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“Does everything look as you left it?” Noah asked and she bit her lip, looking away from the carpet and thinking back to her hasty exit this morning, eyes resting on the plant outside the suite door for a second.
“I think so.” Rose generally kept things tidy. She only let the hotel staff into the suite infrequently to clean or to maintain the suite while she was away for work. “I don’t know how long that plant’s been there but I’m guessing Louis bought it. I usually take the elevator.”
“How often do you stay here?” Noah poked his head around the doorway that led to the bathroom before glancing back at her.
“It’s pretty much my permanent residence, except for when I leave town for work.”
Noah eyed the lack of clutter with a raised eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Rose folded her arms across her chest and winced as the material stuck unpleasantly to her still-slick skin. “Yes.” Mess made her anxious and she liked to keep things in a particular state. It was just better for everyone if they let her get on with tidying and cleaning. If she let the staff in to clean, she usually only ended up re-doing things the way she liked them anyway.
“Okay,” Noah said, wrinkling his nose and stretching the word out like he didn’t believe her. “Well, if there’s nothing amiss to you then everything looks fine to me.”
“Thanks for walking me up,” she said primly and Noah bit his lip on what looked like a laugh, likely remembering how he’d run her ragged on the stairs, slowly increasing his pace until they were near running by floor ten and Rose had been cursing through her panted breaths.
“Here’s my card. If you notice anything odd, then give me a call, or the front desk.”
Rose smirked. It was sweet of him to say, but she owned this place. He reported toher.
“Thanks, I’ll expect a report on your findings by the morning.”
Noah scowled as he moved toward the door and Rose chuckled. Payback was a bitch.
The elevator dinged, the sound unexpected and jarring, and Rose spun toward the noise with a gasp. Noah’s gun was in his hand in a flash, pointed unwaveringly at the glossy doors as they parted.
He opened his mouth just as a young black woman stepped out, her hair a riot of Afro curls and a decorative orange scarf fluttering through the air behind her. A breath of relief mixed with laughter fell from Rose as she waved Noah off.
Maia’s eyes were wide as they found the gun that was still in Noah’s hand, her shoulders relaxing fractionally when he flicked the safety back on and slid it away into his side holster.
“Sorry ma’am.” Noah scratched the side of his head bashfully and then raised his hands as he backed away a little.
Maia watched him warily for a moment before becoming distracted as Rose launched herself at the other woman, engulfing her in a hug. It had been at least a month since she’d seen Maia in person thanks to them both being out of the country, and she couldn’t wait to make cocktails and catch up with her sometimes-roommate.
Maia laughed, her long arms coming around Rose and gripping her tightly. Rose pulled back, staring into the open elevator behind Maia.
“I can’t believe they let you get the elevator up!” Rose glared accusingly at Noah, and he shrugged as if to say it hadn’t been his call.
“I guess they’re done processing it,” he said innocently, and a vein in Rose’s head started to pulse.
“You mean I could have just waited for twenty minutes and avoided death-by-twelve-flights?” Her hands clenched at her sides, fingernails digging in as Noah feigned thoughtfulness.
“Well, I suppose so, but I thought the stairs were a breeze?”
Rose growled and Noah laughed, shooting both women smiles before leaving the way they’d come in with a wave goodbye.
Maia tutted at the footprints on the carpet and Rose groaned, “It’s okay. I’ll clean it up.”
“You’d better, the last thing I want to do right now is vacuum.” Maia grinned broadly, and Rose squealed again as she hugged her best friend, loving the familiar sight of her smile. “Did you really walk up all those stairs?”
Rose groaned as she pulled away and grabbed the vacuum out from the cupboard and plugged it in. “Walk? No. Practically run full tilt? Yes. God, I need a bath.” Maia laughed and the sound made Rose smile. The suite felt much more like home now that she was here. “Are you staying here tonight?”
The suite was as much Maia’s as it was Rose’s– Maia often called it home in between trips away and whirlwind romances. It was the place Rose wanted Maia to always rely on.
“Yeah, if that’s alright. I need a break from Thierre.”
Rose shot her a look. “Of course it’s alright. You know where your room is. Where have you been this time?”
“France.” Maia sighed dreamily and fingered a simple, gold locket that hung around her neck and looked to be new.
