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She blew out a mouthful of air. “No. Just wondering how tonight ended up in such a mess.”
He nodded, but his expression told her he didn’t want to talk about it. Not here, at least. In a hotel parking lot in the middle of the balmy Charleston night.
“You want to come up?” he asked, his voice softer. That made her chest ache more.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “I do.”
His eyes caught hers. “Your bag in the trunk?”
She nodded, and he walked around the back of her car, popping it open, and pulling her case out. She swallowed hard as he walked back around, waiting for her to climb out and join him.
He didn’t push her. Didn’t grab for the door. He just waited.
It took her another minute to pull the handle and step out. The air was still warm and humid. It wrapped around her like an unwelcome blanket. “I checked us in already,” Michael told her, his voice still wary. “Let’s go upstairs. We can talk there.”
Not have uninhibited sex, like they’d intended to. Not use every surface until both of them were seeing stars. She felt like she was letting him down. What was the point in all of this when she was just feeling like a bitch?
“I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “You don’t need to be sorry about anything.”
She followed him into the lobby. There was a man at the desk scrolling through his phone, but he didn’t look up as they walked by. Michael pressed the elevator button, and the doors opened immediately. He gestured for her to get in and then followed behind.
He hit the tenth floor button. The highest in the hotel. She held her breath, counting the floors, neither of them saying a word as they arrived on his floor and walked to the room at the end of the corridor.
Michael pressed the card to the reader, the door clicking open as he pushed it, standing to the side so she could walk in.
Always the gentleman. Making sure she was safe before anything else.
“You want a drink?” he asked as he closed the door behind her.
She shook her head. He put her case in the hallway, and that’s when she realized this wasn’t just a room. It was a suite, complete with a living area and a glass wall overlooking the small city. Lights blinked in the darkness, the Kanawha River flowed like black ink. She walked over and stared out, taking in how tiny everything looked from this height.
“I didn’t ask her to come tonight. I didn’t ask to take her home.”
She exhaled again, turning to look at him. He was five feet away, as though he needed the distance. His hand raked through his hair as he stared at her.
“I didn’t like it.”
“I know.”
“I was jealous.”
His eyes caught hers. “I know. And I made you feel that way.”
“You didn’t.” She shook her head. “That was all me.” She looked up at him. “What happened when you took her home?”
“When I dropped her off at her house, she didn’t get out of the car. Just kind of shuffled around and looked at me, like she expected something to happen.”
“She wanted you to kiss her,” Grace said.
“Yeah. And all I could think of was you. That I needed it to be you, not her.”
Grace needed that, too. So much. She nodded at the leather sofa that looked out over the city. “Sit down.”
He lifted a brow. “Why?”
“Because I said so. Because I’m mad and sad and I need you to do this for me.”
