Page 25 of Mr. February

Wade detailed a series of security steps to increase her comfort level in the shared space. He lent her the travel door lock he intended for his own room even though she trusted him.

He meant well, but it was a little insulting. On the one hand, there’s no visible marker for who’s a sexual predator and who isn’t, so she appreciated his concern. On the other hand, she spent the elevator ride wrapped up in fantasies of them sharing the suite the way they insinuated to Suzanne.

Jenny’s smile cost her. He clearly felt none of the attraction she did, or he wouldn’t have gone to so much effort to reassure her he wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole and a letter from the Pope. Her inner voice was more sarcastic than the words she let pass her lips, but she was close to letting it all out.

Jenny’s body reacted to being near Wade and smelling his light cologne. He was only a little taller than her. When he handed her the lock and explained it, her skin prickled. She wouldn’t even have to go up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“They might have a different option in the hotel gift shop if this one—“ he droned on about the damned lock. It wasn’t that complicated.

“No, it’s fine, Wade,” she interrupted. “I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t. You don’t know me. Not really. You can never be too careful.”

“I know; you’re right. Thank you for caring.” Jenny’s smile was brittle, and she needed some time to re-center herself before she’d be able to pretend his rejection didn’t sting. “Do we havetime to rest up before we check in for the conference, or is that something we should do immediately?”

Wade consulted his smart watch. “We have a couple of hours before things start, but it will get much busier the closer we get to the plenary session. Plus, the off-site events might be full if we wait too long, which would be a shame.”

He looked at her then and waited for her to respond rather than telling her what to do. Even in her frustration, she appreciated that. Acknowledging how different he was from any man she’d dated—not that they were dating, he made that very clear!—helped release a little more of her stupid angst.

Wade wasn’t the first guy to be uninterested in her as a woman, and he wouldn’t be the last. She shouldn’t have let Gloria convince her otherwise. Now things had the potential to be awkward between them.

Screw that. She wasn’t going to let herself feel down about this. Not only were there plenty of fish in the sea, but she was having an adventure. There were off-site events to explore; restaurants to hop, whatever that meant; and new experiences to enjoy.

She’d revel in the luxury of a posh suite with a polite roommate and stop crying about what might have been. She might splurge on a massage.

“Okay, what about this,” she said. “I need about five minutes to freshen up, and then we can head downstairs, check in, and figure out what we want to do from there. How’s that sound?”

“We don’t have to rush off quite as soon as that. I’m going to check in with the office to let them know that we’ve arrived if you want to call Gloria or anybody else. Would fifteen minutes be enough time?”

“That’s perfect.”

“Okay, fifteen minutes then. Sorry for rushing you; I don’t want you to miss out on any of the cool stuff. Some of the thingshere will no doubt bore you, but I think there will be plenty to keep you occupied.”

Jenny’s smile softened. Why did he have to be so damned considerate? Didn’t he know that just made him even more appealing?

“Thanks, Wade. That’s thoughtful of you.”

His cheeks flushed above his beard, and he awkwardly adjusted his glasses.

“Well, uh, see you soon.”

They separated and went to their respective rooms. Wade had graciously allowed her to pick, and she chose the room with a beautiful view of the winter weather outside.

After Jenny flopped on her bed, she engaged in a tiny pity party. For five minutes, she’d allow herself to wallow, but then it would be time to move on. She made it a priority to choose happiness. That meant she didn’t let herself focus on the negatives in her life for long if there was nothing she could change.

Of course, that also led to dating shitweasels like Chad, but one thing at a time.

Before she could fall too far down the rabbit hole of feeling sorry for herself, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She steeled herself to answer.

“Well?” Gloria demanded without so much as a ‘hello.’

“We just got checked into our room,” Jenny said with forced cheerfulness.

“What’s your room like? Never mind. I don’t care about that. Why were you acting so weird earlier? Wait a second. Did you say our room?”

“Oh, Gloria,” Jenny moaned. “It’s awful.”

“What’s wrong? Whose ass do I need to kick?”

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