

I smiled down at her. She was so close, smelling sweet and inviting. Where had she come from? How had she found me? Why was she already changing the shape of how I thought, what I wanted, what I needed from my life?

“You’re staring at me.”

“I’m aware. I’m trying to remember that you’re my friend right now.”

“It shouldn’t be hard.”

All I had to do was forget that I knew exactly how she tasted. All I had to do was pretend that I