***
Holy wow. When Haddie assumed Mr. Tux had a suite, she did not expect a showeranda Jacuzzi in the bathroom. Her room had a shower/tub combo, but her five-foot, seven-inch frame would have to sit in the fetal position in order to fit. Butthistub…
She kicked off her heels and sat on the edge of the porcelain beauty, imagining putting away a Toblerone—triangle by triangle—as she soaked away the events of the past week.
Her brows furrowed. There probably was no Toblerone. At best, she might find a packet of regular M&M’s, peanut if the place really wanted to pull out all the stops. But she was in Middle-of-Nowhere, Illinois, a far cry from Chicago. The Jacuzzi was jackpot enough. Still, she rose and padded out to the main area of the suite.
“If there’s a Toblerone, I’ll eat it while soaking in a whirlpool. If there’s not? Well, then that’s my sign to head down to my room, sleep like the dead, and ready myself for facing reality tomorrow.” She paused mid-step. “And the fact that you’re talking out loud to yourself should also be a sign that you really need that soak.”
She crossed her fingers and toes in her imagination and strode the final few steps to the television-stand-slash-dresser-slash-place-where-hotels-always-hid-the-minibar, paused, and opened the telltale cabinet door behind which she found the minifridge. And behind that, Haddie found a little slice of heaven. Because sitting on the top shelf of the fridge, framing the bags of plainandpeanut M&M’s and the cans of soda behind them was not one buttwoToblerones.
This had to be a sign, right? The first good thing to happen in a week that had gone to complete and utter shit. Actually…she thought for a moment…
Mr. Tux was charming, painfully good-looking, had a suite with a Jacuzzi, and two Toblerones. That came to four good things.
Maybe her life really was starting to turn around, and all it took was hopping in her car and leaving Chicago behind.
She unzipped her dress and grabbed both Toblerones because who was she kidding? Of course she was going to eat both. Then,as she padded back toward the bathroom, she left a trail across the floor of first her dress, then her bra, and finally her underwear. A few minutes later, she was soaking in the oversized tub, steam rising from the bubbling water as she let her head fall back against the ceramic-tiled wall, a triangle of Swiss milk chocolate and chewy, honeyed almond pieces melting on her tongue.
Haddie closed her eyes and hummed a soft sigh, forgetting this was a stranger’s room and simply luxuriating in the knowledge that the world hadn’t gone to hell yet, not when Jacuzzis and chocolate existed in the same square footage.
“You waited,” a deep voice uttered over the sound of the whirlpool, a hint of incredulity in his tone.
Haddie opened her eyes lazily, broke off another triangle of her first Toblerone, and popped it into her mouth.
“You didn’t mention the tub.”
Mr. Tux grinned. His untied bow tie still hung from beneath his collar, and he’d unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt.
“Didn’t know I needed to,” he replied.
Her eyes fluttered closed again. “You didn’t. But it certainly helped make this a sure thing.” Another sigh escaped her lips. “You gonna join me?”
He chuckled, and Haddie looked up at him. Then she looked him up and down, took in his broad shoulders and massive frame, and she laughed too. Because despite the size of the tub, it was still a hotel-sized tub, and Mr. Tux wasnota hotel-sized man.
Without a word, Haddie turned off the jets and rose from the tub.
Mr. Tux’s mouth fell open, and she reveled in the power she knew she held in this moment. She needed this. Him.
He cleared his throat. “Do you…want a towel?”
Haddie shook her head and held out her hand. “Just a little help so I don’t slip.”
“Wait,” he told her, holding up a hand. He grabbed the bath mat that still hung over the towel rack on the tile wall above Haddie’s head and placed it on the floor beside the tub. Then he took her hand in his, his rough palm holding her tight as she stepped onto the mat. Despite not even knowing his name, the gestures—both the bath mat and grabbing her with a quiet, confident strength—made her feel both safe in his presence and weak in the knees.
It was just a stupid bath mat. Anyone could perform that simplest of gestures, even her late grandmonster…not that the woman would have. Mr. Tux probably only grabbed it so that if she had fallen, he couldn’t be somehow held liable or negligent or some other legal term that meant Haddie could sue the guy.
Except she knew this reasoning had more holes in it than a pasta strainer. The man standing before her was a good man. Tonight he was even someone’sbestman, and Haddie didn’t dawdle with best men. But she wasn’t the type of person to get her hopes up with silly things like happily ever afters.
Ugh. Why did she have to be so clearheaded even after an old-fashioned on an empty stomach? Damned Toblerone, soaking up her bad judgment.
“Are you sure about this?” Mr. Tux asked.
Right. Haddie was still standing naked and dripping in frontof him, and he was rolling out a bath mat like it was a red carpet and asking for consent.
She nodded, everything inside her tightening into a coil that was ready to burst.
“But you won’t tell me your name, and I can’t tell you mine? Wouldn’t you enjoy your birthday more if you spent it with someone who at least knew your name?”
