Page 33 of Not As Advertised

Just as quickly as his hand appeared, it was gone again. I gave him what I hoped looked like a sane smile before sliding into my room.

Once inside, I tried to calm the rapid beating of my heart. I took a few deep breaths and tried to make sense of what had just happened.

His whispered compliment had taken me completely by surprise. If there was one thing I knew about Aiden, it was that he conducted himself with the utmost professionalism, without exception.

Why would he break that rule just to say those words to me?

I flopped onto the bed, creasing the satin of my fancy dress without a care. Placing my palm over her heart, I felt it pound in a way it shouldn’t after only a few words. Because of my attraction to him, he held such power over me. I knew I was in trouble if I let myself fall for him.

I would have to find a way to bring things back in line tomorrow. There was no other option other than to pretend that the moment hadn’t happened and keep as much distance between us as possible. It was going to be tough for the final days of the trip, but I had overcome harder moments than this.

Seated on the bed back in my room, I stared at the inner door that separated my room from Abbie’s. Stone-cold sober, I couldn’t blame alcohol for the utterly irresponsible things I wanted to do at that moment. I wasn’t sure if two locked doors were enough to keep me away from her.

Something broke my restraint tonight. I didn’t know if it was the interested glances two of the men at our table kept throwing Abbie’s way. It could have been how, only hours away from Amado, LA felt like a different version of the world, one where I could take Abbie to dinner and not worry about the consequences.

Or it might just have been that damn dress that snapped my control that had been weakening ever since she fell asleep on my shoulder on the plane. Had that only been three days ago? It felt like I’d been reining myself in for a lifetime already.

I picked up my phone to text her an apology for the way I had behaved just now. I never put my hands on a woman uninvited. I respected Abbie too much to behave so unprofessionally, and I needed to own up to that. I texted her before I could stop myself.

Aiden

I need you to keep the joined door between our rooms locked.

Goddamn it. My fingers had a mind of their own. She didn’t make me wait for a reply.

Abbie

What? Why?

Aiden

Because I might unlock my side and I need you to be the responsible one here and not answer if I knock. You looked too beautiful to resist tonight.

HR manuals worldwide were screaming in horror. I was sure Linda’s office back at Appealhad spontaneously burst into flames. I thought of Abbie’s breath catching when my hand made contact with hers at her door. And the tiny shiver that ran through her body when I’d whispered in her ear. The scene played itself over and over in my mind until I was going insane.

Abbie

What if I don’t want to keep it locked?

Aiden

Keep it locked, Abbie. Please.

Throwing my phone onto the comforter, I pushed myself up and forced my body to move into the bathroom. I’d take a shower and lecture myself on all the ways I’d already screwed up tonight.

I made it to midnight before I unlocked my side of the door.

I’d lain in the dark for an hour, staring up at the ceiling. The room was dimly lit by the city lights of LA.

Abbie had not replied to my last text. As soon as I’d gotten out of the shower, I hadn’t been able to resist picking up my phone. I had only allowed myself to check it one time before shutting it off for the night. There would be no sleep for me if I left it on.

Despite knowing I’d made the stupidest mistake since my early teenage years, when I’d let impulse rule my life, the connecting door called to me. I knew I had to check her door. Just once.

My footsteps were soundless as I closed the short distance between the bed and the door.

The scrape of the dead bolt boomed through the silence of my room. I struggled to turn the doorknob, which felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

What if her door was locked? I’d have a shitstorm of unknown proportions on my hands.

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