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She offers a brief smile before hurrying back to the phone, which of course, is ringing again. “I’m sorry, ma’am…” she begins, and I can’t help but heave a sigh of relief that I thought ahead and got this room before somebody else snapped it up.
To think, I’ll be living here, in the city. I’ll finally have a life. And I can be whoever I want. I don’t have to be a shy bookworm anymore. It doesn’t matter how old I get or what I do. The people back home will always see me as that girl, even now that I have a master’s degree in finance and an entry-level position at a prestigious private equity firm. Even though half the reason I stayed home was to help Mom take care of Dad when he was sick. I think I’ve proven myself as an adult.
Forget them. This year, I’m going to start living for me.
After I sleep for at least ten hours in the king-size bed that’s supposed to come with my room.
I ride the elevator alone, glad for the quiet compared to the bustling lobby. The doors slide open silently, leaving me in a carpeted hallway. My room is to the right, according to the plaque on the wall opposite. I follow the direction, eyeing the room numbers before coming to a stop at the end of the hall.
The bed is calling my name as I slide the key into the slot. The clicking of the lock is music to my ears, and I swing the heavy door open while smiling in relief. I got the job. I actually got the job. I’m going to treat myself to the most expensive room service dinner there is. I deserve it.
The room is enormous, even bigger than I expected, and tastefully decorated in shades of navy blue and white, running through the silk drapes, the bedspread, and the striped wallpaper.
My eyes wander from the elegant decor to the suitcase sitting at the foot of my king-sized bed. The TV is already on, playing some business show about the stock market.
“What the hell is this?” They gave my room to somebody else, or did they send me to the wrong one? This is 812, isn’t it? I peek at the number on the door. It sure is. Plus, my card wouldn’t have worked otherwise.
I’m too busy being in shock and dismay to notice the shower running in the bathroom until it actually turns off. Shit. Someone is in there. Time for me to go.
I spin around and head for the exit when the bathroom door flies open, and a tall, broad-shouldered, extremely naked man appears.
“What the fuck?” he bellows. The menacing tone of his voice sends a shiver down my spine. “Who are you?”
My mouth opens, but nothing comes out past the giant lump in my throat. He’s naked, oh, god, and dripping water from his tanned skin and thick, black hair.
I don’t know where to look, so I take in his body one guilty glance at a time.
Huge chest.
Thick thighs.
Eight-pack abs.
And oh, god, a dick so big it could pass for a tree trunk.
I back up against the wall, my face burning with embarrassment, and my insides all fluttery. My gaze darts around as I search for a safe place to land.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demands, ignoring my embarrassment in favor of standing in front of me with his hands on his hips. His very trim, very bare hips. “Get the hell out of my room before I call security—or the police… Unless you’re here to help me ring in the new year.”
It’s that snide little comment and the very obvious meaning behind it that makes my gaze snap up, locking with his. That’s when recognition sets in.
Those eyes. I know those eyes. Such a light gray, they’re almost silver when the light hits them the way it is now, through the window.
Eight years have passed since graduation, but right now, it feels like no more than a day since I last set sights on Colton Pierce. The boy who broke my heart.
The boy I hate more than anything in life.
2
COLTON
Holy shit.Harper Adams.
And here I was, thinking this trip was a total loss.
She’s grown up—and filled out—but I would know her anywhere. Those wide, hazel eyes that look straight through me. The impossibly pouty lips. The way she blushes so easily, and her habit of tucking her dark red hair behind her ears when she’s nervous.
She’s doing it now, and I know in a heartbeat that she recognizes me.
