Page 68 of Dream with Me

CHAPTER36

TROY

When Shannon and I leave the hospital, rather than the snow settling down in the few hours since she arrived, it’s much worse. Visibility is barely a couple of feet, so when I suggest finding hotel rooms for the night and bringing her back to her car tomorrow, I’m relieved she agrees.

Fifteen minutes later, we’re at the only hotel that isn’t an additional twenty-minute drive away—which wouldn’t be safe at this point—and I’m standing before the clerk with Shannon at my side.

“Could you please check one more time?” I ask. It figures that we would be stuck in Pennsylvania, a few hours from home in the middle of a blizzard, and the only hotel anywhere near the hospital has only one room. That one room... it has one bed.

The clerk, who looks as tired as I feel, sighs and starts clicking away at her computer keyboard again. A minute later, she shakes her head, “I’m sorry, sir. That’s all I have.”

“We’ll take it. For two nights, please.” I can hear the resignation in my voice, so hopefully, Shannon knows I’m not trying to manipulate her. I figure it’s better to book for both nights than to risk not being able to find a place to stay if we can’t get home tomorrow.

I slide my credit card across the counter to the clerk and spend the next couple of minutes getting registered for the room. Once we have our key, Shannon and I walk silently to the elevator and take it to the fifth floor, where our room is. When we enter the room, it’s cozy and clean but immediately awkward, with one giant bed in the middle. At least there’s a chair I can sleep in once Shannon falls asleep.

Before I left Elladine, what feels like days ago rather than hours, I quickly packed an overnight bag in case I ended up needing to stay the night. Apparently, before leaving the house, Shannon had grabbed a whole second outfit in case of an emergency and brought it with her. She was quick to tell me she wasn’t planning on spending the night here but was prepared. I had always asked her to keep her gas tank above half and, if she was ever going to drive in less-than-ideal weather, to have extra clothes in case she got stuck. The power of layering shouldn’t be ignored. She often rolled her eyes at me during those reminders, but I’m glad to see it stuck.

I plan to spend the next couple of hours in the bar and then come back when Shannon’s asleep. I think that will be the least uncomfortable for both of us.

“Do you mind if I jump in the shower?” I ask.

“No, of course not. I plan to do the same after you.”

I nod at her and walk to the bathroom door but stop before entering. I turn and look at her. “Shannon, thank you for today. It means a lot.” I don’t wait for a response and head into the bathroom. I spend the next ten minutes letting the hot water hit my skin, attempting to wipe away the heavy emotion and sadness of the day.

When I get out of the shower and towel off, I go to grab my clothes and notice I left the bag out on the bed. She’s going to think I did this on purpose.

I peek my head out of the bathroom to ask her if she could leave the bag on the floor outside the door, but she’s not in the room. I look around and notice the ice bucket is missing, and I chuckle. It’s almost always one of the first things she does at a hotel. Because she can’t stand not having cold ice water available to her, she always fills up the ice bucket right away.

I can see my bag from where I’m at, and I’m sure I can snag it and get back into the bathroom before she comes back. I wrap a towel around my waist and walk over to the bed, grab my bag, and just as I turn, the door opens.

When Shannon sees me, she stands there with her mouth agape. For some reason, rather than continuing on to the bathroom, I freeze in place. I don’t miss how she looks me up and down, stopping longer than I would expect, where the towel hangs low on my waist. It causes a primal response in me. One I can’t afford to entertain right now.

I snap out of it. “Shit, I’m sorry, Shannon. I didn’t have my bag, and when I peeked my head out the door to ask you to bring it to me, you were gone. I thought I had enough time to get it before you got back.”

Shannon shakes her head as if she’s trying to clear her mind. “It’s okay. I-I went to get ice.”

I chuckle. “I figured.”

I continue to the bathroom and close the door behind me, leaning against it, closing my eyes, and sighing. Tonight will be even more challenging than I anticipated. Still, I must start getting used to the idea that she’s not mine. Not that I want to. Just the thought of it fills me with a need to prove otherwise.

I get dressed, brush my teeth, and think about how it felt when she told Doug she was my wife. I’m not dense. I know she was only rescuing me from an awkward situation but hearing her say it made my heart rate kick up and filled me with hope that I shouldn’t have.

When I step out of the bathroom, Shannon is sitting at the end of the bed with her bag of clothing sitting next to her. She looks up at me, and her face seems tense. I imagine she’s freaking out about the only one-bed situation.

“Hey, um, I know this here isn’t ideal, so I figure I’ll address the elephant in the room right away. I get that there’s only one bed and that our court appointment is this week. Soon, we’ll be...Um, well, you know. You take the bed, and I’ll sleep in the chair. I’m gonna hang out in the bar for a while first. I only need enough sleep to drive home safely tomorrow, and then I can sleep there.”

I hate that I’m suddenly uncomfortable with my wife. With the woman I would give anything to be able to stay married to. I want to be given a chance to let her know I see her and how beautiful she is. But it’s finally hitting me that’s not likely to happen.

“Troy...”

“It’s okay. You did more for me today than I’ll ever be able to pay you back for. It won’t kill me to sleep in a chair.” Not trusting myself to stay in the room with her any longer without breaking down, I grab my wallet and a room key, then head out the door.

Twenty-five minutes later, I’m sitting in the small hotel bar, nursing the same glass of whiskey I ordered when I first came down. In my peripheral vision, I catch sight of her as she sits on the stool next to me.

“Do you mind if I sit here? There’s a man I was hoping to meet for drinks, but he didn’t give me a chance to ask before he left.”

I turn and look at her. With damp hair, wearing tights and an Elladine Fire Department sweatshirt, she’s a fucking vision and takes my breath away. It doesn’t hurt that my inner alpha male loves seeing her in my old sweatshirt. I want to play this game with her.

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