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CHAPTER EIGHT
Katie
Much of last night had been spent tossing and turning in anticipation of today. When I woke up I’d planned to wear one outfit, but then spent the morning agonizing over what to put on. There were five outfit changes before leaving the house. Yep, count ‘em, five. Embarrassing right? Usually, I’m so straightforward, but this morning, “mess” was the right word to describe me.
Eventually though, I settled on a blue, button-up blouse and a black pencil skirt. The skirt was a little snug, but at least it wasn’t obscenely tight. And the outfit made me feel a bit more sophisticated than some of my other clothes that screamed small-town country girl, what with the plaid shirts and cut-off jean shorts.
But now, sitting in my car outside the hotel, nerves were getting the better of me once again. Agreeing to be their tour guide yesterday sounded wonderful, but let’s be real. Knox is a tiny town, population one thousand. By contrast, these men were rich and powerful citizens of New York City, population sixteen million. They were gonna be disappointed, I could feel it in my bones.
But it was too late to back-out. Besides, I’m not a quitter. I won’t be, not now. So maybe a stroll in a nearby park would be nice. It was nothing special, but it did have a fancy fountain in the middle that commemorated Korean War veterans. It wasn’t New York’s Central Park for sure, but hey, what’s a girl to do? Hopefully, the greenery wouldn’t bore them out of their minds.
Sitting in my car, I made myself take a deep breath. Why were my nerves so shaky? Mason, Tyler and Kane had already seen everything about me, doing all sorts of dirty things. It was a little late to act the shy, virginal girl.
So turning to the mirror in the sun visor, I scolded myself.
“You wanted this, so stop acting scared!” came my stern voice, brows drawn. And taking a quick inventory, I stared at myself fiercely once more. Curls reasonably neat. Make-up not smeared. Good, we were good to go.
Exhaling a deep breath, I got out of the car and walked into the hotel. It was all going to be fine.
A concierge behind the desk in the lobby greeted me.
“Hello, may I help you?” said the kindly old man.
I smiled weakly before forcing myself to act confident.
“No, I know where I’m going, thank you,” came my authoritative voice. Man, that was impressive! Clearly, I was getting good at this.
After all, the boys were staying in the swankiest hotel in town, and there was no reason to let on that I’d never been here before. Yes, I’m a small town girl, but small town girls can make their way up in the world, right? So taking a deep breath, I got into the elevator, the gold reflective doors sliding shut with a hiss.
Kane asked me to meet them at his room. Stay calm, the voice in my head said, trying to make my heart stop fluttering. Stay real calm. They’re men, just like all other men.
But my nerves wouldn’t stop because they weren’t like other men. They were alpha billionaires, and three of them at that. I’d done three men at a time, and who does that really? This is real life, not a movie, and I couldn’t afford to get caught up in thinking I had a movie-star existence.
So heart pumping fast, I stared at my reflection in the gold walls. The elevator seemed to ascend in slow motion before finally coming to a smooth halt. The doors opened, and I stepped out hesitantly onto cream colored carpet covered with gold scrolls. Man, my leather shoes looked scuffed next to this opulence, like they didn’t belong.
But I did belong.
I was invited here.
Me, Katie Evans, not someone else.
So taking a deep breath, I forced my feet forwards. A quick perusal of the hallway revealed there was only one room on the whole floor, and the nerves came screaming back then, my stomach churning. Holy cow! Who’s able to rent out the entire floor of a hotel? Again, I was over my head, into the deep waters with these guys.
But there was no way but forwards. So step by step, I made my way to the huge marble door. Biting my lip, it took a minute before I found the courage to knock.
Was this the right thing to do?
Should I turn around and go back, before things got even more complicated?
But before I could act on the second thoughts, the door swung open and Kane stood there with a smile. God, the alpha was devastatingly handsome. He looked every bit the billionaire in an expensive suit and perfectly styled hair, flashing those pearly whites.
“Hey! Come inside,” the big man said warmly, moving his massive body so that I could see beyond.
I took one tentative step into the room before coming to a full stop. Because it wasn’t a room at all. This place was a massive suite that had several entryways leading off from the living room. And the living room was utterly magnificent, done with cream-colored low-slung furniture, modern with sky blue accent pillows. Was that a Monet in the hallway? I squinted my eyes, looking at the swirling colors and came to a conclusion. Yes, it was a Monet. The water lilies were unmistakable. Kane was living in a suite that came with artwork worth more than my entire apartment building put together.
“I thought this was your room,” came my voice on a stammer.
But the billionaire wasn’t perturbed at all. Flashing that smile again, he jerked his head.
