She needed to be realistic. Why would a man want to jump into her slow-motion train wreck of a life right now? That kiss was likely just an overreaction because of the attack by disgusting Yellow Teeth.
Not that Nash Stone seemed the type to overreact about anything. Ever.
Nutmeg's excitement erupted into happy yips and excessive tail-wagging when Nash parked the car.
Lena tried to clip the leash to his collar while he hopped around on her lap. "I hope you don't think you're going back to the spa. We're just coming for a quiet night. No massages."
Nash laughed and rubbed Nutmeg behind the ears. "You'll be fine, buddy. You can order room service if you want."
Lena swatted his arm. "Don't tell him that. Victoria has him on a strict diet."
Nash's deep chuckle didn't waver. "You stick with me, buddy, and you might get some hamburger."
Lena rolled her eyes. "You're terrible." She finally clipped the leash to Nutmeg's collar. "Come on, Nutmeg, let's go."
They checked in and settled into neighboring rooms on the third floor.
After taking Nutmeg for a short walk, they met the rest of the WhiteRock team in one of the hotel rooms that had been transformed into a conference room.
Nash was careful to ensure they were not seen entering the conference room. He didn't want them to be associated with WhiteRock, since they needed to keep their covers for at least another twenty-four hours.
"It's pretty quiet on this end of the hotel," Nash said. "We shouldn't have a problem. But if someone enters the hallway, we'll just keep walking, then come back to the conference room later."
"Okay," she said.
It turned out they didn't need any detours. They arrived in the conference room just minutes after a wonderful meal had been delivered. Knox smiled when he saw her and shook her hand. "I'm Knox. Glad to finally meet you."
The other man in the room walked over and extended his hand.
"You must be Jason," she said.
"Yes." He stretched his arm to the woman next to him. "And this is my fiancée, Tayla."
"Oh, hello, it's very nice to meet you," Lena said. "Congratulations on your engagement."
"Thank you," they said in unison.
Knox guffawed at their response. "You two are adorable."
Jason threw a balled-up napkin at his head.
Lena turned her attention to the only other person in the room she hadn't met yet.
"And I'm Allie," the woman said.
"It's very nice to meet you," Lena said.
Allie handed her a plate and a water bottle. "We're all here for you," she said, indicating everyone in the room. "We'll have a solid plan for you for the party tomorrow night. Everything's going to be okay."
All five of them—Jason, Tayla, Knox, Allie, and Nash—were looking at her. Their kindness overwhelmed her. Emotion swelled in her throat.
"Thank you all," she whispered.
As if on cue, Nutmeg barked.
"Oh, my apologies," Lena said. She scooped up the dog so everyone in the room could see him better. "And this is Nutmeg, my charge for this week. I know he was initially just a pawn in this plan, but he's a sweet little guy. And he's stolen a little piece of my heart."
Knox reached out and petted Nutmeg's head. "Well, that's not hard to imagine," he said. "Hey, little guy." He made a show of looking Nutmeg in the eyes. "All this food smells really good, doesn't it?"
