Page 11 of Finally Home

“Hello, welcome to the Primrose.”

“Hi—” Ollie looks at the employee’s name tag. “—Joy. How are you?”

“Great, thank you for asking. How may I help you?”

“My girlfriend and I are checking in.”

“Wonderful. What’s the last name?”

“It’s under Holland Armstrong,” I speak up, but my voice is so soft, if Joy hadn’t nodded, I might have thought she hadn’t heard me.

“Ahh, yes. Part of the private event room block.”

While Joy types away on her computer, I take the time to glance around the lobby.Please don’t have any more run-ins with anyone before I can get us to our room.I’m not sure I can handle any more right now.

“Okay, your room is on the third floor. If you go down the main hallway here, the elevators are on your left. Are two keys okay?”

“That’s perfect.” Ollie leans on the counter.

“Do you need help with your bags?”

Ollie waves her off and grabs my suitcase handle before I can. “We’ve got it. Thank you for your help. Have a good evening.” Ollie adjusts the suitcases so that both are in one hand, and his free hand finds its way to my lower back as he guides me toward the elevators. Again, as we walk, I can’t help but look around to see if anyone is watching us.

The elevator ride is so silent, I swear I can hear buzzing coming off the overhead lights. When the doors finally open, I don’t wait and head down the hall, following the signs to our suite.

“Hey, wait up.” Ollie jogs up beside me.

“I’m sorry. I’m just ready to be in the room.”

“It’s okay. Oh, look, this is us.”

Ollie holds the key to the lock on the door, and a green light flashes. He opens the door and holds it open for me, ushering me inside with a nod of his head.

We walk in, and I flip the switch, bringing the room to life. I look around the room, and my heart falls to my stomach. There’s a king bed in the center of the room—and no couch.

“Right, of course, why didn’t I think of that,” I say to no one in particular.

“Hey, it’s okay. I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, absolutely not. I know that this may be a five-star hotel, but the floor is hard as a rock, and who knows what variant of germs are on there from our shoes.”

“Aww, babe. You worried about me?”

“Well, yeah, I can’t have you being grumpy from sleeping like shit.” I glance back and forth between him and the bed. Squaring my shoulders, I walk over and set my dress bag on the bed. “We can share a bed. It’s fine. The bed is plenty big for both of us. And I’m sure there’s—” I stalk over to the closet and pull the doors open. “Bingo.” I jump up and grab the two spare pillows at the top of the closet. “We don’t need all these pillows, so we can just use these spares as a pillow wall. I’ll stay on my side, and you stay on yours. It’s simple. We’re both adults.”

“Of course, that works for me.” Ollie tosses his suit bag on top of mine and walks over to the glass sliding door and opens the curtains. He stands there looking out at the view. The viewis breathtaking, but I’m more interested in the view directly in front of me. I quietly observe him.

“Should we maybe set some other rules for the weekend?”

“Rules?” He turns around, placing his hands on his hips.

“Yeah, you know, like to get us through the weekend.”

One hand leaves his hip and grips the back of his neck. Good Lord, are his shirts made specifically for his body? How can anyone ignore the way his muscles flex against the fabric of his shirt? I know wild horses couldn’t drag my gaze away. “Umm, I guess we could do that. But remember the whole job interview thing in the car? I’m thinking maybe this will be more natural if we just go with the flow, ya know? Just do what feels natural. If you want to touch me, touch me. If you want to kiss me, then do it. I’m at your service to tell your family to suck it.”

I bring my bottom lip between my teeth and give it some thought. “Yeah, I guess we can just do that. But the pillow wall rule stays.”

He chuckles and takes a seat in the chair by the table, crossing one leg over the other. No time like the present to unpack. I can feel his eyes on me while I unzip my suitcase.

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