Logic was totally his friend in this situation. Besides, if they were locked in a room, then perhaps they could hash out the future without the guests’ constant attempts to get autographs or his attention.
Anna held three fingers over her lips and shook her head. Despite the pink makeup highlighting her cheeks, she was totally pale. “That’s not true. They can still sell you. But if we’re locked in here,Ican’t buy you. If I can’t buy you, then Babushka will probably buy you and then there will be a scene”—Anna scanned the empty room with her gaze as if she were searching for an escape route—“andthenshe’ll havestipulations.Stipulationsand a scene.Andthenshe’ll shove us together and then we’ll have all of this resentment toward each other.”
Being shoved together didn’t sound so bad. “I won’t resent you if your babushka purchases me.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Anna.”
“I mean, how can you know that?” she asked.
“Anna. The scene I can live without. But the other part is going to be fine. No matter what, it’s going to be fine. Because I have every intention of showing you why we’re great together for as long as you’ll let me.”
“We’re great together?” Anna asked, her expression pure shock.
“We are.” He was firm on this.
“We are great together.” She sighed. “I’ve missed you.”
“Whoever buys me? It’ll be fine. It’ll probably be your grandmother and she’ll just give me to you.” That’s the outcome he was rooting for.
“That’s your first mistake. You can’t trust her. Gah, I can’t even tell my friends to buy you,” she continued. “Which means we don’t knowwhowill buy you. Babushka is sort of cheap and you’re a total catch, so if your price gets too high, she’ll find a reason to stop bidding and then she’ll hook me up with one of the barely-not-a-teenager valet guys. I just know it.”
Bad. Yes, that was the feeling. This was not a good feeling. Definitely a bad one. He didn’t particularly want to think about Anna hooking up with anyone who wasn’t him.
“Doyouhave a signal?” he asked, refusing to sound too desperate, but they might as well be in overtime during the Super Bowl, on the final play, with the coach calling for a two-point conversion.
“A what?” she asked, eyebrows creased.
“Signal. Phone.” He pointed to the signal-less device he held in his hand.
“I don’t…” Anna shook her head. “I don’t have my phone.”
She had her purse. He tilted his forehead toward it. “Isn’t it in your— “
She bit at her top lip, which in any other circumstance would totally be a turn-on for him. “It’s not in there. It was confiscated.”
Say… “What?”
“Long story.” She banged at the closed door with her fist. “C’mon, somebody hear us.”
He tried the handle once more. Nothing. Tried again. Nope. He wished he were a linebacker so he could crash through the thing.
Making a fist, he pounded on the door next to Anna.
The noise from the gala must’ve drowned them out because even after a full five minutes of pounding, no one came.
Anna leaned against the door. “We’re stuck.”
He ran his tongue over his teeth. Yes, they were.
“I have this friend. You haven’t met her yet, but she’s great. Really smart and perpetually happy,” Anna said, as though that had anything to do with anything.
He raised his eyebrows. May as well see where she was going with this one.
“Yeah?” he asked.
“And she would say that when you find yourself in a situation that isn’t ideal, you should find some bright spots in it.”
