Page 2 of Reluctant to Love
“Becca, I really don’t want to hear another one of your placating phrases about company policy. All I want is my goddamn hotel room and if you can’t give me that, then I want my money back and if you’re incapable of doing that, then I want to talk to your fucking manager!”
“What’s the problem?” The masculine voice is familiar and Becca and I both turn our heads at the same time.
Public enemy number one is standing right in front of me looking like sin in a slim cut black suit. The white button down he’s wearing is open at the neck and his hair is perfectly tousled.
And I look like something the cat dragged in from the backyard.
Roderick steps forward and leans his arm on the granite counter of the front desk. “Hey, Ellie,” he says with a smile. “Is there a problem?”
I open my mouth to speak but words escape me. All that comes out are stuttered phrases. He places his large hand on my shoulder; it’s warm and heavy and fucking magical because it calms me instantly.
“Start over, sweets. Tell me what the problem is.” He removes his hand and also the spell he temporarily cast over me. I glance over at Becca who’s still gawping.
“There’s no problem,” I lie. “They gave away my room and Becca was just helping me find another at a hotel nearby.”
“You’re attending World of Books?”
“Yes,” I answer cautiously. “I’m meeting with an agent in two days.”
“Ellie, that’s fantastic!” He wraps his arms around me, lifts me from my feet and twirls me.
I place my hands firmly on his chest and push him away once he sets me down. “What are you doing, Roderick?”
But he steamrolls me. He walks over to Becca and the two of them talk conspiratorially before he turns back to face me. “All set, sweets. You can share my room.”
“No,” I say firmly.
“Ellie, don’t be stubborn. You have to stay here.”
“What do you think you’re doing, Payne?” I ask through gritted teeth. “I am not sharing a room with you!”
Roderick takes a step toward me and grips my elbow firmly. He leads me away from the front desk. “Eleanor, let me help you.Please.” My mouth pops open, ready to protest but he holds up a hand. “Put your hostilities away. I’m staying in a suite. It’s so large, you’ll never have to see me… unless you want to.”
I growl with frustration. For a year, I worked so hard sending query letter after query letter to agents and publishers. Most of them didn’t bother with a response. It was like I was persona non grata. Until one agent took a chance and offered to meet with me at World of Books.
I begged, borrowed, and stole every cent to get here and now, because of circumstances beyond my control, my hotel room is gone and Roderick Payne, the last man on Earth I want to see, is offering me half of his room.
“I can’t afford to pay for half of a suite,” I tell him.
“You don’t have to. My publisher is paying for it.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course they are.”
Roderick reaches out to grab the handle of my suitcase. “You look tired,” he says softly. “Come on, Ellie.”
“Stop calling me that,” I growl. I hate he still uses nicknames, like we’re still friends. I hate how easy it is for him to just slip back into familiar habits while I’m on edge.
Roderick Payne devastated me and it took years for my heart to finally begin to heal. Those wounds are still raw and I’m not ready to face him, but I can’t refuse his offer either.
“Fine, but only if you stop calling me Payne.”
“But it’s so fitting,” I snap.
He starts walking toward the bank of elevators, dragging my suitcase behind him. My eyes flick to his left hand. “You’re not wearing your wedding ring.”
“Famke and I got divorced. Didn’t you know that?”
“No,” I lie. Of course I knew. My life was irrevocably changed because of Roderick. How could I not know?