Page 67

The doorman opened her car door for her. She stepped out and headed toward the lobby. She’d been to this bar once before. It was old-school fancy.

As soon as the lobby door closed behind her, Ryker was standing in front of her.

In a suit.

Clean shaven.

A smile that reached his eyes was on his face, a smile that touched her heart.

He held out his hands to her. She hid her disappointment as she reached out and grabbed his hands. What she really wanted was a hug.

“We have a problem,” he said as he propelled her to a comfortable bench in the lobby.

“What?”

“It’s Sunday and the bar closed two hours ago. I checked, and room service shut down an hour ago, so what would you like to do?”

Amy found it hard to meet his eyes. She was too busy looking at his hands holding hers. It felt good. His thumb was tracing circles over the top of her right hand and that little touch was sending lighting sparks throughout her body.

“Amy?” Ryker said again softly.

“I really would like to talk to you, Ryker. Someplace quiet. Preferably not a room with a bed in it.”

His eyes lit up. “I have a suite. The bed is in a totally different room than the living room. Would that work? And there’s a mini-bar. Think of it—Toblerone chocolate, a soda pop, peanuts, and a private place to talk.”

Amy laughed. “That wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“Do you know of any restaurants that would be open at eleven o’clock on a Sunday night, besides Denny’s?”

“I vote against Denny’s,” Amy said.

“Does that mean you’re considering my suite?”

“Well, it would mean we wouldn’t have to walk far, so that would be a plus,” Amy admitted.

He looked down at her shoes. “Hell, those have to be five-inch heels, Amy. If your feet are hurting, why are you wearing them?”

“I’m short, remember? But actually, these shoes don’t hurt my feet, it was the closed-toe shoes from the restaurant that did me in. That’s why I’m wearing strappy sandals.”

Ryker shook his head. “Yeah, that chick logic totally makes sense.”

“Just go with it and stop making snarky comments.”

“Okay, no more snarky comments. Now, hear me out. My suite provides someplace quiet to talk, and remember, Toblerone chocolate, soda pop, peanuts, and a foot rub. Have I talked you into it?”

She pulled her hands out of his and looked up at him. “Ryker, you really don’t have to try this hard. I’m the one who needs to grovel here. I’ve been the jerk.” Amy felt her throat start to close up and her eyes get itchy.

Ryker brushed back some of her curls behind her ear. “All I want is for you to talk to me. Help me to understand what’s going on. Can you do that?”

She ducked her head down and mumbled the word yes.

He put his knuckles under her chin and lifted it. His eyes were warm, comforting, and so much more. “It’s going to be all right, Amy. I promise you.”

18

Ryker left her outside in the hall for a moment, to do a sweep of the room before inviting her inside. Lark had told her about Kostya always doing that, so she rolled with it. When he held open the door for her, she stepped into a very nice suite.

“The mini-bar in this place has to be amazing,” she enthused.