Rhodes turned so he could speak directly into my ear. “She doesn’t like the fact that you’re here with me, socializing with the board, flashing that ring. We’re making progress.”
I nodded, shivering as his cool breath wafted over me.
“I need to turn the volume up on this. Play along, okay?”
He rose to his feet, pulling me with him. “Ladies, gentlemen—we hate to cut our evening short, but Rory and I won’t be staying for dinner. We’ve got… other things… to attend to.” Rhodes playfully pulled me closer as the guests laughed.
One of the men raised his glass. “Ah, to be young.”
“I’ll drink to that!” The woman with the huge watch raised her spritzer. “We’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Have fun, kids.”
We hustled away, just as Miranda came back, scowling. Rhodes’s hand skimmed my dress, halting on my ass—that was the final thing his stepmother would see of us tonight.
Once we’d made it to the hallway, he dropped his hand, laughing. “Nice work.”
“Yes. Good job.” But I was cold without his arms around me. Having Rhodes so close did something wild to my insides—I felt hot and cold, jittery and excited when he touched me.
And when he pulled away, I felt bereft.
I wrapped my arms around myself, and Rhodes frowned. “I’d offer you my coat, but I don’t have one.”
“It’s okay.” We made it to our room, and suddenly, it was awkward.
“I’ll have Philips bring us some dinner,” he offered.
“Great.” I still had my arms wrapped around myself.
“Do you want to change?” He asked. His gaze dropped appreciatively. “Although I’m pretty partial to that dress.”
“Ha.” My cheeks burned. “Yes, I’d love to get changed.” I looked in the bureau, self-conscious; I was pleased that Rhodes liked the dress and, at the same time, totally confused by what was going on with my body. I felt hot, but also cold and prickly. Electricity was shooting through me. There was a charge in the air—or was it just me?
I tried to stop thinking as I found some high-end sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Much to my relief, Ialsofound somecotton underwear and a matching bra, all the better to try and become Modest Rory again, not Pretending-to-be Sexy Rory.
Sexy Rory could not be trusted. She wanted the billionaire to put his hands on her bare skin again and see what happened.ModestRory was having none of that; she was the energy I needed to get through the rest of the night.
I hustled into the bathroom, relieved to be alone for a moment, and stripped off the wretched dress. I scrubbed the makeup from my face, ditched the thong, and almost cried in relief as I put on my cozy outfit. When I went back to the room, Rhodes had also thrown on sweats and a T-shirt. He sat on the bed, staring out the window at the darkening skyline, and I tried not to stare at his enormous, chiseled chest and huge biceps.
Oh, the biceps! Who knew I was such a sucker for them?
His gaze tracked to me as I tentatively sat down on my side of the bed. “You look comfortable,” Rhodes said. “What would you like for dinner?”
“What are you having?” I asked. I didn’t know what the options were.
“I’m thinking a burger. And truffle fries. And a salad. And chocolate cake.”
“I’ll have what you’re having,” I said gamely.
He smiled. “Well, all right.” He called the kitchen and requested our dinner.
“Can you always do that?” I asked. “Call the kitchen and order food?”
“Of course. You can order whatever you like, whenever you like—the kitchen stays staffed overnight. They’re prepared to make anything you could want.”
“Wow.” That was really incredible. I thought of Josie and especially of Bo—he would think he was in heaven. “My little brother would think this was Disney World.”
“How old is he?”
“Eight.”
