Page 21 of Made For You
“Oh my gosh, you have!” one of them screamed. I couldn’t determine which one, but I knew I needed to end the conversation quickly.
“Thanks for talking me through it. I’ll see you guys when I get home in two days.”
“Tell us everything!” one said, and the other shouted, “Rory, don’t hang up!”
They knew me so well.
I disconnected the call, and messages immediately started pinging on my phone. I wasn’t going to be able to keep them off my back for long. I had a feeling when I came home on Saturday that they’d be waiting with a bottle of wine, ready to learn all my secrets. I was lucky I didn’t have many.
The guilt I’d been feeling melted away as I stood, and I felt like I was floating as I made my way to my room. With my phone in hand, I unlocked the door and tossed my bags onto the little end table nestled across from me in the hall. There was a mirror hanging above, and I peered at myself, noticing my eyes looked brighter and my cheeks were a subtle shade of pink. I wanted to think it was from the hour I spent out by the pool today after catching a drink during the concierge's happy hour between panels, but I knew it was from the conversation with my family. And maybe, just maybe, the daydreams about the guy from the bar helped.
Slipping off my shoes, I turned the corner, intending to rest before the closing dinner that evening. The convention hosted it, and I wanted to go, despite knowing I’d see Gertrude there. It would be worth it just to see how she’d treat me after learning about my family.
Before I could register what was happening, Talon greeted me from his perch on the small couch.
“Hello, Aurora.”
“Wh-What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I asked, as clips from all the murder and crime shows I watched started filtering through my mind.
I left Talon no chance to answer as I spun around and darted out of the main room and toward the door, with every intention of leaving and calling the police. But just as I opened the door, I came face-to-face with the behemoth from the bar. I opened my mouth to scream, but he turned me around quickly and covered my mouth. His reflexes were crazy fast.
“Don’t scream,” he whispered in my ear, and I hated that his voice was velvety smooth. It was almost comforting, and wasn’t that confusing? “Okay?” he asked after a moment, and I nodded. As he dropped his hand, I squirmed to get away, but he gripped my shoulders with his massive palms and carried my ram-rod-straight body back into the main room.
“Sorry about this,” Talon said. He was now standing at his full height, and instead of fear, I felt excitement at having him in my room. “I promise I’m not here to hurt you. I actually wanted to talk to you about something.”
“You could have asked for my number like a normal person.”
“I wouldn’t need to ask. I have it already.”
“What? How?” I squawked, my breath coming in pants.
“Because I own this hotel.”
“You do?” He didn’t look like any hotelier I’d ever seen. He reminded me more of aGQmodel, straight off the cover of a magazine.
“Sort of.”
“What does that even mean? And can you have your… beast… release me, please?”
As if Talon just realized his friend was holding onto my shoulders to keep me from leaving, he nodded in his direction and apologized once again. The man let go, and I rubbed my shoulders as if I were cold, but it was simply to get my blood flowing again.
“Sorry about that. This is my best friend, Dean.”
Sarcastically, I said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Can we talk? I don’t have a lot of time, unfortunately.”
I was hesitant, but I had nowhere to go. And curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to hear what he had to say and how it involved me.
As I sat in one of the chairs, I noticed a stack of stapled papers resting on the coffee table. It looked freshly printed, the pages perfectly flat, no crease in the stapled corner, and when I inquired about it, a blush rose on his cheeks. My heart jumped inside my chest at seeing this vulnerable side of him.
“It’s a copy of the packet that got ruined at the bar. I hunted down the speaker before they checked out, and I got you a copy.”
Talon seemed anxious as he explained the gift, as if he wasn’t used to doing something so thoughtful for someone else.
“Thank you,” I said, my voice full of sincerity, as I reached for the packet and flipped through the pages. “I wasreally upset the speaker had already left and I couldn’t ask for another copy. And no one else attending seemed to want to help me.”
Gruffly, Talon responded, “I could have them all kicked out.”
