“I want to scare away your bad dreams,” he whispers.
My lips part, and I struggle to form a word, but somehow, I manage to invite him in.
* * *
Stone sitson the chair in the corner of the room, reading on his phone while I quickly head to the bathroom to throw on my pajamas and take off my makeup. Taking a few extra moments to examine myself in the mirror, I feel the flutter in my chest. It’s the special kind that is comforting yet exciting.
I’m literally about to enter my room in pajamas to meet a man that I should be wanting to impress, except we’re already past all that. We’ve seen one another drenched from a pool, with my mascara running. Most of all, he’s seen me in a few of my dire moments.
I could have suggested that we head down to the hotel bar, but intuition has me planting my feet here. Plus, I’m not sure I can handle noise and people. I am really tired.
Taking a deep breath, I open the door and enter the room. Stone’s eyes flick up to survey me, and the corners of his mouth curve up subtly.
“Hope you don’t mind; I’ve been in restrictive clothes all day.”
He stands and grins. “Although still gorgeous when I arrived, the real you is even better.”
Another deep breath escapes my lips, then I have to smile to myself. “Uh, how did you find me?”
Stone laughs. “Our publisher let me know where you were staying. Coincidentally, my brother is at the hotel since the Spinners have a game here tomorrow. How I managed to get your room number, huh, should I admit my crime?”
“Yes,” I say, amused.
“I leaned over the counter to look at the screen when the receptionist had to collect a bag in storage for another guest, and she forgot to lock the screen, which by the way, would never happen at my fine establishment, the Dizzy Duck.”
I smirk at his tendency to cross lines when he wants… except with me. He seems to treat me like I’m fragile, only he’s waiting for a signal to throw a different side of himself at me.
“Typical Stone Madden.”
He scratches his cheek, and I notice the stubble on his chin is just short enough but already adding to his appeal.
“Here we are,” he begins.
My lips press in as we both stand there in the middle of my room, curious to see what the night will bring.
“I’m just here to be with you, nothing else,” he assures me.
Half a smile hits my mouth. “I know, you’re always a gentleman.” I step forward to tap his arm with mine. “Want something to drink?”
He groans a sound and rubs his face with his hands. “I’ve had enough. I had a heart-to-heart with my brother for the past hour or so. He has romantic woes and is working on his grand gesture, as you call it.”
My brows rise from curiosity. “Is that so? Sounds like my plots aren’t so crazy after all. I hope he works everything out.”
“Vaughn will; he's as determined as me. A cursed genetic trait that makes us slightly edgy when needed.” Stone can’t tear his gaze away from me, nor can I with him.
My hands begin to fumble with one another out of nerves. “I kind of thought, I don’t know, we stopped our emails for a bit.”
Stone throws me a promising wry smile as his fingers softly brush hair behind my ear. “Nah, I just thought you might have needed a little space, and then I had this plan. Felt the element of surprise was better.”
I close my eyes to let out relief that I didn’t know was so large inside of me, but it releases and my shoulders ease. In the corner of my eye, the apple basket is right where I found it.
Stepping away from Stone, I slowly walk to the apples and begin to list. “Apple pie, apple butter, apple cake, apple sauce, baked apples, apple muffins, apple juice, caramel apples, so many things one could do with an apple.” I pivot to glance at Stone who is amused, waiting for me to finish. “You can do a lot with apples… Except, I guess I never told you.”
“What?” He seems mesmerized.
I tip my head and attempt to hide my smirk. “I fucking hate apples.”
Stone bursts out laughing. And this feels like the icebreaker we needed to relax from our heightened emotion this evening.
