Page 87 of Hope & Harmony

Not even yesterday’s spa day had helped, and I’d finally given up on sleep just after four in the morning.

Running into Ross—aka my crush—at the pool had felt fortuitous.

Until I’d opened my mouth and messed everything up.

With a sigh, I headed back inside, undecided about whether I wanted to attempt to get a few hours’ sleep or if I should go to the hotel gym and exhaust myself into a nap. Sleeping pills were always an option, but I’d resisted so far. At some point, I might have to give in, but for now, I was taking things one day at a time.

“Wynter. Wait.”

I turned in surprise to see Ross heading my way.

I averted my gaze, trying not to stare.

I’d had a crush on him as a kid, watching Ross & the Rockets videos on TV and dancing around the living room to their music. My mother, sister, and I had been huge fans, and it had been something we’d shared until our mother’s death a few years ago.

“Hey, I’m sorry about before.” He strode over to me, and we came to a stop, facing each other. “No one’s ever recognized me before. Not since I started working for Onyx Knight. You caught me off-guard, but I shouldn’t have been a jerk. I apologize for that.”

“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Your secrets are none of my business.”

“I could’ve handled it better. And honestly, it’s not a secret. I’ve just moved on and don’t think about it that much.”

“That’s fair. And I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have blindsided you. My bad.”

“Can I buy you breakfast?”

He was asking me on a date.

Casual, platonic, it didn’t matter.

My teenage crush had just asked me to breakfast.

Hopefully, I wouldn’t sound as excited as I felt.

“Sure.” I followed him back inside without doing a little jig and we headed to the hotel restaurant, which had just opened.

Since we were the only people there, they seated us by a window where we could watch the rising sun.

“When did you know?” Ross asked once we had coffee and had placed our food orders.

“Since the first time I met you,” I admitted. “As soon as I saw the tattoo on your forearm, I thought it looked familiar, so I found the video for ‘Baby’s Got My Heart’, and sure enough, that was it.”

He nodded, absently rubbing his hand over the tattoo. “I forget it’s there most of the time.”

“And no one else has ever recognized it?” I asked incredulously.

“A few times, but it’s more like, hey, that looks like the tattoo from ‘Baby’s Got’ and I usually just laugh and tell them that was my inspiration.”

“And the whole thing where your name is Ross and the band was called Ross & The Rockets?”

“What can I tell you? I’ve done a good job at going incognito. And it doesn’t hurt that there’s some gray in my hair now, I wear glasses, shit like that.”

“Well, I won’t expose you. So to speak.”

He chuckled. “I appreciate that. It’s just… It’s not who I am anymore. And I don’t want it to become a thing. I like my job and wouldn’t want to do anything that might look bad for the band.”

“You think they would care?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t think they’d be upset, but I don’t know how they’d feel about it if I suddenly started getting asked for autographs or interviews. That wouldn’t be cool.”

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