He smiles softly.“I hope he deserves you.”
God.I really didn’t expect this conversation to make me emotional.Spencer rises first a few minutes later, smoothing one hand down the front of his jacket while I reach for my clutch beside me.Then his gaze shifts past my shoulder.And changes instantly.But it’s not fear, not irritation, it’s recognition.
“Well,” amusement flickers slowly across his face as he looks toward whatever’s behind me, “This should be interesting.”
Every muscle in my body stills as I turn around.Hayden moves through the lounge like the room belongs to him.Dark gray jacket.Black shirt open at the throat.Storm filled eyes locked directly on me with an intensity that hits like a physical thing.Controlled only on the surface.
Oh shit.He thinks— oh my God, he thinks Spencer and I are leaving together.The realization lands instantly and completely.Hayden barely glances at Spencer as he reaches the table, his focus never fully leaving me even as tension rolls off him in heavy waves.
“Nessa.”His tone is low, controlled, and dangerously tight beneath the surface.
Spencer, somehow, looks seconds away from laughing.“You must be Hayden.”
Hayden’s gaze cuts toward him finally.Sharp enough to wound.Spencer remains entirely unbothered.
“I was just leaving.”Spencer’s tone cordial and polite.
“Good.”Definitely not friendly.
I rise slowly before either of them can turn this into something worse, placing one hand lightly against Hayden’s wrist.The reaction from him is instant as every inch of his attention snaps back to me.And there it is.That possessive instinct he tries so hard to cage.
“You’re upset.”
His jaw flexes once beneath the low light.“Should I be?”
“No.”
Spencer outright smiles into his whiskey now.Oh my God.This is actually amusing him.“I think I’ll spare both of you the awkward goodbye.”He reaches for his glass one final time before looking toward me again.“Take care of yourself, Vanessa.”
Then his attention shifts meaningfully toward Hayden.“Murdering me won’t be necessary, besides Oliver would hate the paperwork that it would involve.”
A quiet snort sounds from the bar.My eyes glance over at Oliver for just a second.Traitor.Spencer disappears toward the elevators a moment later, leaving silence hanging heavily between Hayden and me.
His eyes finally drop to my face, searching, calculating.Trying to determine how wrong he got this.I could explain it.I probably should.Instead, I slide my fingers slowly through his.His entire body stills.
“Take me to your room, Hayden.”
And just like that, the mood shifts completely.
Chapter Fifteen
Hayden
I Need You (To Make The World Seem Fine)
YUNGBLUD
She follows without hesitation, her fingers still threaded through mine.The realization that she asked me to take her to my room nearly undoes me.The hallway beyond the private lounge is quieter.But it would be, it’s soundproof and warmly lit.The muted pulse of music from upstairs fades with every step downward as I lead Vanessa toward the lower level.
The entire walk from the lounge, I can feel the weight of what almost happened still pressing against my ribs.The image of her sitting across from him.Laughing softly.Letting another man look at her the way only I should be able to.The way I still do.
And underneath all of that; the brutal understanding that she’d already chosen me before I even walked into the room.I tighten my grip on her hand slightly as we reach the end of the corridor.Vanessa notices.Of course she does.She notices everything.
I pull my key from my pocket and slide it into the lock on my door, the soft click echoing louder than it should in the quiet as it disengages.I open the door and let her step inside first.
She glances around the room, her expression drinking in the dark wood, the low lighting, the black leather chair, the large king-size bed centered on the back wall, the expensive whiskey in a decanter on a dresser.There’s a floor-to-ceiling shelf lined with vinyl and books and things collected over years I stopped letting people ever see in case they might think they really know me.
Vanessa pauses just inside the doorway, slowly slipping her coat from her shoulders before hanging it carefully on the hook behind the door like she already belongs here.Like she’s always belonged here.
