Page 94 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

I didn’t know whether I should be insulted or amused at the shock in her voice. “Yep. I told you I’d worked at the hotel. What, did you think I was just a spoiled, gorgeous rich boy who drove around in fancy cars and picked up women?”

When she didn’t answer, I realized she did think of me that way. I scowled. “Ouch.”

She chuckled. “That was so accurate, it wasn’t even funny.”

Way to rub it in, Red.

“But that was then. I didn’t know you before,” she whispered. “Now I do.”

“And now you’re so in love with me, it’s not even funny,” I concluded. “All right, let me tell you a story. This one happened at our hotel in Vegas. You have to promise not to tell anyone. It’s top secret,” I warned.

“I’d spit in my palm and give you a high five right now, Caleb, but you’re too far away.” She uttered it so sincerely and so sweetly that it took a moment for me to realize she was joking.

“Feisty.” I chuckled. “There was this very famous actress. VIP status.”

“Which actress?”

“Ah. That I cannot disclose. See, we may be hotel employees, but we’re basically like priests. Or doctors. Or lawyers. We can’t possibly disclose the names of clients,” I whispered.

“Like CIA,” she whispered back, absolutely on to the game.

“Yes,” I murmured. “Like those guys. But since you’re my fiancée, I’m allowed to tell you.” I told her the name of the actress, and she was impressed. “This A-list actress books the entire floor. For herself. Her manager and assistant were on a different floor.”

“Okay. So maybe the girl loves her privacy. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“No, there isn’t,” I confirmed. “But we were still curious.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No one was allowed on that floor, except for maids and room service. And since she was VIP, well, you know, we try our best to give them everything they ask for.”

“Of course.”

“So it was only natural for me and Ben to sneak in. We dressed up as room service.”

“Naturally,” she replied, deadpan. “So, what’d you find out?”

“We thought she was making

a porno or…murdering someone, but we found out she was cheating on her boyfriend.”

“Oh. That’s why they broke up.”

“Yeah,” I replied. Paused. “She was cheating on him with another woman.”

“Really? I had no idea.”

“But then the boyfriend, a very famous singer, came for a surprise visit. He was holding this enormous bouquet of roses in front of him and had a small band trailing behind him, carting around their equipment—guitars, violins, you name it. He was going to propose.”

I heard her quietly gasp. “Aw. Poor guy.”

“I know. He also decided to…um…take off all his clothes before knocking on her door. He probably figured, hey, might as well go all the way. Door opens, he sees them. Both naked as a bird. Two minutes later, a flat-screen TV came flying out the window.”

“Oh God.”

“Nearly killed a bellman.”

By now, Red was in fits of laughter. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh, but…”

---