Boycotts and Barflies (36 page)

The manager quickly agreed and said he’d escort Mark off the floor himself. Michael and Ryan came back into her view and were deep in conversationwhen Grace moved away from the peephole and sat down on the floor by the door.

“Wel , I guess they took care of everything. Are you all right?” Grace realized

she had no idea what Mark had said to Meg earlier.

“Yeah, he was just telling me that he liked my dress and he wanted to come in

and hang out with us. What a creeper. Oh, hi, Ryan. Grace, I gotta go.”

There was a noise outside the door. Shit, Michael’s coming! She tried to

scramble to her feet and run to the bed so he wouldn’t know what she had

been up to, but the door opened just as she started to get up. Michael stood in

the doorway with his hands on his hips, towering over her.

“Hi, honey.” She waved from the floor, smiling.

“What part of ‘don’t move an  inch’ did you have trouble with?” he asked with a

scowl on his face.

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“Oh, get a grip.” Grace rolled her eyes. “I was perfectly safe on the other side of  this door. I just wanted to hear you and Ryan lay into the jackass. So, is he  gone?” Lamely she tried to change the subject.

He held his hand out and helped her to her feet. “Yes, he’s gone. Hopefully fired.

Even so, Ryan and I don’t want you girls in a room alone. He’s worked here for a few months and he could have a master key. So you have a choice, either I stay in here with you or Ryan does. Who would you prefer?”

This wasn’t a lame ploy to get Grace alone; his concern was genuine, and he made it clear that he would do whatever made her more comfortable.

Without hesitation, Grace blurted out, “You, of course. That is, as long as you don’t snore.” She giggled, remembering the horrific noises Jack made when he slept.

“I can assure you I don’t snore.” He turned and headed for the door. “I’m going to go get my suitcase and I’ll be right back. Stay put!”

Grace saluted him like a good little soldier and lay back on the bed, butterflies erupting in her stomach at the thought of spending the whole night alone, with  Michael … and a bed.

There was a knock on the door, and Meg was standing there, waiting to claim her clothes. She skipped in, grinning from ear to ear, and quickly packed a pair of pajamas and a change of clothes. She went in the bathroom and gathered her toiletries before springing onto the bed next to Grace. “You two kids have fun tonight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a giggle.

“Yeah, don’t worry. I have every intention of still being in the bet come the morning, Meg. I’ll sleep in the bathroom with the door locked if I have to, but  I’ll behave myself,” Grace boasted, hoping she would have the strength to actually do it if necessary. Silently she prayed that Meg would be the one to cave and by morning, the whole bet would finally be over.

Meg grinned and kissed Grace on the cheek. “Love you! Sleep  well!” she said with a wink as she ran out the door.

Grace began busying herself in the room, trying to kill time until Michael returned. She was about to pick out a movie when the hotel room phone rang. “Hello?” she said, assuming it was Michael calling from across the hall.

“Oh, um, hello, Mrs. Andris? This is David from the front desk. Is your husband there?” the man asked nervously.

Not feeling like launching into an awkward explanation of the fact that she and  Michael weren’t married and really not even technically dating, she just 279

went with it. “Um, Michael isn’t here right now. Can I take a message?” She

scrambled to find the pen and notepad by the phone.

“Yes, please let him know that the gentleman who was harassing you and your

friend has been escorted off the property, and I wanted to apologize for any

distress he may have caused you. If Mr. Andris has any questions, he can  contact me anytime. I’ll be here all night.” Just as David finished his apology,  Michael walked in the door wearing a tight gray T- shirt and black sweatpants,  holding a small suitcase in his hand and looking absolutely edible.

“Hang on, David; he just walked in the door.” Grace held the phone out to him  and said, “The front desk.”

With a curious expression, he took the phone and put it to his ear as he stood  next to the bed. “Hello?” He listened as David introduced himself. A second

later his eyebrows shot up and he looked at Grace, grinning. “I’m sorry, you

were telling my wife, what?”

Oh, hell . Her cheeks turned bright red and she tried to distract herself by

flipping through the movies on the television until he was done talking.

He mumbled a few words of thanks to the manager, and then said loudly, “I

don’t know, let me ask my wife.” He turned toward Grace with a raised

eyebrow.

“Oh, wife, David would like to know if you’re hungry. He’d be happy to send up

some room service for us so we can have a private dinner in our room. What

should I tell him?”

Her grumbling stomach answered for her. “Tell him your beautiful bride is starving and that would be lovely, dear.”

He shook his head, laughing, and thanked David for his generosity before hanging up the phone.

Feeling the inquisition coming about the ‘wife’ thing, Grace kept her eyes on the carpet. As a last ditch effort to avoid the topic, she started rambling about the first thing that popped into her head. “What movie do you want to watch? Meg and I were going to watch one before we were interrupted. You in the mood for a comedy, drama, or horror?” She stared at the television and stretched out on her stomach, moving her head to the foot of the bed.

The mattress dipped under Michael’s weight as he crawled onto the bed next to her. “I’ll watch whatever my dear wife wants to watch. Isn’t that what good husbands do?” He reached out and brushed her long black waves over her shoulders and then ran his hand down her back.

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“OK, so he called me Mrs. Andris, and rather than explain everything … I … I  just went with it. I’m sorry I forgot to warn you.” Grace didn’t know how he  would react to the whole marriage thing, and she didn’t want him thinking she  was some psychotic woman, alrea dy shopping for a wedding dress.

His silence only made her more flustered by the second.

