Page 19 of Love’s a Script (Hearts Collide #1)

Chapter Nineteen

“Having fun?” the Arizona couple asked Ruben when he returned to the table after a stiff round of dancing with Bethany. They’d exchanged contact information, but Ruben wasn’t sure there was much there.

“It’s certainly an evening,” he replied, retaking his seat.

He nibbled at the remaining dessert on his plate, scanning the room for Mary. He was sure she would have questions about the unofficial date. But ten minutes lapsed, and her seat was still vacant, so he asked the chatty couple, “Did you see where Mary went?”

“Oh, she called it a night,” Jillian said. “Poor thing seemed tired.”

“It’s been a long weekend,” he replied, already strategizing his exit. There was nothing else keeping him in the dining room, and he had a long drive tomorrow. He drained the last of the water from his glass and said goodbye to Jillian and Allen.

“It was nice meeting you,” Jillian said. “Let us know if you’re ever down in Arizona!”

Ruben rode the elevator up to his floor, and a mild case of melancholy came over him when he realized he and Mary had would soon revert to their roles as client and matchmaker. Then again, it was probably for the best, considering his attraction to her.

When Ruben arrived at the hotel room, he eased the door open, treading lightly in case Mary was asleep. But Mary was very much awake, and Ruben halted upon seeing her. She was still in her dress, reaching for something on her back as she craned for a look in the full-length mirror.

Mary froze when she finally noticed him. “My zipper is stuck,” she explained, slightly out of breath.

“Oh,” he said, stepping forward. “Can I help?”

“Please,” she said, presenting her back to him.

Ruben settled behind her, and making sure not to touch her unnecessarily, he reached for the tab and pulled. It didn’t budge. He tried again, applying a bit more force, but the results were the same.

“It’s really stuck, isn’t it?” he said.

“Yeah, I almost broke a nail.”

He fell quiet, trying to get a better grip and didn’t anticipate Mary asking, “So what did you think of Bethany?”

“Um, she was nice,” he said, briefly meeting her gaze in the mirror they faced.

“That’s good! And did you like her?”

“I did,” he said distractedly.

“Incredible! So, does that mean?—”

“One second,” Ruben said as he felt the zipper give a little. He pulled at the tab with all the might in his thumb and forefinger, ignoring how the small shiny discs covering Mary’s dress scratched his hand, but his effort was met with no success.

“You got it?” she asked, twisting to look over her shoulder.

“No,” he said, stepping away to consider the dress from a distance. “Did you try taking it off over your head?”

“Yeah, and I can’t pull my arms out.”

“All right,” he said, thinking. “We need to increase the leverage. If you brace yourself, and I hold you, it might help.”

Mary planted her hands on the wall as he put one of his at her waist. He went in for another attempt, and the result was the tab completely breaking off the zipper.

“Dammit,” Ruben said, frustrated at being bested by a sparkly dress.

“It’s all right,” she said. “Thanks for trying.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ll just sleep in it and figure it out in the morning.”

He shook his head. “Not the way you sleep.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, turning to face him.

“You sleep like you’re engaged in hand-to-hand combat.” He imitated her erratic arms.

“Oh, that. Trust me, I know. I was a pariah at sleepovers.” She sighed dramatically. “You karate chop someone’s neck one time…”

He laughed, thrilled by the deadpan delivery. “Okay, let me try one more time,” he said, “so you can avoid Freddy Krueger-ing that beautiful face.”

Mary’s eyes widened, and Ruben registered what he’d said. Earlier in the evening, he’d told her she looked nice. He’d chosen the word intentionally because it was forceless, less revealing. But here he was that same night, straight up calling her beautiful.

Mary didn’t say anything as she resumed her position, and Ruben, with his cheeks on fire, inspected the zipper again.

He now noticed how the teeth of the zipper had snagged on the fabric, so using a pen from the desk, he worked to disrupt the interlocking mechanism at a different point.

It took a lot of wriggling, but he was able to create a tiny gap, and from there, with one solid tug, the two sides of the dress came apart.

“There you go,” he said, taking a healthy step away from her and averting his eyes from her exposed body.

“You did it!” she said and thanked him, smiling. She was a sight to behold with her tousled hair and loosened dress she held up with a hand.

“No problem,” he said, swallowing hard. He should’ve stepped aside to clear her way back to the restroom then, but it was as if he were fixed in place by concrete.

And it appeared she was similarly afflicted.

Lifetimes passed with them standing there but equally no time at all before they joined.

Her arms swung around his neck while his hands splayed across her naked back, pulling her flush to him.

Their lips met in a rush, pressing, skimming, stoking warmth.

A desperate hum crossed her lips to his, settling somewhere in his center, and with the first caress of her tongue, he made a sound of his own. Her leg hooked around his waist, and it was so simple for him to pull the other one along and drag her up to him.

She grabbed the sides of his face, slowing their kiss until it was molten, heavy.

His heart drummed. His hands roamed, trying to absorb the moment, the woman he held.

Her bare skin was soft, her undulating hips a gift.

He forever wanted to feel the heat of her thighs wrapped around him.

She caught his lip between her teeth before soothing the bite with a sweep of her tongue.

“Mary,” he breathed as she dragged her mouth along his jaw, down his neck. He needed to get her on a surface, against a wall, and show her the hard proof of his desire. But a brief commotion outside their hotel room broke the delicate spell they were under.

Mary sharply pulled away from him, out of his arms. “I shouldn’t have—I’m sorry. I?—”

“Mary, it’s all right.” He thought he might’ve shouted that, but he couldn’t know for certain because of the sound of the blood rushing in his ears. Mary backed into the bathroom, and a knot, obstinate and tough, formed in the pit of Ruben’s stomach the moment she shut the door.

He moved to his bed and lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

The kiss had been too brief, but she’d left traces of herself on him.

Her subtly sweet fragrance lingered, as did the inkling of her bite on his lip.

She’d saved them from a big mistake, but still his body clamored and his heart raced.

Ruben didn’t know how much time had lapsed when Mary entered the room again. His heartbeat staggered at the quick eye contact she gave him. “All yours,” she said impassively.

He thanked her and withdrew to the washroom to prepare for bed, emerging only after he’d managed to steady himself.

Mary was completely hidden under her duvet, but he doubted that she was sleeping.

He wanted to say something to make everything less of what it currently was, but words failed him.

So he turned off the lights and got into bed.

He lay in the dark listening to the churning heater until, despite everything, he fell asleep.

In the morning, upon opening his eyes, he reflexively looked over to the other side of the room.

He expected to see her there, but her bed was empty and roughly made.

On top of the stacked pillows was a note written on the hotel room’s stationery: Thank you for sharing your room with me. Safe travels.