Page 31 of The Billionaire's Christmas Baby Surprise

They cautiously crossed the snow-covered street, and headed into the hotel’s reception. The man behind the counter greeted them with a friendly smile.

“Do you have a reservation?”

“No, unfortunately not. We were supposed to drive back up to Denver, but now we’re planning to stay here for the night because of the snow.”

“I think I can help you out.” The man typed in his computer, then nodded. “You’re in luck. We still have one room available.”

“Just one?” Max exchanged a glance with Billie, who promptly appeared fascinated by a pamphlet about local hiking destinations that was sitting on the reception counter.

“Yes, sir. All the rooms are filled up, what with the start of the holiday rush. Would you like it? It’s two twin beds.”

“Billie?”

“Sure,” Billie replied, without looking up from her hiking pamphlet.

“All right, we’ll take it.” As Max handed over his ID and credit card, he tried not to think about what had happened the last time he and Billie had spent the night together. What should have been a professional dinner outing was quickly turning into something very different. At least there were two beds.

The man behind the counter handed over two key cards and pointed them in the direction of their room on the fourth floor. They rode the elevator up mostly in silence, exchanging only a few slightly tense smiles, and quickly found their room. Max scanned the card to let them in, and they both stood in the doorway for a long moment, looking at the small room with the two side-by-side beds. Then, at the same moment, they turned to each other.

“I—” Max said.

“This—” Billie began at the same time. They both laughed a little nervously, and Billie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had escaped from her braid. Max fought a strong urge to follow the motion with his own hand. He wanted to take her in his arms again.

“You first,” Max said.

“I just wanted to say that this is a bit of a strange situation, but I hope we can both keep things professional.” She looked up at Max with those big brown eyes, her pink lips slightly parted. Her jacket was unzipped.

“I wanted to say the exact same thing,” Max said quickly. “I hope that this isn’t too uncomfortable.”

“Come on, we’re two adults. We can handle this like adults.” Billie smiled, then shed her jacket, tossed it over the back of the desk chair, and sat on one of the two beds to remove her shoes. “Just because we’re in a hotel room together doesn’t mean that anything will happen.”

“You’re right.” Max followed her lead.

“It’s like a slumber party,” Billie added. Max tried not to think of the last time he and Billie had had a “slumber party.” Instead, he nodded.

“We can braid each other’s hair and try to contact some ghosts.”

“Is that what you think girls do at slumber parties?” Billie asked. “Not to mention that I don’t think you have enough hair to braid.”

Max smoothed a hand through his short hair. “You’re probably right.”

“Anyway, it’s getting late, and I guess we’ll need to get up early tomorrow to drive back to Denver. Snow or no snow, it’ll still be a workday. I’ll just take a quick shower, and we can turn out the lights.”

“Sounds good.”

While Billie went for her shower, Max turned on the TV and flipped through a few channels. Nothing very interesting was on — at least nothing that could distract him from the fact that Billie was in the next room showering. When she reemerged, she wore one of the hotel robes, and her curls were wet around her face. She smiled at Max and sat down on her bed.

“Anything good on?”

“Not really. I’ll shower too.” Max headed into the bathroom to wash up. When he came back out, Billie had shed the robe and was in bed. As far as Max could tell, she was wearing a white undershirt and not much else. Max decided that he was better off sleeping fully clothed and got into bed in his pants and button-down. Billie gave him a strange look, but didn’t comment.

“Good night, Max.”

“Good night, Billie.” He flipped off the lights, and they lay there in the dark. It was still early, and Max didn’t feel tired at all. Not with Billie so close.

“Max?”

“Yeah.”

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