She grabs the popcorn and tucks it under her arm. “I’m going to get out of here so you can do all the things. Get your shower. Shave. Wear the good perfume. And call me if you need anything.” She heads for the door. “And I’m taking the popcorn. It’ll be stale by the time you get home, anyway.”
“Bye, Claire.”
Her footsteps grow more distant before the door pops closed. Before I know it, I’m alone. I glance at the clock. Forty-five minutes to go.
Taking a deep breath, I look at myself in the mirror again.
“You are going to be fine.”
“She deserves to be happy in whatever way she wants to define that, and she should absolutely not accept anything less.”
Thank God for Claire.
I head to the shower.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
TREVOR
This is incredible.” Haley walks slowly into the suite at the Bellader Hotel. She spins in the middle of the great room, her jaw slack. “I mean, this is gorgeous.”
I lean against the wall and watch her turn another slow circle. Her hair hangs down, having dried on the drive to Nashville. There’s not a drop of makeup on her face, which I find amusing. I’d almost guess she’s making an effort to appear unattractive.
If I wanted to assist her in that endeavor, I’d point out how fucking beautiful she is without all that shit. I’m a man, and I’m a visual guy. I’d tell her she’s gorgeous, even more so when she’s stripped of makeup. And I might tell her that’s what I’ve imagined—but without clothing—while lying in bed at night jacking off, since the day I met her.
But I don’t.
“The view from here is as gorgeous as it always is,” I say.
She faces me and raises a brow, getting the innuendo. “That’s against the rules, Kelly.”
I smirk, walking through the great room. “We were talking about the room, were we not?” I stop next to her and watch a dose of embarrassment flicker through her eyes. “I mean, if I were able, I’d tell you how everything in this room sort of fades when you’re in it, but that might get me smacked. Apparently, being nice is frowned upon these days.”
She’s not sure how to respond. Instead of making her react, I walk away.
The windows making up the back wall overlooking downtown Nashville are one of my favorite things about the hotel. It feels like you’re in the clouds. Like nothing can bother you. Like no one can touch you.
I don’t have to look to know Haley is standing beside me. My body is aware of every move she makes. I continue to look across the city and not at her because if I do, I don’t know what I’ll say. Only that it won’t be helpful.
I peek at her out of the corner of my eye. She’s looking at me with a smirk of her own.
“What?” I ask.
“I was thinking.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
She laughs, her voice breaking the stillness of the air. “How much longer until the party?”
I glance at my watch. “We have a couple of hours. It’ll take thirty minutes to get to Dad’s if traffic isn’t bad.”
Her jaw drops. “The party is at his house?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No. I just . . . I didn’t know. I had it pictured to be at the hotel or at the office or something.”
There’s a heavy dose of trepidation on her face. In lieu of kissing it out of her, I coax her back with a joke. “Don’t worry. This house isn’t nearly as big as the one in Dogwood Lane.”
She laughs, her shoulders falling. “If your dad has two houses the size of the Taj Mahal, I’m going home. It’s not even fair.”
“I thought you didn’t want a house that big?”
She shakes her head as she looks out the window. “I don’t.”
As I watch her, I realize how much of her is a blank space to me. Suddenly, I want to know everything, to fill the hole with every bit of information I can get about her.
“What would you like?” I ask. “If you could have anything in the entire universe, what would it be?”
She takes a while to answer, but that’s okay with me. I’m perfectly content with having a few moments to take her in.
Her nails have been painted a pale pink color, and I wonder if she has them painted often or if she did it just for tonight. For me. The thought makes my cock twitch in my pants, and