“And here I actually believed that they hated each other. They’re great actors.”
“They better be. The show’s nonfraternization policy is no joke. Plus there’s a noncompete. It could end really badly for them.”
I hoped for their sake that they could keep their little enemies-to-lovers adventure quiet until they decided on which side of the equation they wanted to remain.
“I guess I need to go down to the front desk and get another key,” I sighed.
“Uh, actually, you’d have to call the innkeeper. There’s a note at the front desk that says he’s only reachable by phone after eight. And with the storm...”
I dropped my head and sighed even harder. Not what I wanted to deal with after a marathon day.
“Just come hang out in my room. I can’t imagine they’ll be too long,” Ben said.
I laughed despite my exhaustion. “Damn, you’re not giving our buddy Neil much credit for stamina.”
“I guess you’re right. You might be stuck with me for a couple of hours.” The way he smiled at me made me feel a little less tired.
Alotless tired.
Our eyes locked, like we both felt what might happen if we walked into a room with a bed.
“C’mon.” He turned his back and walked down the hall, assuming I’d automatically follow behind him like a puppy.
Which was exactly what I did.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I stood behind him as he unlocked the door and breathed in his now familiar scent. The cologne he’d put on in the morning was long gone, so what I was greedily inhaling was all Ben. He opened the door abruptly and turned around.
“After you.”
Crossing the threshold into his room felt momentous. We were about to bealonealone without the potential for witnesses, for the first time since that night in Switzerland. The door clicking shut behind him sounded like a starter pistol.
I wasn’t sure where to go once I was inside, because the desk and only chair were claimed by equipment. His room looked smaller than mine because of the sloped ceiling by the window. It seemed like the bed with the bright white bedspread filled the entire space.
“Are you hungry?” Ben asked. “Because I have apples.”
“I just had two slices, which is more pizza than I’ve eaten in”—I tried to calculate my last forbidden dinner—“A long time. I’m good.”
Normally I’d be stressing out about the deviation from my meal planning, especially with the countdown clock at full speed. Beingwith Ben lately had forced me to act like a normal civilian who didn’t equate enjoying food with guilt.
“Sorry I don’t have many seating options.” He jutted his chin at the sole chair in the small room.
“I can stand.”
He smiled. “Now you’re the one not giving Neil enough credit.”
I felt my cheeks go hot, because sex jokes landed differently in a room with a bed. I moved toward it and gingerly sat on the edge.
“I want to say make yourself comfortable but that sounds like bad seventies porn,” he said as he perched on the opposite corner.
“Are you implying that there’sgoodseventies porn?” I asked.
“I mean...” He shrugged. “That era introduced a bunch of the scenarios still in use today, so good or bad, it’s got staying power.”
“You’re an expert in vintage porn?”
He threw his head back and cackled. “Oh, god no. But everyone knows the tropes.”
