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She dipped her chin to get a better look as she admired her handiwork… until she realized Death was staring at her. Her gaze jumped up to meet his before she could stop herself, and she felt her breath catch in her throat when she recognized the heat in his impossibly dark eyes. It was the same look they’d shared before she’d kissed him.
It was the same expression he’d worn before he had forgotten who he was, who she was, and what they had just shared.
None of that seemed to faze him now. He began the slow, inevitable lean inwards, preparing to kiss her. She traced the curve of his lips with her gaze, wanting to lean into him and connect. But she couldn’t. Not like this. Not when he already didn’t remember their first kiss.
An alarm bell screamed inside of her, and Bunny jumped backwards, startling Death out of his pre-kiss haze.
“We should really get going,” she blurted, turning away from him under the pretense of gathering up things to put in her purse.
A few seconds passed without either of them speaking. She stuffed her lip balm, a couple tissues and her wallet into her bag, trying to pretend she couldn’t feel Death’s inky gaze boring into the back of her skull.
“Sure,” he said at last. She felt him start to head toward the door of the bedroom. Guilt flooded her, and she turned to explain herself more fully.
“It’s just that—”
“We’re gonna be late,” he cut her off. His face was steely, all traces of the softness he’d displayed just moments before gone. Bunny felt guilt settle in the pit of her stomach like a stone.
Her dad was just finishing his breakfast when she carried her overnight bag into the kitchen, the expression on his face betraying his lack of surprise his daughter was leaving already… before he noticed the outfit she had on. Bunny could have sworn she saw his eyes getting a little misty, and she folded him into a hug before she let herself down that slippery slope, too.
“I’ll text you when I get back to the city,” she promised.
“I know,” Marshall smiled, lifting a hand to gently stroke the back of Bunny’s head. She opened the kitchen door and let Death go out first, before her eyes fell to the open box of fly strips still sitting on the counter. She snagged them.
“For the road,” she explained, tucking them into the top of her bag.
“Sure,” Marshall replied, brows drawn together in confusion. “For all the… flies… inside your car.”
Bunny grinned and waved, avoiding the slight brown stain on the porch steps on her way down to join Death in the car.
* * *
The Skyview Hotel Atlantawas not for the faint of heart. Being shoehorned into a tiny downtown footprint between office-building skyscrapers might have made for interesting views on the thirty-sixth floor, but it meant parking was almost impossible. After circling the underground lot like a vulture for almost twenty minutes, Bunny hit the gas and claimed a space as soon as another car left it with a sigh of relief.
The conference was due to start in just over five minutes, and she had been hoping to have time to dig her uncomfortable underwear out of her butt crack, pee, and snag a cup of coffee from somewhere.
Death craned his neck to glance at her back. “Why are you walking like that?”
“Like what?” Bunny asked,
“All lopsided.”
“It was laundry day,” Bunny hissed from the side of her mouth, before nodding politely at the doorman of the hotel.
The lobby was typical of this kind of establishment, all polished brown marble and spiky palm trees in neutral-colored planters. Bunny homed in on her target, taking note of where the ladies’ room was located. Death skipped forward to keep up with her as she marched toward the check-in counter.
“What does that mean?”
“Keep asking stupid questions and you’ll find out,” she warned under her breath before plastering on a smile for the clerk. The young man behind the desk raised his brows and smiled back as she approached.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
“Yes,” Bunny said, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “I’m looking for the Dental Assistants of America convention.”
The young man turned to look at his colleague, a woman who was in her forties. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds.
“It is here, isn’t it?” Bunny felt a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach. If Roberta had told her the wrong place, or she’d somehow managed to get it mixed up, she was going to be really pissed.
“Oh yes,” the woman said hesitantly. “It’s just that… well.” She forced a smile. “You’re the only person who’s shown up so far.”
