When the song ended, neither of us moved right away. The moment stretched, held tight in the quiet between heartbeats.
“We should probably head out soon,” she said, though her voice lacked conviction and she didn't make any effort to move.
“Probably,” I echoed. "But give me one more.” My hands settled at her waist again, like they belonged there.
Like she did.
So I didn’t let go.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
NATHAN
THE NIGHT AIRhit us the second we stepped out of the speakeasy. The streetlights flickered against the slick pavement, and for a second, it felt like the whole city had changed. Rain poured down in thick sheets, soaking through Elise’s hair before she could even gasp.
She let out a startled laugh and tried to cover her head with her hands. I pulled off my jacket and held it over her head as I steered her toward the car parked at the curb.
“Perfect timing,” she said, half laughing, half shivering.
“Seems like our luck ran out,” I muttered, though even I couldn’t help the ghost of a smile tugging at my mouth as she stumbled against me, her small hand gripping my arm for balance.
The roads were already a mess. The rain came fast and hard, the kind that flooded intersections within minutes. When wereached the car, I turned the key, only for the dashboard to light up with notifications about road closures ahead.
“Of course,” I said under my breath.
Elise leaned closer, peering at the GPS. “What does that mean?”
“It means we’re not getting back to the hotel tonight.”
Her brows lifted. “So what now?”
I called the hotel front desk after turning on the heater, not liking the way Elise was shivering slightly at my side. The clerk confirmed what I already suspected, which was that the street our hotel was on was closed off, but he thankfully gave me directions to a small inn nearby.
It wasn’t much. But it was close, and it was dry.
By the time we pulled into the gravel lot of the inn, the rain had turned into a steady downpour.
Warm light spilled from the front windows, and the faint scent of coffee and lemon cleaner met us as we stepped inside.
The woman at the counter looked up as soon as the bell above the door jingled. She was in her late fifties, with kind eyes and silver-streaked curls pinned loosely at the back of her head. Her expression shifted from polite welcome to mild concern the moment she saw us.
“Oh, dear,” she said, taking in our soaked clothes. “You two look like you just wrestled the storm and lost.”
Elise laughed softly, brushing water from her arms. “Something like that.”
I stepped forward. “Do you have two rooms available?”
Her mouth turned down in apology. “I’m afraid not, sweetheart. The storm’s got travelers stranded all over town. You’re in luck though. We have one room left.”
Elise glanced at me and smiled like this was the universe playing a joke on us. “Of course there’s only one room.”
“We’ll take it.” I told the woman, who smiled before she asked for my name and whether I was paying with cash or card.
I turned to Elise and let out a low sigh. “You can take the bed. I’ll figure something out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “You’re not sleeping on the floor.”
“I’ll get the room ready for you while you two find something dry to wear. There’s a small gift shop down the hall. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll keep you from catching a cold.”
