Page 41 of Moonlit Colorado

“No, you won’t.”

“I can afford it. I don’t need charity.”

“No offense, but I don’t need your money. I take care of my friends.” I tapped the steering wheel with my thumb. “I do think you should tell Ashford about what happened, though. Before he hears it from someone else.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Not unless I have your permission. But whenever he hears it, he’s going to be worried, and there’s nothing you can do about that. He loves you.”

She sighed. “Ashford and Emma have been through enough. I don’t want to add to it.”

“I doubt they’d see it that way.”

Ashford had told me about how Emma was hurt last year by someone they’d all trusted. From what I understood, that person had been a friend of Grace’s too. I was glad the attacker was dead and wouldn’t hurt any of the O’Neals again.

“But you’re right,” she said. “I’ll call Ashford tomorrow. I’m exhausted.”

“Let’s get you settled and comfortable, then.”

When we reached the resort, I parked in my reserved space beside the hotel and grabbed her things from the backseat.

“You plan to read this many books tonight?” I asked.

“I’ve got my e-reader and laptop in my bag too. Some of it’s for work, some of it’s for pleasure. And I never know what reading mood I’ll be in.”

I smiled. “Got it.”

We walked together into the lobby. There was a low hum of activity tonight, the sound of people talking and dishes clinking coming from the restaurant. But this was practically dead compared to how busy it had been the night of the grand-opening party. The last time Grace had been here.

Tobin spotted me and came out from behind the desk. “Evening, sir. Here’s the extra key you requested. The dinner you ordered should be up in a few.”

“Thanks, Tobin. Ms. O’Neal will be staying here a few days. Can you give her your direct number? And take care of anything she asks for?”

“It’s one day,” Grace corrected, accepting the business card that Tobin handed her. “I’ll be out of your hair in the morning.”

I shrugged. “We’ll see. You might like it so much here you decide to stay longer, and you’re welcome to. The owner is a generous guy.”

That earned me a faint smile.

I nodded toward the elevators, carrying her bag. The car opened as soon as I pushed the up arrow. We stepped inside, and I waved the keycard to get the elevator moving.

“What room number am I in?” Grace asked.

“701.”

She blinked at me. “Yourroom?”

So she remembered. “My suite. It actually has three bedrooms. I’m only using one of them. If you don’t feel comfortable, I can make other arrangements. You said you wanted space, but…” I considered my words carefully. “If you need anything while you’re here, I’d like to be close enough to anticipate it. Since I have the feeling you won’t ask for it yourself.”

I expected some kind of pushback. The woman had been skittish around me from the first moment we’d met.

But instead, a hundred pounds of tension seem to melt away from her shoulders. “Thank you. That sounds pretty nice.”

“So you’re willing to trust me? At least for tonight?”

“I guess I am.”

I held out the keycard to my suite. “I did give you one of these already, but I’m assuming you got rid of it.”

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