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“I do. But you didn’t look like you in that costume.” I wave my hand at said costume, and my gaze follows until I force myself to look back at her eyes.
“Why?” She frowns. “Because I’m usually dressed in my mom clothes?”
“What? No. Because you were wearing a mask.”
“Oh.” She blushes, the pinkish hue making her freckles more prominent. “That makes sense. Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I don’t even wear mom clothes to work.”
“What the hell are mom clothes? Aren’t they just clothes?”
“Yes, but they’re effortless.”
“Oh-kay.” I don’t know what that means but I’m not about to argue. It’s obviously something that affects her, and I am not the person she should be having a deep and meaningful conversation with.
“Speaking of being a mom, how’s…” I trail off because I can’t for the life of me remember her daughter's name. Even though I’ve heard my mom mention her many times over the years.
“Ava’s great.” Lily’s expression morphs instantly, and her eyes fill with so much love that it makes me a little uncomfortable, though I’m still happy I changed the subject.
We talk about Ava for the next ten minutes before Lily flips the questioning back to me, asking me about football, both of us falling into easy conversation.
Time passes but I have no idea how long it’s been until Lily’s phone starts buzzing and her eyes widen in panic. “Oh, God. That’s my alarm.”
“Your alarm?”
“For breakfast. We’ve been talking all night. It’s seven a.m.”
“Isn’t breakfast at nine?” I’m confused as I check the time, my eyes widening when I note she wasn’t lying. “God, I should be in bed.”
“I should be up. Well, I am up. But I should be getting ready. Shit. Henley messaged. She wasn’t even in our room last night.”
“She what?” My pulse spikes unnecessarily. Henley’s fine. She messaged Lily.
“I thought I heard grunting or something,” Lily tells me, and I quickly push Henley from my mind.
“Are you sure you were at the right room?”
“I don’t even know.” She buries her face in her hands, and her blonde braid falls to cover her, making it hard for me to see her expression while her body shakes.
Is she crying? Fuck, I’m out of my depth. “Lily, it’s okay. You—”
A giggle bursts out of her as she lifts her head. Thank fuck, she’s laughing.
“Henley and I joked about me spending the night with a gorgeous man. But I don’t think this is what she had in mind. Although, she’s more likely to believe I was having a ‘romp in the sack’ than talking to you.” She uses my term from earlier in the night, and I chuckle softly.
“Whatever she believes, we should probably go. I’ll walk with you, to make sure you find the right room this time.”
“Thank you.”
I gesture for her to go first and lightly cup her back as I guide her through the bar, only releasing my hand when the bright hotel lights assault my eyes.
Since I share the same surname as Henley and offer a generous tip, the concierge arranges another key for the girls’ room, and when we reach the door, sure enough, Lily frowns at the painting on the wall. “That wasn’t there last night.”
“I think you had the wrong room.”
“Dammit.” She swipes her card and opens the door, calling out to ask if anyone’s in there. “Henley’s not here.” She states the obvious when we’re met with silence. “Looks like a few people got lucky last night.”
“Just not you.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, and Lily gasps before her beautiful laughter fills the air.
“Touché. There’s still time; maybe I’ll meet someone at brunch.”
