Enough.
“You’ll stay with me, Rene,” I interrupted firmly.
Both boys whipped around, staring at me as if I’d grown a second head.
I cleared my throat. “In my room. Here at the hotel, I mean. Actually,yourroom. I’m the one who inadvertently bumped you, Rene, so the room should have been yours. This is my fault.”
Sam shoved Rene behind him, squaring off with me. “He’s not staying in there withyou,” he hissed, not giving Rene a chance to reply.
His reaction reminded me of an angry little ferret, almost making me laugh despite myself.
Sam wasn’t beautiful like Rene was. He was, actually, much more like my Blair had been. Cute and feisty, happy and bubbly. Obviously fiercely loyal, and kind of adorable when he got good and mad.
And yet, he didn’t move me at all.
Aroused none of my protective instincts.
Would have proven utterly forgettable if not for his obvious ties to Rene.
Rene, who was staring at me over Sam’s shoulder in wide-eyed shock.
I cleared my throat, wanting to reassure him. Sooth him. Protect him. “Of course—”
Rene’s not staying with me, was how the rest of my reply was supposed to go. Because clearly, both of them had misunderstood me. I would give up the room so Rene could have it. Except now, Sam had just planted an entirely different picture in my head. One that was making it impossible to get those words out.
I’d never disrespect Blair’s memory by taking pleasure with another man again—that would be wrong on every single level—but the idea of having Rene stay in the roomwithme, where I could keep an eye on him and look out for him the way my instincts were screaming at me to do, that didn’t feel wrong. In fact, now that the idea had taken root, it was suddenly the only thing that feltright.
“Of course he will,” I finished firmly, going in a completely new direction that left me feeling slightly off-kilter and yet also like I was finally back on the right track.
To where, I had no idea, but it was… exhilarating.
For me, at least.
Sam’s eyes narrowed even further, and Rene hadn’t moved. I ignored Sam without remorse and gave Rene a warm smile intended to put him at ease.
It didn’t appear to work, so I turned back to Sam.
When in doubt, take action. “Send a cot or a rollaway to the room, Sam—”
“Rene isn’t sleeping on acot,” Sam interrupted, sounding even more outraged than before.
I grinned. I couldn’t help it. The feeling most definitely wasn’t mutual, but I liked the little clerk.
And I liked how fiercely he was committed to looking out for Rene even more.
“No, he’s not,” I agreed. “Rene will take the bed. I’ll take the cot. But I won’t have him stranded tonight, Sam, so make it happen.”
Beneath all the uncertainty and the quiet, self-contained anxiety pouring off him, Rene looked just as exhausted as I was.
No, as Ihadbeen.
For some reason, as low as it made me feel to know I’d caused the boy distress, the idea of taking care of Rene—even if it wasn’t my place to, and even if it was only temporary—had me feeling more invigorated and purposeful than I’d been in years.
Sam looked like he was going to argue with me again, but we were past that.
“Iamthe owner,” I reminded him before he could get a word out, feeling not a single ounce of the remorse I’d felt over abusing that privilege earlier. Not when it was in service of providing for what Rene so clearly needed.
Sam’s mouth snapped closed… for about half a second. Then he turned back to Rene. “You don’t have to stay with him. Youcan’t, Rene. We don’t even know him.”
