Page 6 of When Forever Comes

W smirks and despite his heavy scruff, the dimple on his left cheek peeks out and reminds me of a certain boy I used to know.

“We can’t afford this upgrade!” I can’t contain the distress that’s evident in my voice. As much as I like the idea of sticking it to Brad, this is too much.

“You don’t need to worry about that. This is our way of apologizing for the mix-up,” he says.

I want to protest more, but W has made up his mind. His expression leaves no room for argument. “We really appreciate it,” I say.

“We do,” Dana agrees, then wanders over to the windows.

W watches her for a moment before he turns his attention to me. All thoughts leave my brain. Ocean blue eyes behind rimless glasses hold me captive.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Dana’s back is turned to us, and that she’s oblivious to our stare down.

Part of me is grateful she’s distracted, but another part of me wishes she would see it, so I don’t convince myself later that my imagination fabricated it. Something about W is familiar, but there’s no way I met him before, right? To forget a face like that would be a travesty.

He takes a step toward me. It looks like he’s about to say something, but my question comes out first. “Do I know you?”

My question makes my sister spin on her heel so fast she wobbles on her feet, but she quickly regains her balance.

For some reason, W’s face falls. “No. I don’t think so.” He walks to the elevator. “If there is nothing else, I will let you get back to your vacation.” Before leaving, he turns to Dana, not sparing me another glance. “If there is anything you need, phone the concierge and they will get it for you. Thank you for choosing The Golden Shores.” He steps onto the elevator, pulling the luggage cart with him, and vanishes behind the doors.

“Where in the world did you hear that pickup line?” Dana asks. “That was seriously worse than ‘I lost my phone number. Can I have yours?’” She says the line in an obnoxiously deep masculine voice.

“Doesn’t he look familiar to you?”

“Yeah, from my dreams! He’s like six foot four and chiseled to the bone!”

I hold back a laugh. “Chiseled to the bone? What does that even mean?”

She releases an exasperated huff. “It means he’s built like a bodybuilder. And not like the kind on steroids, but the all-natural ones.”

“He was wearing a suit.”

She deadpans, “You mean you couldn’t make out the flex of those muscles when he unloaded our cart?”

“I wasn’t ogling him. Unlike you.”

Her mouth drops open, and she places a hand over her chest in mock offense. “How dare you! I wasn’t ogling him…” She smirks. “I was admiring him.”

“Same thing, in this case.”

“W,” I test his name—or more accurately, letter—on my tongue. “What does W stand for? No one is just named a letter.”

“It’s not the most common way to name a baby, but there are other people on the planet with only a letter for a name. It’s also a direction on a compass. Maybe that’s what you’re thinking of.”

“No.” I’m convinced I know him. There’s something overtly obvious that’s on the edge of my brain, just out of reach.

“Whatever, since he works here I’m sure you’ll have an opportunity to ask him about it.” Dana winks before picking up her suitcase and hauling it into the closest bedroom.

I grab mine and choose the other bedroom, located just down the hall. It’s all gray, black, and chic. It even smells masculine, like cologne, not a cleaning product or air freshener. It’s a familiar scent, too.

I drop my bag on the California King bed’s charcoal gray duvet. The bed faces the large picture window, revealing another slice of the beach. The pillows are fluffed and propped against the silver headboard. A Bible rests on the nightstand, but it doesn’t look like a hotel Bible. Not with the worn binding and multiple bookmarks. Suddenly I feel like I’m in someone else’s home and not a hotel room.

“Hey! Come out here!” my sister calls from somewhere else in the penthouse.

I follow the sound of her voice and end up in the massive kitchen.

“We’re in someone else’s penthouse.” She opens a cupboard, its shelves full of various protein powders and supplements. “No resort or hotel room keeps these stocked. And look at this.” She opens another cupboard, revealing canned vegetables.

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