His eyes went even wider at the accidental endearment, but then they shuttered, and he clutched his backpack to his chest like a barrier between us.
“You’remarried,” he said like it was an accusation, the statement hitting me like a punch to the gut. Then he turned back to the clerk. “Can I… can I use the landline here, Sam?”
“Of course,” the clerk, Sam, said promptly, shooting me a less friendly look than before after his eyes deliberately dropped to the wedding ring I’d never even considered taking off before now.
Wait, no.Ever, was what I’d meant.
I’d never considered taking my wedding ring offever, and I never would.
I frowned, the thought making something new twist inside my chest that I had no name for. But Rene was huddled off to the side, speaking quietly into the phone now, and when Sam beckoned me forward, I decided I didn’t want to look at what that new thing was after all.
“You have a reservation, I assume?” Sam asked, his voice managing to be both professionally courteous and blatantly unfriendly at the same time. “For youandyour… spouse?”
“Just me,” I said tightly, pulling out my credit card and ID and sliding both of them across the counter to him.
He glanced down at them and started tapping away at his keyboard, then did a double take, his eyes narrowing as they bounced from his screen to my ID and then back up to my face.
Ah, right. I had no idea if Sam was the clerk I’d originally taken my bad temper out on when I called and was told the hotel was full, or if the whole staff knew about my visit and its purpose—possibly both—but when Sam pushed the two cards back at me, his lips tightened into a thin, disapproving line, there was no doubt at all that he knewexactlywho I was now.
And, by the way his eyes flicked toward Rene and then shot fire at me, he did not approve.
I couldn’t even blame him.
“I have your reservation right here, Mr. Garrett,” Sam said in an impressively icy tone for someone who seemed anything but. “Andobviously, payment isn’t necessary.” He pulled out a keycard and shoved it into the machine, then slapped it onto the counter between us and gave me the world’s most insincere smile. “Room 16. Enjoy your stay.”
I slid my credit card toward him again. “I’ll pay for the room,” I said firmly. “When I booked it, I didn’t realize…”
What, that I’d be putting someone out?
PuttingReneout?
That wasn’t entirely true. The staff had told me the hotel was fully booked. I simply hadn’t cared. Hadn’t considered for even a moment who might be affected on a personal level by something I’d justified as being “just business.”
I looked over at Rene. I couldn’t help it. Whatever my failings had been before, I definitely cared now, and since that hadn’t happened in I couldn’t remember how long, I was at a complete loss on what to do with the feeling.
Once upon a time, I’d actually known how to apologize, but it had been a while since I’d exercised that particular skill. And really, an apology wasn’t enough, was it? Not with Rene hanging up the phone with a shaking hand and looking like, whoever this “Daddy” of his was, the man hadn’t been able to resolve anything for him at all.
Sam hadn’t accepted my credit card back, and it suddenly hit me what I needed to do. He’d suggested that Rene find accommodations elsewhere, but clearly, Rene found that problematic for some reason… and I wasn’t sure I’d want Rene to try to drive anywhere else in that disaster of a car of his anyway. It hadn’t looked safe.
I’dbe the one who got a room elsewhere.
Rene could have mine, here at The Plazerra.
The decision settled something inside me, carrying with it a bloom of satisfaction and contentment that I hadn’t felt in… years. Five years, to be precise.
“Charge me for the room,” I said to Sam, tapping my credit card.
He gave me a reckless death-glare that said very little about his desire for job security, turned up his nose as if he’d smelled something rancid, and bustled over to Rene without touching my card.
“What happened, sweetie?” he cooed, ignoring me completely. “Is your Daddy coming? Is he going to fix this? Did he find you somewhere to stay tonight?”
Rene shook his head. “Daryl’s not… um, he’s not reallymyDaddy.”
“So, he’s doing nothing?” Sam asked, his lips tightening again. This time, though, not at me.
“He’s busy,” Rene said, looking down.
Sam’s pale skin turned paler, his freckles standing out in stark relief. Then he let out a gusty breath and gave Rene a bright smile. “Okay, um, well, we’re still going to...” His smile faded as his brow furrowed. “Let me just think for a minute. We can just, uh, I live close by, and my couch isn’t that comfortable, but you can—”
