Hayden nodded. “I think I can agree to that.” He leaned down once more, kissing me softly. “So… what are we doing today then?”
“I’m starving,” I said, glancing at the hotel room service menu on the nightstand. “How about some breakfast first? Then maybe we can see if this place has anything to do.”
Hayden walked over and picked up the menu, flipping through it with a small frown. “This is... expensive.”
“Lucas is paying,” I reminded him with a grin. “Let’s make him regret that credit card.”
That got a laugh out of him, a real one that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. “In that case, I’ll have the steak and eggs. And maybe the pancakes. And definitely coffee.”
“That’s the spirit.” I reached for the room phone and placed our order, adding a fruit platter and pastries for good measure. When I hung up, Hayden was looking at me with an amused expression.
“You’re really milking this, aren’t you?”
I shrugged, unrepentant. “Lucas has been messing with me since the day I showed up at Turner Ranch. Consider this payback.”
Hayden sat on the edge of the bed, still in just his towel. “What’s he like? Lucas, I mean. I’ve only met him briefly at the diner.”
“He’s...” I paused, trying to find the right words. “He’s loud, nosy, and has absolutely no filter. Definitely a New Yorker. But he’s also one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.”
“Sounds like Dolly,” Hayden said with a small smile. “She’s always in everyone’s business, but people almost seem to appreciate her for it.”
“They do. She’s practically the town therapist.” I sat next to him, close enough that our shoulders brushed. “You know, we’ve got at least twenty-four hours to kill. What do you want to do?”
He glanced at me, a hint of heated mischief in his eyes. “Besides the obvious?”
My body responded immediately to his suggestive tone, but I forced myself to play it cool. “I was thinking we could check out the hotel amenities. They might have a gym or something.”
“A gym?” Hayden looked scandalized. “We’re trapped in a luxury hotel with nothing to do, and you want to work out?”
“What can I say? I like to stay in shape.” I flexed my arm jokingly, and Hayden rolled his eyes.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You like it,” I countered, nudging him with my shoulder.
He didn’t deny it, which made my heart do that stupid little flip again.
A knock at the door announced our breakfast, and I jumped up to answer it. The server wheeled in a cart loaded with covered dishes, the rich aromas making my stomach growl. After signing the check with a generous tip on Lucas’s dime, I closed the door and turned to find Hayden eyeing the food hungrily.
“This looks amazing,” he said, lifting one of the silver covers to reveal steak, potatoes, eggs, and fried onions.
“You really gonna eat all that?” I asked, not seeing how someone so small could pack that much food away.
“Maybe,” he grinned. “Been starving myself for years to get into magazines that would never take me and a boyfriend that never touched me. Might as well eat a little now.”
The admission hit me harder than I expected, making me pause as I grabbed my own plate of food. Tommy really had done a number on him.
“Well, I think you look perfect just the way you are,” I said before I could stop myself. I cleared my throat, embarrassed by how sincereI sounded. “I mean, you’ve got enough freckles to make up for any missing pounds. And I like a guy with an appetite.”
He smiled at that, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. “You and your freckle obsession. It’s weird.”
“It’s not weird, it’s appreciation.” I sat across from him at the small table by the window, watching as he cut into his steak. “They’re like... stars. Like you’ve got the night sky mapped across your skin.”
Hayden paused, fork halfway to his mouth. “That was almost poetic, Diego. I’m impressed.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I warned with a grin. “I’m just a dumb cowboy.”
“You’re not as dumb as you pretend.”
