Page 56 of Five Days to Be Mine

I feel stupid because her nail caught the top of my wrist, but that little scratch floods me with anxiety. Her nails are beautifully manicured, not even fake nails and yet, I still reacted as if she tore skin off of me.

“Evan, I’m so sorry. I didn't mean to catch you.” Mara's light touch on my waist brings me back to the moment.

“I know.” I kiss her quickly. “Go get ready.”

She gives me a puzzled look but brushes by me, her fingertips touching mine in reassurance.

You’re okay, I tell myself. I know I'm going to have to tell Mara about my monster of an ex—Hannah—but it’s not a conversation I look forward to having.

But if I want more than five days with Mara, and I do, then I need to air the dirty laundry.

From the same drawer, I found the key, I take out some ointment and squirt it on the scratch.

Mara didn’t even draw blood but I hate the feeling of a nail on my skin and putting the ointment on makes me feel better, emotionally.

“I’m ready.”

“Let’s go, princess.” I smile, even though I still feel jittery and with my hand on the small of her back, I lead us out into the hallway, to the elevators.

In the elevator, I press the button and a short ride later, the doors open to the main lobby of the Hugo Hotel.

It’s a typical weekday morning. The patrons of the hotel are with men in suits, women in dresses and everything in between, including a man walking six yapping puppies out the door.

There’s a parrot on an elderly man’s shoulder that’s squawking loudly.

Nina, the head receptionist, waves at me as I catch her eye.

“You live in a hotel,” Mara stops and shakes her head.

“I thought you knew that.” Her bewilderment makes me grin like a fool.

She glances at me sharply. “I mean, I did, yes, but it’s a little much to take in, you know?”

“You get used to it,” I tell her, guiding her past a crowd of women holding tennis rackets.

Outside, there is a little sunshine and a slight chill in the February air, but Mara relaxes, grabs my hand as I walk her to the car.

“Evan, are you sure you want me to drive this?”

“I’d rather drive you myself but I need to take this meeting.” It’s with a wine rep from the valley.

“I don’t want you to miss your meeting.” Mara squares her shoulders.

“It’s just a car.”

Okay, the words hurt a little as I said that about my Audi A4 Prestige.

Mara cocks her head to the side. “Do you let your brothers drive it?”

“Noel and Theo have.” I slide my hands in my pockets. “Hunter…no. We try to keep him away from things with power.”

She laughs. “Younger brother, right?”

“Yeah.”

Hunter is a bit of a maverick and there was that one time when we were growing up that he crashed my first ever car.

“You have to tell me more about them.”

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