Page 20 of Not on the Same Page

“Sorry, sir. Ma’am. I’m just letting everyone know that it’s last call for cocktail hour. You are welcome to stay, of course, but the event is ending in about thirty minutes, and the lodge will open to the public again at that time. Can I get either of you another drink?”

Shaking her head, Trina waves her half-full wine glass in front of her. I also tell him no, and he makes his way to another group lingering on the now-dark patio.

“I’m not even going to finish this.” Trina places her glass on the table. “I mostly wanted something to hold so I didn’t look stupid. I think I’ll head back up to my room.”

“Can I walk you?” The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of them. I press my lips firmly together as if that could stop more from escaping.

She eyes me carefully, her face giving nothing away until she smirks. “I suppose I do need protection from all the riffraff in this place.”

“Exactly.” I smile. “You can never be too careful around book people. It’s a dangerous crowd.”

Ticking up an eyebrow, she says, “They’re not as safe as you might think.”

It’s a loaded statement, and I can’t help but think she’s talking about me, but she tips her head toward the door and starts making her way inside. I’m helpless but to follow.

The elevator is packed with people, probably both attendees and professionals alike if everyone’s attire and level of sobriety is any indication. The aspiring authors who come to this thing are notorious for letting loose on the first day since anyone who could ruin their career is at a separate event. Everyone will get down to business tomorrow.

Trina and I stand near enough to each other that I can smell her strawberry shampoo. As surreptitiously as I can, I breathe in deeply. I always did love that smell.

I’m grateful that, when the elevator reaches the third floor, we’re the only ones to get off. We’re spit out into an empty hallway that we walk silently down until we get to room 307.

“Well, this is me.” She makes no move to open the door. Instead, she gazes up at me with wide eyes, her lips parted slightly.

I could kiss her right now, I realize. And I want to. I can almost taste the berry flavor of the lip gloss she always applies over that red lipstick to make her mouth shine. That image is followed by one where those red lips are parted and I’m feeding her⁠—

No. That absolutely cannot happen. We’ve been down this road before, and it would be futile to hope for a different outcome this time.

But she leans forward slightly, her breasts almost touching my chest. One deep breath would break the boundary between us. She wants me to kiss her, that much is clear. Knowing it is a heady feeling, that I have some power here over her. And while I want nothing more than to show her everything powerful I can do to her—with her—it’s not a good idea.

“We shouldn’t,” I whisper, but I don’t move away.

She blinks. “You’re right.” But she doesn’t move away either. A corner of that red mouth lifts in a smirk. “Never stopped us before.”

“You’re trouble.” It’s indulgent, not an indictment. I push a little farther into her space when I say it.

“You’re an enigma,” she returns.

“I can keep a secret.” Once again, my mouth is working faster than my brain, but Trina sighs and tilts her head upward.

The elevator dings down the hall. Trina’s eyes go wide. I take a quick step back just as a loud group spills into the hallway. They make a sharp turn toward the other wing of the building, but the moment is over.

“Well, I believe in signs. And that was definitely a sign,” Trina jokes, but it falls flat.

I run a hand over my hair. “Right. Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. We’re two consenting adults. But…” She gestures toward her door. “I’m going to take a cold shower and call it a night.”

A low, self-deprecating laugh tumbles out of me. “I should…uh…probably do the same.”

She slips her key card out of her handbag and presses it against the lock. “See you around, Casey.”

“Yeah,” I say, taking a step backward toward the elevator.

But her hazel eyes stay trained on me until the last second before her door snicks shut.

7

TRINA