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“Alex?” she said, curiously.
I pushed the door open. Inside, Lena sat on the bed, in a summery dress, her legs crossed and a beach bag next to her on the perfectly made bed. Sitting across from her, on one of the sofas, was a woman whom I assumed was her friend, Krista.
I looked at them, standing in the doorway, and suddenly realized how this must look. Lena’s boss, burst into her private room, with Krista as a witness.
“My apologies for barging in,” I said. There was a pause. Neither one of us knew what to say next.
“That’s okay,” said Lena, uncertainly. She looked up at me with a guarded expression. Where was the open, smiling person I’d been with last night?
Krista merely smiled awkwardly and averted her eyes, as though she didn’t know where to look.
“I’ll let you guys get back to what you were doing,” I said, gesturing at the bag. “Maybe we can talk later.”
“Uh, yeah,” said Lena, uncertainly. “Maybe.”
I closed the door and silently cursed myself for acting like such a fool. I turned to leave.
Then, from behind the door, I heard giggling, and my blood started to boil.
What was going on? Had Lena told her about what had been going on between us?
Had she revealed that we’d had an affair? That we’d slept together, not just once, but twice?
If she did, I had no idea what kind of damage might have been done to my reputation.
Chapter Eleven
Lena
“Hetotallylikesyou!”
I shook my head, blushing.Krista, if only you knew …
“Not a chance!” I said, I felt guilty for lying, but I knew that it could only hurt me and Alex if I told anyone else about us at this point.
I didn’t know how to feel about any of it now, but I knew when I woke up this morning on the beach that I’d freaked out. Seeing Alex swimming in the ocean, I guiltily grabbed my things and left in a hurry.
Not because I didn’t want to stay with him, but because I didn’t trust myself if I did.
I knew now that there was something special about Alex. He was difficult, infuriating, and controlling, for sure. But also, I felt a connection with him I never had with anyone else. It wasn’t just the way he’d delighted my senses and rocked my world on the beach last night with our incredible sex.
We were supposed to be keeping things professional. And yet, I couldn’t do that with Alex. It wouldn’t have been difficult if we were just attracted to each other. But there was more to it than that. He was empathetic and warm and knew how to be respectful when it counted. He was thoughtful and clever—not just with his business but with his hands, like last night when he’d lit a fire to keep us warm.
And if anyone found out about us, then pretty soon, they’d find out about Jared. And how could Alex ever forgive me, when he finds out I’ve been lying to him all along?
No, it was better our burgeoning romance between us stay hidden from view, kept out of sight. Once it was out in the open, things between us would all be over.
While Krista giggled, I frowned and look out of the window.
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go to the beach.”
Afterwesunbathedfora little bit and Krista teased me some more about the “extra” attention I was getting from Alex, as she put it, I came back to the hotel and helped myself to lunch. Staying in the Continental was amazing; it was like being on the grandest, fanciest vacation of my life, except for the fact that, pretty soon, people (mostly paparazzi) were starting to recognize me.
As I headed across the floor past the reception desk, I saw the guy who’d been having breakfast with Alex that morning. He’d changed out of his suit into a pair of linen shorts and a beach shirt.
“Say, Lena, isn’t it?” he said. “How are you?”
“Fine, thank you,” I said. “Sorry, have we met before?”
