Page 38 of The Scenic Route
Ronan didn’t look put off by her polite brush-off. In fact, his eyes lit up with gleeful interest. “I’m so happy for you, Green, that you’ve found such a delightful partner.”
Bennett just answered with one of his neutral, could-mean-anything grunts, and Felicity felt for a moment that she should correct Ronan’s misinterpretation of their relationship, but she was tired. Dead tired. The thought of explaining that she was his superior officer in their bounty-hunting army and that she was the daughter of Bennett’s target was just exhausting and confusing, even to her, so she simply smiled.
“You have a room?” Bennett asked. He didn’t seem annoyed, so Felicity assumed he was leaving out more words than usual because of exhaustion.
“For you, my favorite private investigator,” Ronan said, sweeping his arms out in a grand gesture, “only the best.” He moved to have a quiet conversation with the woman behind the counter, and Felicity took the opportunity to give Bennett a sideways look.
“I thought your background check reported that you didn’t have friends.”
“Not a friend,” he muttered, too low for anyone but her to hear. “Did some work for him. That’s all.”
“Seems pretty friendly for a not-friend.”
Bennett actually looked flustered. “He’s like that with everyone. I found out who was stealing from the casino, so he’s just grateful.”
“Mm-hmm.” She had a feeling that he had a lot of not-friends out there who considered themselves to be his actual friends, even if Bennett thought he was alone in the world. Before she could say anything else, Ronan brandished two key cards with a huge smile.
“If my hotel was gauche enough to have a honeymoon suite, this would be it,” Ronan said, looking quite proud of himself as he held out the cards. “Room 1842. Enjoy, my old friend and my new friend.”
Felicity cleared her throat, regretting her decision not to correct him about her and Bennett’s relationship earlier. Now it would be even more awkward to attempt an explanation, so she reached for one of the cards with a glance at Bennett. He, she saw, was looking straight ahead, avoiding any eye contact with her. He’d also gone completely silent, so she dredged up a smile for Ronan.
“Thank you,” she said with honest gratitude. It didn’t matter if the bed was a honeymoon bed used to all sorts of just-married sex. It was guaranteed to be more comfortable than trying to catch a few minutes’ rest in a car. “This is very kind of you.”
Ronan waved his hand dismissively. “Like I said, only the best for Green.” He slapped Bennett on the shoulder.
Bennett, although he’d also accepted a key card, still stared straight ahead as if he was frozen in a block of awkwardness, unable to move a muscle.
A suited older man hovered behind Ronan. “Excuse me, Mr. Fitzgerald? There’s a minor situation on the floor that needs your attention.”
“I’ll be right there, Timothy.” Ronan offered them an apologetic grimace before giving Bennett a quick, back-slapping hug and then kissing each of Felicity’s cheeks. She’d always hated the double-cheek kiss, since she worried about going the wrong direction and ending up with full lip action with a near stranger, so she just stood still and let Ronan do his thing. “Very nice to see you, Green, and wonderful to meet you, Felicity Pax. Come see me if you need anything.”
With a final wave, Ronan left the lobby with a stressed-looking Timothy, leaving Felicity feeling a bit shell-shocked and more tired than she’d ever been in her life. She didn’t even know if she’d make it to the elevator.
“I feel like asking a bellhop if they can push me to our room on a luggage rack,” she said wistfully, thinking of all the lucky luggage that got a wheeled ride to the hotel room.
Bennett gave a choke of laughter that sounded a bit strangled, but Felicity figured he was still working on coming out of his awkwardness paralysis. Dredging up all her last energy reserves, she turned toward the elevators, catching his hand on the way.
“C’mon.” She tugged until his feet unstuck from the floor. “Let’s go before I curl up under the reception counter and sleep there.”
“Waste of a hon—uh…waste of a bed.”
Bennett’s utter mortification made her laugh huskily as she hauled him onto the elevator just opening its door. She stabbed the button for the eighteenth floor and then leaned back against the elevator wall.
“Everything here is gorgeous and lavish and worth goggling over,” she sighed, her eyes closing of their own volition. “I just can’t do it right now though. Too tired. We’ll have to come back sometime we’re not chasing a skip across the country.”
Bennett’s grunt had a surprised overtone, and Felicity opened one eye to look at him.
“Oh sorry.” For a second, she’d forgotten that they weren’t dating, weren’t even friends really—even less than Bennett and Ronan were not-friends. “Didn’t mean to imply…whatever I just implied.” Honestly, she was too tired to be tactful.
He gave a tight shake of his head, which could mean anything, so Felicity took it as forgiveness for her—as Ronan put it—gaucheness and closed her eyes again.
“Felicity.” His deep voice brought her out of her daze. “Wake up. We’re almost to the room.”
Drowsily, she followed him off the elevator and into what was much too fancy to be called a hallway. A foyer, maybe? It was Bennett’s turn to grab her hand and tow her to a door. He touched his key card to the reader, opening the door when a green light flashed.
The final bit of consciousness still functioning in Felicity’s brain was awed by the suite. It was enormous and open, the sitting and sleeping areas defined by the furniture rather thanwalls. The high ceiling arched above them, giving the room cathedral vibes. Everything was beautiful and lush and screamed expensive taste, making her small suitcase someone had brought up along with Bennett’s look a bit tattered. The bed was overwhelming because there was only one of it, but it was so oversize Felicity felt fairly confident they could both sleep in it without ever making contact that might lead to awkwardness.
“Shower,” Bennett said in an abrupt way that she would’ve taken as an insult to her state of personal hygiene if she hadn’t known him. “I’ll order room service. Want anything special?”
