Page 7 of Villainous Summer

People fell in love and fell apart in hotel rooms. Made love and mourned the loss of it.

Hotels were my refuge.

Until Cory, with my clone on his arm, strolled in, tainting the once-cozy two-hundred-twenty-square-foot lobby.

I cursed the quaint setup.

Faint beeping on the door code rang to the right of me as Angie returned from her lunch break to take over the desk.

Kodi let out a tinkly laugh and swatted at Cory’s arm. She was smaller than I expected, a delicate thing, with bone-thin wrists and what had to be size-five shoes.

I flexed my own size tens and frowned.

Her hair was exactly like mine. It was bizarre. Standing beside one another, they looked more like siblings than a couple.

My jaw tight, I moved to my office to avoid his sight.

No such luck.

Cory stopped, his smile faltering. He wore a blue-and-pink striped button-down tucked into pressed chinos. His hair perfectly gelled into a hard helmet. His brown eyes narrowed suspiciously, as if I were the one intruding on him.

He knew where I worked. What kind of idiot would come in here?

In the corner, Angie was setting her purse down to fish through it. My feet tingled with the need to step to the left and avoid Cory.

My ingrained professional training forced me to pull the corners of my mouth up in what should have been a smile but was more of a grimace.

“Welcome to The Ridgewood Inn. Checking in? Angie here can help you.”

Angie, ducked on the floor with her purse, was still searching for something. What on earth it could be, I had no idea, but heat climbed my neck as I tried not to glare at her.

Kodi bounded up to the desk and set her left hand on the marble. Under the overhead chandelier, her diamond ring cast rainbows around us.

“We’re here to see the wedding planner—um, Ingrid something?”

“Imogen,” I snapped, then recovered with a placating smile. “She is finishing up with other business now, but if you’d like to head to the bar, Neil can take care of you while you wait. Complimentary, of course.”

Kodi shot Cory a look and frowned. “So, she’s not ready for us? That’s not a good look for a prospective client.”

You’re ten minutes early and getting a free drink, lady.

Not that I needed any reason not to like her, but I wanted to think she was some sweet girl being taken advantage of by Cory. But having an attitude about my staff was going to piss me off.

“Free drinks are my favorite drinks,” Cory said with that cocky grin I used to find charming.

“I suppose we have some time,” she huffed, as if it were an imposition. “One drink, but if she’s not here on time, we’re leaving.”

Good riddance.

As they turned away, Cory rested his hand on Kodi’s elbow, steering her.

Seeing the familiar gesture made my stomach roll.

Leaving Angie at the desk, I retreated into my office to message the bar about the comp.

Then I brought up the thread with Autumn.

Summer: I need you to drop the sea cucumber you’re currently nursing back to health and meet me at the apartment at 5. This is a threat-level chartreuse.

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