Page 37 of Score to Settle
“I know, but so is every hotel in a twenty-block radius. There’s an Irish dance competition at the convention center. Apparently it’s a very big deal.”
As she speaks, I spot a group of five tween girls gliding across the lobby with ringlet-curled hair piled on top of their heads andfrilly blue dresses and matching hairbands. Behind them is a group of stressed-looking moms overloaded with bags.
“So come sleep in my room,” I say.
Harper rolls her eyes and I laugh. It’s not the usual response I get when inviting a beautiful woman to my room. Then again, nothing about Harper is the usual for me.
“Not like that,” I say. “Seriously, Cassidy. It’s already late and we’ve got the fans breakfast tomorrow you wanted to come to. You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor, or a couch if there is one.”
“It’s your room. I can take the couch or the floor.”
“Ain’t gonna happen, Cassidy. You’ll take the bed.” I don’t wait for her to give me all the reasons this is a terrible idea and instead call the elevator and pick up her bag. It pings its arrival and I hold the door for Harper. She hesitates for a final beat, then follows me inside. As the doors slide to a close, the faint scent of her familiar wildflower perfume wraps itself around me.
I glance over at her. She’s chewing her bottom lip, a crease of concern between her brows. She’s not wearing her red Stormhawks tee tonight, but a white tank top with the red Stormhawks logo stretched across her breasts in the most enticing way. It gives me a kick to think of Harper buying her own merch.
“Don’t look so worried. I’m not some creep using this as an opportunity to lure you to my bed,” I say, pushing away those exact thoughts from my head.
She gives me a wry smile, revealing a dimple in her right cheek. The worry lines between her brows soften and her eyes gleam with a hint of amusement. “I know. Believe it or not, I do actually trust you.”
The comment takes me by surprise. I say nothing but feel the smile tugging at my mouth as we hit the eighteenth floor. I pullout the key card handed to me as I walked off the bus earlier and tap it to the lock.
“Just think of this as a PG-rated—” The rest of the words die in my mouth as I open the door into the smallest hotel room I’ve ever seen.
To be fair to Harper, she sees the funny side, huffing a laugh as we both take in the space. The room has the same bland functionality as the rest of the hotel. Gray walls and gray carpet, teamed with green and gray curtains and a matching throw covering a queen-sized bed.
There’s a TV on the wall and below it a small fridge. Beside the bed is a door leading into a bathroom. It has everything you’d expect from a hotel room, except space. One step into the room and my legs are already hitting the edge of the bed. There’s barely enough room to stand, let alone lie down. It looks like the only place I’m sleeping tonight is in that bed with Harper beside me, and from the look of dawning horror on her face, she’s realizing the same thing.
SEVENTEEN
HARPER
HARPER:Help!!
MIA:Tell me everything.
HARPER:Long story. I’m sharing a hotel room with Jake.
MIA:OMG! Fuck his brains out.
HARPER:Mia!! You’re not helping!
MIA:OK, fine. Stare longingly into his eyes and wish you were fucking his brains out. Better?
HARPER:No!!!!!
Notes for feature: Beneath the cocky charm, there’s an old-fashioned quality to Jake. It’s in the little things he does, like pulling a chair out for me or checking on me from across the room with a single look. But just how much of a gentleman is he?
I’m drowning in what-the-fuck-am-I-doing anxiety as I hide in the bathroom of the tiniest hotel room in existence, questioningif I’m seriously going to spend the night sharing a bed with Jake. The man I’m supposed to be professional around…
The check-in clerk’s words race through my thoughts.We’re looking into whether this was done by the booker themselves or if our computer system may have malfunctioned.
This is exactly the kind of thing Callie would do. And the exact reason I didn’t ask her to book my hotel and flights in the first place. What the hell was she thinking leaving me stranded in a city with no hotel rooms in a twenty-block radius? I know the answer—she was thinking how much she wants my job.Fuck!
I unzip my suitcase and stare at my favorite nightwear set—a cute ivory silk camisole and matching shorts. What was I thinking packing this? I know the answer. After sleeping on Mia’s couch for months and then staying at the ranch with Jake, Mama, and Dylan, I’ve taken to wearing gym shorts and baggy tees to bed, and I was thinking a night alone in a hotel room seemed like the perfect time to wear something that made me feel a little sexier.
Now, as I slip on the set, all I see in the mirror above the sink is how much my nipples push at the fabric and how indecent these shorts are with the amount of ass they leave on show. I glance back to my suitcase, hoping to find a set of sweats or something equally undesirable, but I packed light and my only other clothes are the ones I’ve been wearing and what I need for tomorrow.
There’s nothing for it but to brazen this out. I run a hand through my hair and lift my chin at my reflection. I’m a professional. I’m here to do a job. I will not think about having sex with Jake Sullivan.