He sat there and smirked while Grace continued to flounder, trying to make a coherent sentence. “Relax, Grace. I was only teasing you. Of course, if you’re ready to tie the knot, I’m sure we could get Ryan online and have him become a minister and make it legal by dawn, Mrs. Andris. I don’t think that would break any of the rules of the bet, do you?” The look on his face was absolutely sinful. “Yeah, but I think Liz and Susan would kill us if they didn’t get to plan the wedding and drive us crazy.” She laughed at the thought of the two of them running around making wedding plans. What the hell am I thinking about marriage for? Shouldn’t we go on a date first? Snap out of it, Grace.

Michael leaned over, his face only inches from hers. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “You’re right. When we get married, we should let them have their fun.” When we get married? Did he just say when? I must still be buzzed from all those drinks; that’s the only explanation that makes sense. Breathe, Grace, breathe …

“How about we go on a date before we get married, there, lover boy?” she murmured, trying to calm her heart which was currently trying to leap out of her chest.

He sighed. “If you insist.”

Grace scanned the movies until she found the perfect show. “Can we watch this one? I love this movie,” she said as she began hopping up and down on her knees on top of the bed.

“Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Sure. Seems appropriate, considering the

day we’ve had. Now can you please stop bouncing before I throw up?” With a

playful gleam in his eye, he tackled her back onto the bed.

With Grace happily trapped beneath him, Michael started kissing her neck as

she squealed in delight. Soon, she wasn’t laughing anymore, though; she was

enjoying the sensation of his heated lips on her skin way too much. A game that

started playfully had turned into something hot and dangerous. Her hands ran

down his sides, settling on his hips.  She gave him a shove and took off for the

bathroom, gasping for breath.

“Shower!” She gasped as she leaned against the wall, trying to breathe.

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“Are you asking me to join you in the shower?” Michael stalked closer with a

mischievous grin on his face.

“No! You stay. I’ll shower. Set up the movie.” Grace retreated into the bathroom

and slammed the door shut, hiding from the sexy man in the other room. She

turned on the shower and drowned out the sound of his laughter as the steam  filled the bathroom. The leggings were stripped from her legs first, followed by  Michael’s shirt. She laid them on the counter with her underwear, which she  decided to simply wash in the sink.

Steam filled the bathroom, and when she could hardly see where she was  going, Grace slipped into the shower, leisurely lathering her hair with the  coconut shampoo the hotel provided. It smelled good as she rinsed the bubbles  from her hair, making her think of the beach or the tropics. Quickly, she  washed her body and conditioned her hair. When her stomach growled, Grace  decided shower time was over and it was time to brave some more one-on-one

time with Michael. She was hopeful that the room service had come while she  was showering and she could eat soon.

With the water off, Grace grabbed two fluffy towels. One, she wrapped around  her hair and spun into a pile on top of her head. The other she used to dry her  arms and legs before wrapping it around her body.

Crap, no clothes, Grace thought as she took a deep breath and opened the door  a crack. “Michael, can I borrow some more clothes?” There was a rustling

sound then she heard him hop off the bed and head in her direction.

He stopped and admired her revealing outfit through the crack of the opening,  then pushed open the door and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re toasty  warm, aren’t you?” he asked as he kissed her bare shoulder.

“I am. But right now, I need clothes. Can I borrow a shirt, please?” Without  hesitation, Michael smiled and headed back to his suitcase, but before he could  open it, Grace stepped out of the bathroom and stopped him. “Wait, I already  know which one I want, if you don’t mind.” Grace went right up to him and  tugged on the hem of the gray T-shirt he was wearing.

“Sweetheart, I have a ton of clean shirts in here.” He motioned to the suitcase at  his feet.

“But this one will smell like you; those won’t.”

Unable to resist her sexy little pout, he lifted the bottom of the shirt over his  head, exposing his bare chest to an already aroused Grace.

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God, he’s stunning, she thought as he came closer.

“Here you go. Is there anything else you’d like me to take off? Just let me know,

I’d be happy to oblige,” he said as he draped the shirt around her neck then tugged on the side of her towel.

Grace broke out in goose bumps at his gentle touch. “No, nothing else off your body, but I do need some shorts or underwear.” He quickly went to his suitcase and rummaged through it for something she could borrow.

With a pile of clothes in hand, Grace slipped back into the bathroom to get dressed. There was a knock at the door, and she prayed it was room service and not another lunatic stalking them. When she heard the cart rolling in, she quickly finished getting dressed and brushed her hair. After a quick once over in the mirror and checking to make sure the T-shirt covered her ass as it barely hung above her mid thigh, she walked back into the bedroom.

The gentleman from room service said, “I hope you and your wife have a lovely dinner.” Grace couldn’t help but snicker.

When she finally came out of the bathroom, she was blown away by the elaborate dinner, complete with a bottle of wine, salad, two steaks with potatoes, and an entire dessert sampler tray. There was even a vase full of flowers in the center of all the food. “Holy cow!” she mumbled as she peered under each of the lids, her mouth watering. “He sent up all this food? I would have been happy with a burger and fries. Apology accepted, David.”

Making herself at home, Grace sat down at the table and started cutting her steak while Michael poured the wine. It was the most delicious steak she had ever eaten, cooked to perfection. She didn’t realize how hungry she was until she finished off her potatoes and started eating a few off of Michael’s plate. After dinner, Grace was stuffed to the gills and stretched out across the bed, moaning.

Michael threw a pillow at her head and said something about her eyes being bigger than her stomach.

“Start the movie while I digest. I need to make room for that desert tray.”

She eyed the mountain of chocolate mousse with a raspberries on top that  Michael was about to dig into. “Drop the spoon, Mikey, and no one gets hurt.