I brush a piece of tortilla chip off her shoulder. My fingertips ignite from the light touch.
“Crumb.” I withdraw my hand and lean back.
She blushes. “Thanks.”
The server arrives with our meal and effectively ends any awkward tension.
But my jeans are tight, and I’m already fighting the urge to touch Haley again.
* * *
Haley
Turns out that every hotel in the area is booked.
“We’re in Houston!” I bounce up and down in the passenger seat of Liam’s truck. We’re still in the parking lot of the restaurant we ate at for dinner. “How can an entire city be booked?”
“There’s a convention happening this week plus it’s summertime and loads of people are traveling. From now on, we’ll reserve our rooms in the morning.” Liam shows me his phone. “The good news is that I found us the lone room left in the city.”
I stare at the photo. “This looks way expensive.”
“It is. My treat.”
I open my mouth to argue him.
“It’s either that or we share a room at this motel.” He flips his phone back to me.
I make a face. “I like low maintenance, but that motel looks kind of…”
“Shitty? Yep. So we agree on the first option?”
“How big is it? More than one bed?”
He chuckles. “More than one floor, darling. You can be as far away from me as you want.”
Darlingagain. Maybe he really does use the word more than I thought he did. It certainly sounds like it rolls easily off his tongue.
That sinking feeling in my gutcannotbe disappointment. I reach for my seat belt. “Okay. Let’s go see this palace.”
* * *
“This is definitely the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in.” I wander around the living area and look out the wall of windows at the Houston skyline.
The sun hasn’t set yet, and the view is gorgeous.
“Scratch that. More like the nicest hotel apartment. This place is huge,” I say as I spin around.
The hotel clerk places our bags inside the door and steps over to the suite kitchen where he starts talking about the stove and where to find the cutlery.
While Liam follows him into the kitchen, I turn back to admire the cityscape.
My parents raised my sister and me in Boston, and I sometimes miss being in a city. The bustle and the crowds are too much for me to want that all the time, though.
“And shall I bring your bags to the bedroom?”
I whip around, not knowing what to say.
“I’ve got them,” Liam says as he hands the man a wad of bills.
