“Did I hear you say the occasion was a divorce party?” he asked.
“Yes.” Did he remember their conversation from that night? “My sister’s.”
“Right.” Another flash from those eyes told her he remembered. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Thanks.”
He considered her for another moment. Her face heated under the scrutiny. He’d looked at her the same way at the tiki bar, right before she’d asked him to follow her into the ladies’ room.
Once again, she squirmed.
“Well,” he said. “We’ll put a complimentary bottle of champagne in each room. To help make a difficult occasion a bit better.”
“Mr. Markov—”
“It’s Alex.”
Sure. No sense being so formal with a man who’d been inside her. “Alex—”
“It’s already ordered.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Sorry for your trouble. You’ll handle the rest of the details, Cecilia?”
“Yes, Mr. Markov.”
“Thanks.” He walked out from behind the desk and shook Dana’s hand again. “Enjoy your stay.”
“We will. Thank you.”
Without so much as a grin, Alex headed off in the direction of the casino.
“I’ll just need your credit card please, Ms. Hamill.”
“Huh?”
“Your credit card?”
“Oh, right. Sure thing.” Dana burrowed in her purse and pulled out her Visa card.
“You’re getting quite the steal,” said Cecilia.
“It does seem that way. Look, thanks for your help. I wasn’t trying to be difficult.”
“Don’t give it another thought.” The woman finished up the reservation. “Everything’s confirmed. I’m happy we could make it better for you.”
Alex had made it better. He’d made it a whole lot better.
Suites at Vice. One for each of them. Amazing.
The clerk presented her with several key cards. “Your party is on the fifth floor. Because it’s the penthouse level, you will have access to a private set of elevators.”
Private elevators too? “Sounds exclusive.”
“Oh, it is. You’ll find the elevators to your right, around the corner. To activate them, just swipe your card. Enjoy.”
“Thank you.” Dana gathered her things and looked over her shoulder to get another glimpse of Alex’s retreating figure.
