16
Adriana
I didn’t have much of a choice but to stay with Landon that night. My underwear and stockings had been completely torn, and I couldn’t exactly walk to my room in the staff quarters in the state that I was in. Landon promised that I’d have new clothes by the morning, and nobody would know, but I wasn’t so sure. It was my best option, however.
Landon’s suite was enormous, but minimalist. Most of the decor was in black and white, with some wooden tones thrown in. Everything was as neat and clean as I would have expected. The bedsheets were Egyptian cotton, and I couldn’t even begin to guess the thread count they had.
There were two more rounds of wild, passionate sex before Landon fell asleep and I went to take a shower.
When I eventually went to bed myself, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever be able to fall asleep myself. My mind was clear now, and I was slowly realizing just how much trouble I was in romantically. Not only had I not followed Sierra’s advice, I’d done the complete opposite of what I’d told her I’d do.
I should have broken it off with Landon, and never gone to that beach with Nolan.
What am I doing?I thought as I rolled onto my side under the most comfortable sheets I’d ever been in.I should stop this. Right now. I need to tell him in the morning that we can’t do this anymore. I shouldn’t see Nolan outside of the kitchen. And Bryant…
The thought of Mr. Thatcher sent me reeling ever further. He’d obviously been flirting with me ever since the first time I’d met him. While I was pretty certain that he was flirty with most women, I didn’t think that he invited many to private dinner meetings. He definitely didn’t ask anyone else for the wine. If he did, it was a really convoluted way of picking up women.
But he was also obviously playing a game. I wasn’t sure what it was, or what his intentions were, but they weren’t wholesome. And I definitely couldn’t add a third man to this mess. I was already way over the line with just two of them.
So why do I want to do this again?I found myself thinking.Why am I excited to wake up with Landon? Why can’t I wait to see Nolan tomorrow? Why am I still thinking about Bryant?
This was ridiculous, and I knew it. Rationally, it was completely nuts. But emotionally, I was consumed entirely, and I was well aware of my addiction. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop.
The next morning, Landon had left before I woke up, which was disappointing. As he had promised, a newly pressed uniform was ready for me, and I snuck down to the lobby without getting caught. I pretended like nothing had happened, and nobody was looking at me strangely.
I was in the clear, at least for now.
Checking my tablet, I realized that today was Dahlia’s bridal shower. Most of the morning was blocked out for prepping the food, which meant that I’d be spending a lot of time with Nolan.
My heart started beating faster. I wasn’t sure if it was excitement or anxiety, but I couldn’t let either show.
I checked in with reception, and let them know where I would be if there were any guest requests that needed to be addressed. Then, I marched to the kitchen, keeping my expression neutral and focused.
As soon as I walked in the door, I could hear Nolan yelling about pastries. When he saw me, however, his expression softened somewhat.
“Good morning, sunshine!” he said, somehow both sarcastically and cheerily at the same time. “We’ve been here for hours. Got half the pastries baked already.”
“Well, then I’m glad I’m not kitchen staff,” I joked, pulling out my tablet and catching Nolan rolling his eyes. “Calm down, I’m checking the menu. Shouldn’t be any changes, at least as far as I know.”
“Better not be,” Nolan said, before continuing dramatically. “Honestly, I’ve been slaving over a hot stove for so long, I don’t think I could deal with it if I had to start over.”
His antics were making me laugh, even though I’d promised myself I’d stay stony and stoic. In my periphery, I noticed the suspicious looks from the others in the kitchen, but I ignored them. As long as nothing inappropriate happened, I could just excuse all of this as Nolan being in a particularly good mood.
“Seems like everything is in order,” I said as I read through the menu. “No allergens or other dietary restrictions violated.”
“Oh, that’s great news,” Nolan said, holding his hand over his heart like he was incredibly relieved. “Could you imagine what would happen if I’d been the one who caused Dahlia’s demise?”
He seemed to notice that almost everyone was now watching us with an eagle eye. His face quickly changed to an angry one as he glared at the kitchen at large.
“Did I say you could all just gawk?” he yelled. “Don’t you have a cake to finish? Chocolate ganache to make? Get moving!”
Luckily, the sheer authority in Nolan’s tone was convincing enough to have people return to their tasks. I was certain, though, that they’ll all be talking about their suspicions as soon as he and I were out of earshot.
That was a little bit of a problem, too. Landon and Nolan didn’t exactly know about one another, and I didn’t know how they would react if they did. If the hotel was filled with rumors about Nolan and I, then Landon was definitely going to hear about it. And that meant trouble.
“Anyway,” I said firmly, reading through the menu on my tablet. “You know the starting time, right? Food placement?”
“I had something to say about that, actually,” Nolan answered, seeming to catch on that we had to turn things down a bit. “The way they’ve got the floorplan laid out is inefficient for the waiters.”
