Page 24 of Lost Without You

“Did you hear from Lane?” she asked.

“Yes. We have to head back to his place first thing.”

“Okay,” Rachel didn’t ask any more questions with her brother sitting on her other side. Ryker supported her, but he hadn’t asked her for an update. Not yet.

Once the cab dropped them off at the hotel, all four of them enjoyed a final cocktail and easy banter at the surprisingly crowded bar. An hour later, Wes and Ryker headed home, and Ethan and Rachel headed back up to their respective suites. The day was finally catching up to her and neither she nor Ethan made any small talk on the elevator ride up.

He finally glanced at her as he exited on his floor. “Meet for breakfast at 7:00?” he asked as he held the door open.

All the earlier heat from his eyes was gone and his posture was rigid. She shivered and wrapped her arms around her body.

“Sounds good, Ethan, have a good night.”

“You as well,” he murmured.

He stepped into the hallway and the door quickly closed behind him, leaving Rachel alone. Her suite was only two floors up, so she arrived about a minute later.

Kicking off her heels, she padded into the bathroom. After stripping off her dress, she snuggled into the plush hotel bathrobe and took off her makeup. Heading back out to the living room, she poured a tall glass of water and took a couple of aspirin for the headache that was starting to spark at her temples.

So many questions flitted through her tired brain, around and around like an endless loop—about Ethan, her father, what was on that disk.

They would all have to wait until tomorrow.

****

The next morning, Rachel sat at a corner table in the hotel restaurant at 6:45 AM. The place was buzzing with activity, and she enjoyed people watching with her coffee. After ordering a second cup, she perused her emails, but there was nothing urgent. One student requested to join her September class even though registration was already at full capacity. She sent a note to the scheduling department and asked them to take care of it, with her approval. Another email requesting her to participate in a new research council, an email from the department head for the August reconvening lunch…

“Good morning.” Ethan’s sleep roughened voice had goosebumps breaking out all over her skin, despite the warmth of the room.

“Good morning,” she replied and boldly gave him a thorough once over.

Rachel decided that she wanted Ethan and once she set her mind to something, there was no turning back.

When her eyes finally met Ethan’s, surprise and a returning heat stared back at her.

“Is it safe to talk to you? Have you had enough caffeine and carbs?” Ethan teased as he sat down opposite her. She took a sip of her coffee and smirked.

“More than enough caffeine. But I haven’t ordered breakfast yet,” she replied as she licked her lips and Ethan’s eyes followed the movement.

He cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m starving. How did you sleep?”

“Not bad. I fell asleep quickly but woke up at 5:00 AM. As usual.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Just my usual insomnia. I’ve dealt with it for years. I find it hard to shut my brain down.”

“Yeah, I know how that is. When I worked an intense case, I slept maybe three, four hours a night, for weeks on end. I got used to it and now I don’t need an alarm clock to wake up anymore.”

A waiter stopped at their table and took their order—eggs benedict for Rachel and a veggie omelet for Ethan.

“Did you have a good time last night?” Rachel asked.

She was trying to find a casual way to bring them back to what happened on the dance floor. God knows the timing wasn’t great, but sometimes you had to grab your happiness when you found it.

“I had a great time. Wes and Ryker are a lot of fun.”

Okay, so either she was too vague, or Ethan was ignoring the chemistry between them. Time to act like the direct New Yorker she was.

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