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That couch could have been as hard as concrete, and I would have told her I'd sleep on it because she was literally breaking my heart standing there with those beautiful eyes of hers filled with tears.
"Really?" she questioned, her voice shaky.
"Really. Now it has been a long day of travel. Why don't I go in and run you a hot bubble bath in that gigantic tub in there, and you can soak and decompress while I order us some food. Then you can lie down and have a long-ass nap, and we can get this adventure on the road tomorrow."
"No, Maddox, really, I'll be fine. See, fine," she said, wiping away the tears from her cheeks and looking at me with tired, red, bloodshot eyes.
I studied her for a minute and noticed the tremble in her bottom lip. I could see she was about to break down again any second as her eyes landed back on the bathrobes. I shook my head. "Nope, I insist."
I made my way into the bathroom and turned on the water. She came in just as I held my hand under the water to check the temperature as steam rose. She leaned against the wall, exhausted, as she watched me reach for a bottle on the counter. I dumped some of it into the bath, bubbles instantly forming.
"You don't need to do this," she murmured behind me.
"I know, but I am. Now, let this fill. I am going to leave you alone. I want you to relax. What bag did you put that book in. You know, the one you bought at the airport?"
"My carry-on. Why?"
I held my finger up and took off into the other room and found the book sticking out of the bag. Grabbing it, I made my way back into the bathroom. "Here you are." I smiled, holding up the book. "Now relax," I said, stepping forward, placing my hand at the back of her neck, pulling her forward, and placing a kiss on her forehead. I slowly backed up and pulled the door closed, but before it clicked shut, I heard her call my name.
"Maddox?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice crackling.
"My pleasure, Tess. Enjoy." I smiled and then pulled the door shut and turned around to look around at the room.
As I walked over to my bag, everything I passed reminded me she was supposed to be here on her honeymoon. I couldn't allow her to walk out of that bathroom to see all that again. So instead of unpacking, I took a few minutes and removed everything that would remind her of that fact, including the his-and-hers robes from the end of the bed, all while cursing Derrick under my breath.
My best friend had done this to her, ripped her heart out and broke it into a million little pieces, all because he couldn't resist temptation. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I knew what loss felt like, and I would never do this to someone intentionally. I never wanted anything to ever make me feel that way again, nor would I ever take for granted the person I chose in the future to spend my life with, like he had.
As I looked around, my eyes landed to the card sitting beside the champaign. I walked over and ripped it into pieces, depositing it into the garbage, and then took one more look around the room, making sure I had gotten everything that might set her off again. Satisfied I had taken care of everything, I went to unpack my bags but stopped. I'd promised her something to eat, so I took a few minutes, sat down, and went through the room service menu. The second I had decided on something, I picked up the phone and placed the order, then began unpacking my bag.
The end ofWhite Christmasplayed on the television while I listened to Tess softly breathing. Night was falling, and the room was getting darker, but she still slept. As the credits rolled, I reached for the remote and was about to change the channel when she rolled over and stretched.
"What time is it?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
"Almost six," I answered, checking my watch.
"Oh...," she said, sitting up and looking around the room. "Why didn't you wake me up. I slept the entire day away."
"You needed your rest." I shrugged. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't nap as well."
"Yeah, but you didn't sleep the entire day away, did you?" she asked, kicking off the covers and sitting up on the edge of the bed. She ran her fingers through her messed-up hair and let out a yawn. "We should get out, take a walk, and maybe get some food. You’re probably starving."
I chuckled. "Well, the hotel apparently booked us in for dinner downstairs in the restaurant at seven thirty," I said, getting up and grabbing the reminder card that someone had slid under the door while we'd been sleeping. I held it up for her to see.
"Oh God, I forgot all about that. We don't have to eat there. That was Derrick's idea. He was the one who secured the meal with his credit card."
I sat up, keenly interested, and leaned forward, resting my forearms on my thighs. "Is that so?"
"Yes, he didn't think we would want to go out on our first night here. Or perhaps he just didn't want to take me out." She shrugged.
"I see. Well, that was big of him, wasn’t it?” I gave her a crooked smile. “Before we decide on where we are eating, I want to make one rule for the rest of this trip."
"What's that?"
"I don't want to hear his name leave your lips again. You can call him anything you want, except his name."
