Page 59 of The Proximity Effect

“What do you mean I can’t have a key to a room inmyname?”

I froze mid-step, my post-orgasmic bliss evaporating faster than a snowflake in hell. That voice. That perfectly modulated, ‘I have a ten-year plan for my ten-year plan’ voice that had once made my heart skip beats but now made me want to crawl into the nearest air vent and live there like a traumatized raccoon.

Declan.

My ex-fiancé was here. At Sterling Pines. Because apparently, the universe wasn’t done playing “Let’s Make Tessa’s Life as Awkward as Possible.”

“Sir, as I explained, the reservation was already claimed by the other party, and the room is not available.” Liam’s voice had taken on an edge of steel that made him sound like a sexy bouncer.

“A room that I paid for!” Declan’s voice carried that familiar note of controlled frustration he used when things weren’t going according to plan. The same tone he’d used when I’d suggested we should have chocolate cake instead of traditional white at our wedding. “With my credit card. For my honeymoon. If you’ll call her, she’ll clear up this misunderstanding.”

I pressed myself against the wall, trying to become one with the wallpaper. Why hadn’t I picked a different resort? Why hadn’t I gone to Fiji? Or Mars? Mars seemed like a reasonable distance right about now. I bet Mars didn’t have ex-fiancés or snowstorms.

“If you’re unable to reach her and have her come to the front desk to clear this up, there’s nothing we can do.” Archer’s cold lawyer voice cut through my panic spiral. “We’re not accepting additional guests due to the incoming storm.”

Evan brushed past me, his hand briefly squeezing my shoulder in a gesture that somehow managed to be both comforting and slightly possessive. “I better go help deal with Ken over there.”

“It’s Declan,” I whispered, my voice sounding small even to my own ears. “My ex.” The word ‘ex’ still felt strange on my tongue, like trying to speak around a mouthful of cotton balls.

“Even better.” Evan continued toward the front desk anyway, his shoulders back and his fists clenched at his sides.

I stood there, not sure what to do. Minutes ago, I’d had a mind-blowing orgasm in a supply closet, and now I was hiding from my ex-fiancé like a teenager hiding from her parents after missing curfew. If there was a guidebook for how to handle this situation, I definitely needed to order it. Rush shipping, please.

“This is completely unacceptable!”

Well, shit. Declan’s voice was louder now, and I doubted Archer, Evan, and Liam would be able to stop him from making a scene. Time to face the music.

Smoothing my hands down the front of my clothes, I walked the short distance down the hall. As I stepped into view, I forced my face into what I hoped was a neutral expression but probably looked more like someone trying to smile through a root canal. “Declan. What are you doing here?”

“Tessa, thank God. Tell them I’m supposed to be here. I’m trying to get a key to our room.”

“It’smyroom.” My voice was stronger than I felt. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Well, neither should you.” He ran a hand through his hair, messing up its perfect placement, and I wanted to mess it up more out of spite. “I thought we could talk. Work things out. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking?—”

“No.” The word came out sharp and clear, surprising even me. “You don’t get to show up here and try to what? Win me back? Fix things? There’s nothing to fix, Declan. You made your choice.” And I was making mine.

All three men behind the desk were watching this exchange like it was a tennis match, their heads swiveling between us.

“Tessa, you’re being dramatic.” Declan really made me want to throw something at him. “You’re obviously emotional?—”

“The only thing I am is done. Done with this conversation, done with your plans that are all about you, and done with you showing up uninvited to my vacation, which you forfeited when you called off our engagement while I was glazing a ham. A ham, Declan.” My hands were shaking, but my voice wasn’t, and that was like its own kind of victory.

I turned to the guys, who were all sporting varying degrees of impressed expressions. “I assume you can handle this? I have dinner prep to start.”

Without waiting for an answer, I spun on my heel and walked away, my head held high. A tiny voice in my brain that usually reminded me to be polite and accommodating tried to make me turn back, but I silenced it with the mental equivalent of a pillow to the face.

The old Tessa might have stayed to smooth things over and to make Declan comfortable at her own expense. But the new Tessa? She had places to be and zero tolerance for gaslighting exes who thought they could derail her life with their surprise appearances. The click of my shoes against the floor sounded like applause, and for once, I deserved it.

I’d barely made it halfway across the restaurant when Archer’s hand caught my elbow. I turned to find him wearing a concerned expression. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I replied automatically, then rolled my eyes at myself. “I’m as fine as anyone can be when their ex-fiancé shows up uninvited.”

Archer shifted his weight like he had something to say but was calculating the best way to phrase it. His thumb was making small circles on my arm, and the gentle touch was simultaneously comforting and distracting.

He ran his free hand through his hair. “The storm’s already started. Declan was dropped off, and there’s literally nowhere else for him to go. The town’s shutting down, and we have no rooms available.”

“There’s a nice couch in the lobby,” I suggested brightly.

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