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“Tasty.” He chuckled. “Remind me not to kiss you until you’ve washed your face.”
The elevator was empty, so it only took a few moments to reach our room. We’d moved to a hotel closer to the venue for tonight, guessing I’d be exhausted. Instead, I was feeling restless. I was half tempted to suggest we go out dancing.
However, dancing reminded me of Loïc.
Guilt teased at my mind. It felt disloyal to think about him, but how was I supposed to immediately forget him now that our night together was over? As much as I tried to put him out of my head, he kept sneaking back in. It felt like I was mentally cheating on my husband.
As I waited for Valor to open the hotel room door, I admired his profile. He was as handsome to me now as he’d been to me when we’d first started dating—more so, because he’d grown from a cute boy into a beautiful man.
Then again, I loved him so much I really wouldn’t care if he did look like a bunion.
Curious, I looked them up on my phone. “A bunion is just a bony growth on the side of your big toe joint. Hardly the horror you insinuated.”
“So, looking like one wouldn’t be a deal breaker for our relationship?”
“You’re stuck with me.”
I headed straight for the shower, wasting no time in scrubbing off my makeup and washing my hair. Some icky guy had run his fingers through my curls while we’d taken a picture together. It never failed.
When I’d dried off, I sauntered out of the bathroom in a towel, planning to jump my husband. We’d always had an active sex life, but living so far apart made that difficult. Video call sex wasn’t the same, and my hand was nowhere near as satisfying.
Valor wasn’t in the bedroom, so I checked the living room/kitchenette.
“If you’re hungry we can order room service,” I said as I went in. “I realized when I was in the shower that I’m not sure if you had lunch.”
I squeaked in alarm when two sets of eyes turned my way.
“Loïc?” I pulled my towel higher, but that didn’t make it any longer.
His gaze slid over me, making my shower-heated skin feel like it was on fire. He lounged on the couch as if he owned the hotel. Maybe he did—we really didn’t know anything about this man other than that he had a family we were uncomfortably familiar with.
This evening, he was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, cobalt blue boots, and a haphazardly buttoned white linen dress shirt. With the addition of his dark eyeliner, silver hoop earrings, and collection of silver bangles and rings, he looked either like a famous musician on his way to a gig, or a sexy pirate planning to swashbuckle me in ways that were borderline illegal. On any other man, the outfit would be outlandish, but for some reason, anything he wore looked chic.
“Valor didn’t mention I was coming by?”
I looked at my husband, who had enough sense to look apologetic. So, this was the secret he’d been keeping.
Of course, I was the only one in the room who wasn’t fully dressed.
“No, he didn’t mention it.”
Loïc sighed. “The two of you need to work on your communication. You know, it’s the bedrock of any strong marriage.”
I stood there, conflicted—I was angry that Valor had made arrangements to see him again without asking or warning me, but I was still turned on from my earlier plan, and Loïc being in our hotel room wasn’t the bucket of cold water it should have been.
“He called you to meet us here?” I tried not to sound as breathless as I felt. He wanted to do this again? Tonight? Self-consciously, I realized I hadn’t shaved anything but my armpits since the night we’d met him.
“We bumped into each other at the convention, and he mentioned where you were staying. To be fair, it wasn’t an official invitation.”
My heart was beating in my throat. “So, running into each other today was another coincidence?”
“Fate chose to throw us together again.” Loïc spread his hands helplessly. “How might Loïc refuse?”
“Fate? So, you just happened to be at the convention?” I asked, suspicious. He could be a hardcore fan of one of the other shows that had been represented there today, but for some reason I doubted it. “Did Minnow tell you I’d be there?”
“No. You didn’t seem pleased when Valor gave me your number, so I was going to leave you alone. Then, last night, a flier for the convention got stuck to my truck. I saw your name on it, and it felt like a sign.”
I studied him for a hint of a lie. He seemed completely sincere.
