“Right, I’m on it,” Claudia said, staring into the glow of her phone.
Meredith scurried back to us after serving a group of white-haired men in suits. “Turns out there’s amajormedical convention at Javits. I’m guessing the close-by hotels are full.”
The situation had officially become a nightmare.
“Guys, just stay at my place,” Owen said.
We all turned to stare at him.
“I’m serious,” he continued. “I have a guest room and a fold-out couch in the basement. Plenty of space. It’s late—it’s easier this way.”
First of all, abasement? Did Owen live in Narnia?
“Mate, no, you don’t have to do that,” Wes said. “We can grab a couple of rooms. We don’t want to put you out.”
“Um, actually, no, we can’t, babe,” Claudia said. “I just did a quick search and there’s nothing.”
Once again, I was faced with the burden of Owen’s never-ending generosity. Although now I had the promise of payback when I read his chapter summaries.
Which he still hadn’t emailed.
Everyone turned to me as if I had a real decision to make when there was only one possibility open to us. I glanced at Owen to try to gauge just how put out he was by the idea of surprise hosting three randos.
He nodded, a little encouragement to convince me that he was indeed offering to open his house to us. Despite all the bullshit we’d been through, he was still willing to be there for me.
This time felt like the biggest offer yet. Owen wasn’t just giving me his time; he was inviting me—us—into his private world. I was going to get to see where he relaxed at the end of the day. Where Marti liked to hang out.
Where he slept.
Maybe.He could very well keep that space closed off from me. Probably in his best interest to keep me far away from his bedroom.
“Are you sure everything’s booked?” I glanced around at the three of them.
“I triple-checked,” Claudia said.
“Brooke, it’sfine,” Owen assured me.
I think we both sensed how “not fine” it could turn out for us. A bunch of drinks in, inhibitions lowered thanks to thecamaraderie of the evening. We very well could run into each other in a narrow hallway in the middle of the night, half dressed, and then further complicate . . .everything.
Because now that I’d seen his thighs, I was curious to see what else he was hiding.
Worry clawed at me. I knew howI’dreact if I happened upon him in the moonlight; it was his response that had me stressed.
But we didn’t have much of a choice.
“Okay, then,” I said softly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Guess we’re having a sleepover at Owen’s.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
We stopped by CPA on the way to Owen’s to grab our gym bags, which meant we wouldn’t be completely dependent on his hospitality. We all had toothbrushes at least.
As he’d mentioned, Owen’s townhouse was just a quick walk from the club, which was great, considering the rain hadn’t stopped all day. We wound up in a beautiful neighborhood, sharing umbrellas on a street with brownstones that had impressiveSex and the Citystaircases out front. It was the land of giant windows, flower-filled planters, and climbing ivy.
Not at all where I’d envisioned him living.
“This is me,” he said as he jogged up a set of stairs to a shiny black front door.
I shot a look at Wes and he widened his eyes.
