Page 81 of False Start

“Printer expo?” Trent asked.

“It’s a thing, apparently.” The receptionist shrugged. “They come here every year. There are tons of them and they all get…” She lowered her voice. “Very, very drunk. Let me see if anyone else has a spare room.”

She tapped her keyboard and let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any openings at our partner hotels, either. You might want to head about a half-hour north. There are a bunch of options off the interstate there.”

A wrinkle formed in the middle of Hayden’s forehead. “Guess that’s what we get for not planning ahead.”

“Tom and Ashley are usually so good about making sure there’s nothing going on at the check-ins,” Mike mumbled with a shrug.

Trent’s eyes locked on mine, and he mouthed, “Should I give them my room?”

I shook my head. Absolutely not. I couldn’t spend a night with Trent. Especially not after last night.

“So, back in the car?” Mike asked, pulling off his blond wig.

“I don’t want to get back in that car.” Hayden tipped her head back. “I’m tired.”

“I’m tired, too.” Mike’s smile grew tight, the edge in both of their voices hinting at an upcoming fight.

I groaned, leveling my eyes at Trent. “Fine.”

“Seriously?” He cocked his head, and I nodded again. “Why don’t you take my room? I can bunk up with Kit for tonight.”

Hayden jolted with surprise. “Seriously?”

“I booked two queens. We’ll probably survive,” I said with fake confidence as my pulse quickened.

“You’re a lifesaver!” Mike gushed. Trent and Mike worked with the receptionist to turn over the reservation. A few minutes later, Mike had a room key. “Let us buy you a drink before bed.”

Despite my exhaustion, bed didn’t hold the same appeal as it had a few minutes ago.

“Sure,” I relented. “That’d be nice.”

The throngs of printer enthusiasts grew thicker as we walked away from the lobby, standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder, three people deep at the bar. Trent cleared the way for us, searching for Ashley and Tom above the heads of the very loud, very wasted printer employees.

“Over there!” Trent yelled over the mixture of loud conversation and classic rock.

“Holy shit, are you Trent Vogt?” A guy wearing a blue suit and a loose tie craned his head up, eyes growing wide.

“Nope,” Trent answered tersely. “I get that a lot, though.”

Despite the denial, the man whispered to the woman next to him. Her eyes lit up, smiling widely at Trent. “I’m a huge Breakers fan! I follow your rally account!”

Trent cringed. “Yep, I guess you caught me.”

She slipped in between us, grabbing his arm. “Oh, that’s so exciting! I sort of hoped you were heading toward Columbus, but how could I know that you’d be staying at the same hotel as the conference? Mind if I buy you a drink and introduce you to a couple of people?”

I stifled a laugh as Trent glanced back with a look of panic. I waved. “Have fun with your new friends! I’ll check us in!”

“Guess you might not need that second bed after all,” Hayden said with a wink.

My throat tightened, not considering that possibility just a minute before. The woman Trent wandered off with was a little older than me, and attractive, more attractive than me anyway. An unfamiliar pang of jealousy coursed through me, but I plastered a smile on my face. “That’d be ideal.”

Tom and Ashley crammed into a corner booth at the back of the bar. Mike spotted them first and lead the way.

“Well, we didn’t expect this.” Ashley gave us a friendly smile and gestured to the crowds. “Are all your stops posted?”

“Minus one,” I admitted.

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