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Grayden laughs, the sound causing funny things to happen to my stomach. “I wanted to make you feel right at home. Look at this,” he says, takes my hand, and leads me straight to the bedroom where there are more flowers. “These are the ones that you have on your sheets.”
“I’m not sure whether to find it creepy or funny,” I joke, but when his brows furrow in concern, I put my hands on his cheeks to reassure him. “I’m kidding. It’s the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”
An easy grin forms on Grayden’s face. “You better get used to it because I’ll spoil you for as long as you’ll be my fake girlfriend.”
I give him a smile so wide that my jaw hurts. My eyes lock on his, and suddenly, I’m aware that I’m still cupping his cheeks. It might be just in my head, but I could swear that the distance between us is getting smaller. Grayden further lowers his head, the intensity of our gaze growing. I lick my lips, my heart drumming in anticipation. His eyes dart to my tongue and he—
The landline in the room rings, breaking us out of the strongest spell I’ve ever experienced. As if caught doing something illegal, we jump apart, putting as much distance between us as the grand suite allows us to.
I awkwardly clear my throat and point a thumb at the bathroom without looking at him. “I should get ready.”
“Yeah,” Grayden agrees with a thick voice.
I return to the living room where the staff has left our luggage. Needing to put a door between us, I grab my suitcase and take it to the bathroom while he answers the phone.
The bathroom is bigger than my bedroom. Hell, the suite is bigger than my entire apartment. The bathroom has beautiful light brown tiles mixing with the white colors of the tub, the cupboard under the sink, and the ceiling.
A quick glance at the mirror confirms that I need a shower. It’s not like I expected to be all ready for the gala after working half of the shift and flying from New York to San Francisco even though it was a private jet.
I turn the suitcase on its side to open it. The dress is right on top, and I carefully take it out, relieved that it’s not wrinkled.
Under different circumstances, I wouldn’t take a quick shower, but would instead allow myself to soak in the bath, enjoying the spray jets and whirlpool features that this luxurious setting offers.
Despite the shortness of the shower, it gives me enough time to process Grayden’s grand gesture. It’s like he brought a piece of my home here by putting bouquets of flowers all around the suite. Even the bathroom has two vases with flowers that look just like the ones I have on my tiles. The flowers aren’t the only detail from him.
When we jumped apart, I caught a glimpse of the bottle of champagne on the ice. There’s also only one bed, which is currently covered with an infinite amount of red rose petals in the shape of the heart. As if that’s not enough, I saw a small box on the nightstand and I’m pretty sure it’s condoms.
I won’t even try to deny to myself that I’m attracted to him. It would be pointless, especially because I’m constantly drifting closer to him, looking for opportunities to touch him. Despite cupping his cheeks more than once, I still didn’t get enough of his soft stubble. I’m itching to get my fingers back in there, or even take it a step further and bury them in his gelled back curls to mess up his carefully groomed style. The sides of his head are buzzed in, leaving a faded look. But what I want to touch the most is his strong and toned body.
“Helia,” Grayden calls from the other side of the door.
My cheeks burn hot as if he’s caught me in the action. I curse myself for being breathless. “Yeah?”
“Melissa called saying that they’d meet us downstairs.”
“Okay,” I reply after catching my breath. “I’ll be out in fifteen minutes.”
“Must be some kind of record,” he muses, then walks away, his steps fading with the distance.
I turn off the shower, quickly dry myself with what must be the softest towel ever made, and then prepare myself to slip into the strapless knee-length white dress that I teased Grayden about earlier on the plane. Due to its design, I don’t need a bra but I can put on underwear. After rummaging through my suitcases, I realize that I don’t have anything sexy. I don’t plan to sleep with Grayden, but if something does happen, I’d prefer to avoid the embarrassment. Fuck it, nothing under the dress tonight.
“Here goes nothing,” I mutter under my breath as I put the dress on over my naked body. I put on some light makeup while admiring the bright lighting in the bathroom, which makes it easier.
When I leave the bathroom, I look for Grayden, but can’t immediately locate him. I check in the bedroom. Not there. He’s also not in the living room. The private dining room’s empty too.
“Grayden?” I call, my stomach dropping at the thought of being left alone.
“In here,” he calls back from the door across the dining room, leading to the room I didn’t notice.
Following his voice, I enter the small kitchenette. I’m saying small because it is compared to the rest of the suite, but in reality, it’s bigger than the kitchen in my apartment.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“I know, right?” Grayden says, then turns around to me.
“Oh, I’m not talking about the kitchen.”
The words slip out before I can stop them. Grayden grins and fixes his little bow tie.
