Page 34 of Resisting You
As much as I wanted her to, I didn’t think Rosa called her parents last night. It was silent behind that closed door after my awkward declaration that if she wanted to kiss,shehad to initiate it.
Why the hell did I say that? It was a stupid whim of trying to be chivalrous. And now, I had no choice but to stick to it. Even if she clearly wants me to kiss her… like she did last night.
I left through the back freight elevator like I always did when I wanted to avoid being seen by people and started my five mile run.
Normally, I hated running. In a city like New York, running outside was a pain in the ass. You were always spotted by people who recognized you and who were snapping terrible photos of you. Add to that, it was constantly stop and go with the stoplights, foot traffic, and crosswalks. Running in Central Park was pretty decent, but nothing like running the trails here in Maple Grove with a view of the clearest, most beautiful lake on the entire east coast.
I shaved a full three minutes off of my running time, finishing the five miles in 34 minutes.
Sweaty as hell, I slipped into the back of the Maple Grove Inn and punched the button on the freight elevator for the top floor just as my phone rang.
I pulled it out of my shorts pocket and found a Facetime from Kristen. She was quite easily the last person I wanted to talk to,but I couldn’t avoid her forever. I had texted her last night that Rosa and I were going to be staying happily married…
Then I promptly turned my phone off.
Guess it was time to face the music.
But maybe first I could at least take a shower and have a cup of coffee.
As the elevator doors slid open, I hit the red button with an x on it on my phone screen.
“Ignoring me, I see.”
I nearly jumped out of my fucking running shorts as I almost walked right into Kristen, standing outside my hotel room.
“Uhhh… hey, Kristen,” I said as casually as I could. “I just got done with my run. I was just going to call you back after my shower.”
One dark eyebrow arched just the slightest. Foregoing her usual bun, instead her hair fell in a sleek, straight sheet of silver down to her shoulders. “Oh, really? Funny. I’ve heard that—or some semblance of that—before. Only to be ghosted by you.”
Goddammit.
But she wasn’t wrong.
I juggled the keycard to the hotel room in one hand, while slipping my phone back into my pocket as I unlocked the door to my room. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“Well, the morning of your sister’s wedding when I heard about your little elopement, I figured you would need me. So I booked the last available room here.”
I swallowed my groan. She was one of the reasons why Rosa couldn’t book a room here. Kristen paused, looking around the hallway of the Maple Grove Inn as though it was a dumpy motel and not the charming, five-star historic inn that it was.
“Well…” I said, opening the door to my hotel room. “Thanks for coming all the way up here, but I think we’ve got it handled.”
“Oh, you do?”
In the kitchenette, my eyes immediately locked with Rosa’s as she stood there with a freshly brewed mug of coffee in hand, dressed only in tiny, cotton shorts and a tank top. She looked even more shocked as I felt, her eyes locked onto Kristen.
Fuck me.
“Rosa, this is my publicist, Kristen. Kristen, this is Rosa… my wife.”
A smile twitched at Kristen’s mouth. She wasn’t an unkind person. She was just all business, all the time. There was a difference.
Kristen stepped forward, offering Rosa her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Officially.”
Rosa smiled shyly, tucking her dark, curly hair behind her ear before taking Kristen’s hand. “Likewise.”
“Can I get you anything, Kristen? Coffee? Tea?”
“Nothing for me, thanks.”
