The inside of the limo was dark and Allie’s eyes took a moment to adjust. When they did, she found George leaning way too close, a conspiratorial look in his eye. “That was a great time.”
“It was. Thanks for the tip.” Allie leaned her head against the seat, soaking in the clean carpet scent and the feel of rich leather against her skin. Leather, like Mark. He must have leather seats in his car and that’s how he picked up the scent. Sensuous warmth ran through her veins as the pictured him driving off, wearing his shades, his strong jaw flexing as he maneuvered deftly through downtown traffic.
George leaned his shoulder against hers, jerking her out of her daydream. “I have a girl on standby, but if you say the word, you can stay the night with me.”
Ew!“No, thank you.” Allie scooted closer to the door.
Kate cleared her throat. “There are a couple points we need to go over.” “What about you, sweetheart? Wanna spend the night at the Ritz?” George winked, his ears wiggled.
Kate stared him down until George slunk into his own corner of the car. When he was sufficiently subdued, Kate continued, “The room is covered, but you’ll need to give them a credit card for incidentals.”
“No way!” George bolted up in his seat. “They aren’t covering room service or anything? Cheap sons of a—”
Kate cleared her throat.
Allie pressed her fist to her stomach. Her credit card had disappeared with her ex-husband. The bill, however, showed up on the fifteenth of every month. The company shut down the card, but there were still a couple thousand dollars’ worth of charges to clear up. In the meantime, she couldn’t qualify for a new one.
Now what was she going to do? With her apartment covered in noxious fumes, she’d be sleeping on the side of the road.
“You have a hundred-dollar limit for incidentals. Any amount over that will need to be covered by you.”
George grumbled but didn’t argue further.
Allie faced the window, where the girl staring back at her turned green. The car slowed to a stop in front of the Ritz.
Kate pointed to George. “This is your stop.” She turned to Allie. Her face had a softness that she didn’t offer to George, and Allie was grateful she was still on Kate’s good side. She might not be after she explained her credit card situation. Sleeping in the bathtub was looking like a viable option.
“If you’ll wait here, I’ll be back in just a moment.”
Kate was back in less than five minutes. Her steps were lighter than before, no doubt happy to be rid of the officer because he wasn’t much of a gentleman.
“Whew.” Kate swiped the hair off her forehead. “We’ll get you all tucked in for the night. I’m sorry we couldn’t get you a room here.” “It’s okay, really,” Allie assured her.
Kate plucked at her skirt. “The hotel is … less than ideal. We can drop you off at home if you’d rather take a cash voucher.”
Allie shook her head. “My apartment building is being fumigated and I can’t go back for twenty-four hours. I’m really grateful for the spare room —I don’t care what hotel it’s at.”
“You might once you see it,” muttered Kate.
Allie brushed her worries aside. She would lock herself in the room and not come out until morning if need be. Anyplace was better than the street. “Listen.” She scooted forward in her seat. “I have a confession.” “What’s that?” Kate cocked her head.
The words tumbled out. “I don’t have a credit card. I promise I won’t eat so much as a bag of nuts and I won’t turn on the television. I’ll just take a bath and go to bed early.”
Kate waved her off. “I’m not worried about you. George would have cost us the whole budget and then some if I’d givenhim free rein, but you’ll be fine. Use the hundred dollars—order some macadamia nuts or whatever they have to offer.”
Relief washed over her like warm bathwater on a cold day. She hated having this credit issue hang over her. Facing the issue again had taken all the confidence she’d gained talking with Mark and smashed it deep down
inside where she lost sight of who she could have been. Reed shouldn’t have that much influence over her anymore, and yet somehow, someway, he managed to darken even her fairy-tale afternoon.
What she needed was a big dose of Mark. She blushed just thinking about him. Unfortunately, the clock had struck midnight and she’d turned into a pumpkin. Or maybe she was the mouse, timid and vulnerable. Either way, she wasn’t the princess.
They pulled to a stop outside of a two-story hotel with a broken front door and window units leaving stains under every window. Gritting her teeth, she steeled herself to sleep with the lights on to keep the cockroaches at bay.
She was back to her reality, and she might as well get used to it.
CHAPTER SIX
Mark hung around the pizza place with Beau, Anthony, and Leticia. The late afternoon sun bathed the place in a rosy glow. The staff lowered the blinds, giving the guys some privacy since there were two hundred plus fans outside. The security detail had the perimeter under control and the chef cranked out pizzas for the remaining staff. They trickled out, giving the impression the event was winding down.
