Page 79 of Hard to Handle

“Perfect timing,” a voice says behind Callum, and we all startle at there being someone else in the hallway at this odd hour of the morning. There’s a rattle of dishes on a tray—glasses and silverware, before the room service person steps forward, pushing the tray in front of them. “Mr. Maddox?” he asks as he looks at the two men.

“Yes. Thank you.” Hunter steps forward.

“Some hot chocolate. Grilled cheeses. Some hot apple turnovers. And I think a few more goodies. It’s all on the house of course for the inconvenience we’ve caused you, Miss Kincade.”

“Thank you.” I nod and give a tight smile, more than relieved to have an innocent bystander back up my story with Callum.

“Maintenance just told me your room will be ready in five minutes. I was asked to escort you down there to make sure all your things are okay and to your liking.”

“Oh.” I hold the top of the robe closed and wonder if this is a blessing or a curse.

The blessing being that Hunter and I have never done that after part of sex before. It used to be sex, clean up, exchange a few words, maybe not . . . and then one of us would leave. Sure, we enjoyed each other, but there was nothing else between us.

The curse being that we’ve never done the after part of sex before either.

I glance back to the clothes on the floor and wonder how I retain my dignity while I scramble to pick them all up.

Callum assesses the situation and nods. “It’s late,” he says before shuffling down the hall toward his room, a few rooms down.

Hunter moves a hand to my lower back as the server moves the cart into the room. “Stay and eat?”

I shake my head, suddenly in a state of limbo—embarrassed, worried, confused. “I’m fine. I’ve got to go to my room—he said so—and . . .”

“Dekker.”

“No, It’s late. I should go make sure my room and things are okay.”

“I’ll walk you down there.”

“No. I’ve got it.” I step away from him, suddenly uncomfortable in everything. Needing space to clear my head and the emotions I know are most likely one-sided. At the situation I’ve just put myself in.

Shit.

“Dekker?” he asks.

“It’s fine.”

“I’ll take her down,” Hunter reasserts.

“No,” I say with more force than I should before turning to the hotel staffer. “Can you give me a minute? I’ll be right there.”

The staffer nods and I shut the door to buy me a few minutes to gather my stuff.

“Dekker?” Hunter says as I move around his room like a madwoman gathering my wet clothes and shoes.

“It’s fine. We’re fine,” I mutter and smile.

“So you’ve said.”

“If Callum talks—”

“Then what?” Hunter asks, his voice resonating around the room. “If he talks, then what’s the big deal? You’re a grown woman who can have sex with whomever she chooses. Why does it matter?”

“Because it does.” I fight the sudden burning of tears and hate that they’re there. Because I don’t cry over men. I don’t cry over things that can never be. And I certainly refuse to cry over Hunter Maddox.

“Gotcha.” He sighs as he moves with me through the room. “Ah, I forgot.” He tsks as I survey the room one last time. “This was a mistake, right? It shouldn’t have happened. It can’t happen again. Yadda, yadda, yadda.”

I expect to meet his eyes and find amusement in them, but there’s nothing but a gravity that unnerves me. I can’t tell if he’s angry or confused, but it’s something I’ve never seen before, and that in and of itself has me needing to get some space from him to figure out why there’s an awkwardness here.