“I’m so sorry.”
Another stab of pain erupts in my chest, but this time, the pain is a little less than before. Gray rubs my back until my breathing gets under control.
“Is there someone you want to call?” he asks. “Do you have family? Someone who can come get you?”
I think of my brother, the only family I have left now. He’s been informed, and the Navy has given him leave, but he won’t land on US soil until tomorrow. If he knew what I’d been up to with a stranger in a hotel room, my straight-laced brother would flip.
“No. I’m on my way back home.”
“Do you need to get going today? We don’t have to stay another night?”
I think about the two-bedroom house I grew up in. Sharing a room with my brother and then with mum when Hudson got too old to want his little sister around.
The small brick home that mom decorated with plants and brick-a-brac and photos of us. Covering every surface so you didn’t notice the cracks in the walls and mold in the corners.
My old room will be waiting for me, but the house will be empty. I don’t want to spend a night there on my own.
“I’d like to stay another night here.” I don’t dare to look at Gray. “But I understand if you want to leave.”
He adjusts his body so I’m facing him and tilts my chin up with his palm. My eyes must be red from crying, and it’s hard to look him in the eye.
“Look at me, Rose.” His voice is gentle, and when I bring my gaze to his, his eyes are glassy and full of compassion.
“I understand loss.”
I wait for him to continue, but he doesn’t. Whatever loss he’s speaking off, he’s not ready to share.
“If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. But not without making sure you have someone you can go to today. I won’t leave you alone like this.”
My chest squeezes, and new tears threaten my eyes, overwhelmed by the kindness of a stranger. I blink quickly. “Thank you. You don’t need to stay if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
He smiles softly. “Don’t ever apologize for your grief.” He may be a stranger, but Sergeant Gray is a decent human being. “You just tell me what you want to do today?”
His finger brushes my cheek, and I give a long shaky breath. I tried to pick up a man last night and ended up sobbing on his chest in a hotel room. I can’t even do a one-night stand properly.
A memory of his body pressed against mine creeps into my mind, making me shiver. We’ve secured the hotel room for a second night, but that’s not that kind of intimacy I need right now. What I need is a distraction of a different kind.
“Do you want to watch a movie?”
He looks surprised for a moment, but then his lips twitch up in a smile. “You think they’ve got popcorn on the room service menu?”
9
RYAN
Morning light peeps through the heavy hotel curtains, signaling the new day. Our last day together.
Next to me, Rose’s breathing is steady, and her warm body presses against mine. In the night, her right leg wrapped around me, and her body angled toward me. Every time she exhales, her warm breath tickles the skin of my shoulder.
We spent yesterday watching movies while curled up in bed. I paid the concierge to pop out to the convenience store on the corner and bring back a large bag of popcorn, chocolate cookies, and corn chips.
I didn’t realize how much I needed a day in bed, too. After the heaviness of the past six weeks, to sit in a hotel room and watch cheesy comedy movies while snacking was the perfect day.
And it ended perfectly. With both of us in the shower, then against the wall, then on the bed, tangled in sheets and cookie crumbs.
Rose stirs and opens her eyes. When she sees me, she smiles. “Morning, Gray.”
The false name, one I use sometimes on missions, makes my smile falter. After what we’ve shared together, we still don’t know each other’s names.
