"Seriously," I repeated. "Because I should be dragging you out of the storm." I held her gaze, daring her to argue. "I swear toGod, if you don't come inside right now, I'm gonna ditch the bike and stomp on the flowers."
Finally, her lips twitched with a smile. "You wouldn't."
"Wanna bet?"
"You're bluffing."
I leaned in, lowering my voice. "Try me."
She didn't.Another gust of wind hit her full-on, and that seemed to do the trick. Mumbling something about going back to fix the flowers later, she hurried beside me as I rolled the bike back to the hotel.
As we burst through the main door, both of us were soaked to the skin, earning us a curious look from the desk clerk as we made a beeline for the elevator. Moving fast, I pushed the button, not to go up, but to go down so I could store the bike in the hotel basement with the others, including one of my own I'd purchased to get around.
If I'd hadmyway, I would've lugged Tessa's bike up to the suite, but I knew Tessa well enough to know she'd balk at rolling a muddy bike over the hotel carpet.
In the basement, Tessa crouched beside Maisie's bike, giving it a long, careful inspection. She looked up to ask, "This isn't a scratch, is it?"
Screw the bike.I kept my eyes trained on her. "Nope."
"But you didn't even look," she protested.
"I know, because I don't care."
When she sputtered another protest, I told her, "Don't worry. If it's broke, I'll fix it. But right now, I'm more worried about you."
I wasn't joking.She looked wrecked – muddy, dripping wet, pale, and shivering. And yet, somehow, she was still the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
God, I'd missed her.
It had taken everything I had to stay away – or more accurately, topretendto stay away, as I kept an eye out for trouble while working remotely from my suite.
The last time we'd talked, she had made it pretty clear that she needed some space.And me?
I was no Evan Carver – or a friend of his either.
But did Tessa know that?Within hours, I had my answer.
And let's just say, it wasn't the one I wanted.
61
Phones Go Both Ways
Tessa
"Oh, stop it," I laughed. "I did not."
"How doIknow?" he said, giving me a quick once-over from the armchair. "You look damp tome."
We were sitting in the living area of his suite, with me perched on the sofa opposite him. With a snort, I reached for a throw pillow and lobbed it at his head. Of course it missed, bouncing off the wall and landing uselessly near the coffee table between us.
But I'd made my point – and made him laugh, which was the whole idea.
I looked damp because Ryder had insisted on letting me borrow his bathroom so I could soak in its massive tub – not only to clean off the mud, but to get myself warm.
Now, I was wearing borrowed clothes – a black T-shirt and gray running shorts with a drawstring at the waist. They were Ryder's, so I was swimming in both of them. But at least I was comfy.
My hair was still slightly wet – but from a quick shampoo, not, as Ryder had just suggested, from dashing back into the storm to fix the flowers.
