Page 23 of Room 810

You know me. I’m like a dog with a bone. The only way to get rid of me is to let me have my say.

Coffee. That’s all I’m asking. My treat.

Your bestest buddy in the whole wide world,Sawyer

My knee was bouncing double-time under the desk. Sawyer and I were not friends, and certainly notbestest buddieslike he claimed. But… we were something. We’d grown up together, gone to the same schools, from kindergarten all the way to graduation. He knew me before I had my shit together. He’d seen me at my worst, and honestly, it was thanks to him that I made it through high school at all. Whereas I was painfully introverted, scrawny, geeky, and full-on awkward in every situation, Sawyer was charismatic and popular. He could’ve teased me like so many others, but he never did. He used his significant sway to keep others off my back. He’d made my life easier.

And now it was time for me to repay the favor.

I replied to his email that I was willing to meet for coffee but that I was currently in Paris, with no intention of making it back to the States for another month. Not thirty seconds later, Sawyer’s reply popped up. It said simply: Good thing I’m in the neighborhood. Meet me at La Liaison in 20 mins. I’m buying you breakfast.

Sawyer was in Paris? I frowned. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

La Liaisonwas a popular meeting place for tourists. The owner was French Canadian, and he’d created a fusion of European and North American cuisine and atmosphere. For those Americans who felt out of their depth immersed over their head with French culture, they could come here and temporarily touch base with like-minded tourists. A little taste of home.

Personally, I liked the immersion process, but if I thought back to high school, I seemed to recall Sawyer had dropped out of French class, so I would meet him on his territory.

Sawyer was already there when I arrived, seated at a round wrought-iron table on the cobblestone patio out front. He looked like a fashion model straight off the page of a magazine. He flashed me that too-white smile and stood to greet me. I could tell he was going to go in for a hug—I was very much not a hugger—so I quickly cut him off by holding out my hand to shake. “Gabriel!” he gushed, thwarting my attempt to keep some distance between us by dragging me in by our joined hands and giving me an awkward half hug. “Have a seat,” he offered.

I lowered into the matching chair across from him and tried to smile, but it felt painful. It didn’t seem to deter Sawyer, though. He was used to my quirks. “You were in theneighborhood?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him in suspicion.

“A total coincidence, I assure you,” he said, waving a hand in the air.

A chuckle escaped. “Uh-huh. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with the slew of emails you’ve sent over the past few weeks.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. “You mean the emails you’ve been ignoring?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you. I had no internet.” For the first few days, anyway.

Sawyer smirked. “I promise, I’m not stalking you. My husband and I are trying to rekindle our marriage, and what better place to do it than in the city of love?”

I huffed a laugh and reached for the menu, but he grabbed it from my fingers before I could open it.

“I know you don’t like anything too fancy, so I already ordered you a croissant and a café noisette.” I nodded my thanks, and then he got right down to it. “So, I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that since you haven’t posted the review for The Scarlet Hotel, you must be having second thoughts.”

“I never have second thoughts,” I stated bluntly. And it was true… up until a month ago. My decisions and opinions were based solely on logic and facts. I had a scale for measuring everything—the quality of the food, the cleanliness of the room, the amenities—from one to five, then weighed against the cost per night. There was an algorithm. Math, when done correctly, gave indisputable results. There was no need to second-guess when you were able to think clearly and without emotion interfering.

But something had recently changed…

“Nevertheless,” Sawyer said, raising a finger to hold off any argument I might have, “hear me out. The Scarlet Hotel has been around for generations, and they’ve resisted change along the way. They’re practically an institution in the city—hell, all across the country! But recently they’ve run into a few… snags. It’s not their fault!”

“I know you’re not making excuses for them,” I muttered, before thanking the waitress for the coffee and pastry she put down in front of me.

Sawyer held his hands up in surrender. “I would never dream of it. I’m just saying, you caught them on an off day. The manager has been making some updates to the building and staff, and I just know if you would give them a second chance—yes, yes, I know. You don’t do second chances, but if youdid—I can guarantee that you would find yourself pleasantly surprised.”

I sipped at my coffee, breathing in the rich, nutty flavor, while the weight of his words pressed at my shoulders.

“Haven’t you ever had a bad day?” he asked quietly when I didn’t respond.

He might’ve been referring to any one of a hundred days in high school where things didn’t go my way, but instead, my brain immediately went to Toby. His father had died, and instead of letting it beat him down, he started an island resort. He still smiled and flirted and winked. I thought of how the storm had wreaked havoc on his island. If that wasn’t a bad day for him, I didn’t know what was, but he still managed to pull himself together in the end.

When I thought of The Scarlet Hotel, it didn’t feel right to give them a bad review based on a fluke accident. But when I thought of breaking free of the regulations I had set for myself, my whole body balked against it. It didn’t feel natural or easy for me to change. And if I didn’t stay on familiar ground, then who would I be?

I had just opened my mouth to turn Sawyer down, when we were interrupted by a flurry of excited murmurs over my shoulder. Sawyer’s eyes darted over to the commotion, and his eyes lit up, his smile wide. I turned to look and saw an older couple, the alpha down on one knee with a ring extended. I couldn’t hear the question he asked, but I didn’t need to.

“Yes!” the omega cried out, flinging himself into his alpha’s arms. “Of course, yes!”

“I love you so much, Zack.” They kissed passionately in a very public display of affection, without a care for who was watching. I could admit I was a little bit jealous.

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