Page 75 of Forty, Flirty & Fall Inn

"Sage?Is that you, dear?"

"Hi, Mrs.Henderson."My voice comes out squeaky."Just heading to bed."

Her eyes slide to Luke, and her expression shifts to one of delighted scandal."Oh!Mr.Sterling!How lovely to see you again."

"Mrs.Henderson," he nods, looking remarkably composed for someone about to follow me into my bedroom.

"Will you be staying the night?"She asks this with all the innocence of a fox in a henhouse."I could prepare a room..."

"That won't be necessary," I say quickly, my brain scrambling."Luke was just...inspecting.The security system.At night.For...optimal conditions."

"Optimal conditions," she repeats, her smile widening to Cheshire cat proportions."Of course.Well, don't let me keep you from your...inspection."

She disappears back into her room, but I definitely hear giggling.

"Optimal conditions?"Luke asks as I fumble with my keys, my hands shaking.

"Shut up.I panicked."The door finally opens, and I pull him inside."Quick, before she comes back with questions about our inspection methods."

I flick on the lights and immediately wish I hadn't.

My suite is a disaster.

Laptops everywhere.Sticky notes covering one wall like I'm planning a heist.And what appears to be a coffee cup graveyard on every surface.

"Sorry about the mess," I say, suddenly seeing it through his eyes."I wasn't expecting...this."

"This?"

"You.Here.In my space.It's not very CEO-friendly."

"Good thing I'm not a very typical CEO.”

"No," I agree, stepping closer, drawn by some magnetic force."You're not."

We stand there, the weight of the moment settling over us.

He just told me about his ex-wife, about betrayal that cut so deep it changed him.

And here I am, having lied to him from day one about why he's here.

The guilt threatens to choke me, but then he looks at me with those blue eyes, vulnerable and wanting, and I push it down.

Tomorrow.

I'll tell him tomorrow.

"We don't have to—" I start.

"I want to," he interrupts."God, I want to.I just..."

"Haven't done this in a while?"

"Haven't done this since her.I mean, there’s been…”

“Copulation?Intercourse?”

“Jesus, woman, do you think I’m incapable of speaking like a human being?”He grins, and the expression is gorgeous on his handsome face.“Yes.Sex.”The admission is raw, honest."There have been...attempts at romance.Dates.But nothing that got this far."