We moved leisurely, not worrying about complaints being issued to hotel management. In fact, I wasn’t worried about anything.
Three rounds of sex. Two showers. One night wrapped up naked together. Somehow, it had reset me. The problems waiting outside that room hadn’t vanished, but they didn’t feel as suffocating anymore.
The only things missing from this perfect start to the day were coffee and Hunter’s smiling face.
I still missed him fiercely, but the panic had eased. It wasn’t the sharp, breathless fear it had been before. This was a week, not a lifetime. Parents sent their kids to camp for entire summers. I could survive a few days.
And if I was honest, the anxiety hadn’t been only about whether he needed me.
Hunter depended on me, yes. That was natural. But somewhere along the way, I’d started depending on him too. On his company. On the way our routines filled my days. He hadn’t just been my responsibility. He’d been my comfort. My only real friend.
That wasn’t fair to him. Or to me.
One day soon, he’d be a teenager with his own priorities. A life that didn’t revolve around his mom. I couldn’t cling to him as my only source of happiness and expect it to end well.
As risky and self-indulgent as it felt to want something beyond my obligation to my son, maybe it was necessary. Maybe taking care of myself didn’t have to distract from being a good mother.
Maybe it could make me a better one.
The shower left me clearheaded, steadier than I’d felt in days.
Eric and I moved around the room, gathering my things. We completed the task in silence, oddly in sync. He grabbed my razor and toothbrush from the bathroom, without me asking. I glanced under the bed while he cleared the nightstand. We worked side by side in quiet rhythm, no awkwardness, no missteps, just easy coordination.
It might’ve been melodramatic, but moving beyond that room felt like taking the next step—a step forward.
In the elevator, Eric slipped his hand into mine. His grip was warm, steady, and certain. He didn’t say anything about the future, didn’t make promises. He just held on. And I let him.
And yes, I was absolutely thinking about breakfast. I was starving.
Chapter Eighteen
Eric
Miraculously, we got Jamie checked out without a single complaint to management.
The desk clerk shot me a look I couldn’t decipher—probably recognition, since most of the staff knew exactly who I was—but I didn’t care to analyze it. Focusing on anything other than Jamie was pointless.
Every word, every smile, every tiny expression captivated me. I was obsessed.
Especially after spending the morning in bed with her. Hell, fucking her might’ve only made it worse.
After securing her bags in the back of my truck, we climbed in, ready to head to the café Jamie insisted had the best coffee around.
“Well, that was awkward,” Jamie said as we pulled away from the resort.
“What was?”
“Seriously? The way that clerk was flirting with you?”
“She was? I didn’t notice. I was just happy we got you out without any trouble.”
The tension radiating from her was palpable. “Eric, she asked you for your phone number.”
“Isn’t that normal for a hotel?”
“Why would that be normal? You weren’t even on the guest list. The room was under my name, and they already had my number.” Her voice sharpened, a hint of possessiveness creeping in that sent a thrill through me. “And I can assure you she did not lick her lips like that when she asked for my ID at check-in.”
I grinned as I pulled into the café parking lot. “Huh. I guess it’s a good thing you wouldn’t let me give it to her, then.”
