Two

CHARLOTTE’S P.O.V.

Lydia grumbled under her breath as she shoved the hotel keycard into the slot for the third time. The light flashed red again, and I groaned, stumbling to the side a few steps before regaining my footing. 

We had been at the club all night, and there was no way I wanted to return to Justin this drunk. If I did, I would probably tell him everything… that I knew about his little intern and that I was filing for divorce. 

So we agreed to stay at the hotel just down the street, but we hadn’t been able to get into our room. 

“I am starting to think this is personal,” Lydia said, bending down until she was face to face with the automated lock. “Open up, you stupid thing!” 

“You’re putting it in upside down!” I said, leaning against the wall behind me to hold myself steady as I glanced at the door number once more. 403. “Maybe we should just go down to the desk and tell them it isn’t working.”

Lydia huffed, flipping the card over before trying again, only to get the same red lights. 

I glanced down the hallway as an employee pushed a cleaning cart down the hall, stopping only a few doors down. She didn’t look happy, but at one in the morning, I didn’t expect her to. Getting called up this late probably meant she had a nasty mess to clean up. 

“Oh, come on!” Lydia hissed, and I snorted with laughter before letting my eyes close as I dropped my head back against the wall. “Hey, don’t go to sleep just yet! The night is still young. We just need to splash some water on our faces, and we can get back out there.” 

“Lydia,” I groaned. “I think I’m ready to turn in for the night.” 

“No! The world is our clam, or muscle, or… something. Listen, if you want to stay in, we can just bring the party to us. I can call some friends, or… OH! We should hire strippers! I have never done that before!” Lydia said, her words slurring and running over each other. I cracked one eye open as she rushed past me, grabbing a key card off the maid’s cart with a victorious dance before running back. 

She inserted the card and spun to face me with a smile of victory as the door unlocked, only for it to fall as her phone rang. 

I walked past her and into the doorway of the room, but paused when she put her hand on my arm, ending her call abruptly. 

“I have to go, apparently one of my restaurants is literally on fire right now.” She grumbled, and my eyes widened as I moved to go with her. 

“Of course, let’s go,” I said, but she shook her head. 

“I’ll go, you stay here. Maybe you can enjoy some of the other… services they provide downtown.” Lydia said, waggling her eyebrows. “They do say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “I am not going to go pick up some random stranger.”

“I was talking about an escort, but a random stranger could work.” She said, as her phone buzzed again and she started backing down the hallway. “Just think about it. I have to go.” 

I watched for a moment as she rushed down the hallway, tripping over her feet once just before she reached the elevator, before going into our room. 

The dim lighting was calming, but my eyes immediately found the large, luxurious bed. I began moving there as if on autopilot, kicking one heel off, then pulling the zipper of my dress down until it too slipped off my body.  

“An escort, absolutely not!” I muttered as I sat on the bed, taking my bracelet off and placing it on the nightstand. 

The sound of a door opening behind me made me tense as I waited for Lydia to stumble her way into the room after realizing she was too drunk to do anything for her restaurant tonight.

“I said I don’t want an escort. I can take care of myself!” I snapped, pulling back the blanket, but a deep male voice made me freeze. 

“That’s good to know.” He said. 

I spun slowly, and the air was knocked from my lungs as my body forgot how to use them. 

A man stood just outside the bathroom doorway, wearing nothing but a white hotel towel low around his waist. 

Beads of water were still dripping down his torso, sliding down his chest and over his abs to the start of a very distinctive V-shape just above the towel.

I was at a loss for words as I stared at him. He was tall and handsome with his dark, wet hair pushed back and his deep green eyes fixed on me. 

My tequila-flooded brain was short-circuiting as I stared. 

“Oh my God,” I whispered to myself. “Lydia has lost her mind. How did you even get up here so fast? Nevermind. That doesn’t matter. Look, I know you’re just doing your job, but I am not interested in the... services you have to offer.” 

His expression was unreadable for a few seconds before the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. “You think I’m here to service you?” 

I walked toward him, hoping to show him back out of my room, but he remained still in the middle of the walkway, blocking the door. 

“Look, you’re handsome, but…” I said, gesturing to him and inadvertently bumping my hand into his solid chest with my drunken wave. “Jesus, you really are all muscle, aren’t you? Being a male escort is such a waste for you.” 

“Is it?” He asked, lifting one brow as he stared down at me. 

“You look like you should be in commercials… or maybe have,” I said as the tequila ran away with my tongue. 

“Hm,” He hummed, reaching up to grab my wrist. 

The warmth of his hand woke me from my drunken stupor, and goosebumps rose along my skin as I realized I was in just a bra and underwear. 

Stepping back quickly, my foot connected with one of the heels I had left on the ground, and the world tilted as I stumbled back. 

My arms flailed wildly as I released a shout, but strong arms wrapped around my waist instead, pulling me tight to his chest, keeping me upright. My hands instinctively grabbed his shoulders to steady myself. 

The air left my lungs as I blinked up at him in shock, our faces only inches away. 

I could still feel the warmth from his shower radiating off his skin, and smell his soap and something else intoxicating with it, making my already foggy brain short-circuit even faster. 

For one long second, neither of us moved. I wasn’t even sure we were breathing as his eyes drifted down to my mouth. 

I should have stepped away. I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn’t move. 

Instead, my gaze dropped, too. 

Then something brushed along the front of my thighs, falling to the floor, and I gasped. 

“Oh, my God!” 

The man seemed unbothered, raising his eyebrows at me as if I were overreacting. 

He looked down calmly and then, very slowly, looked back up at me. 

I tried not to do the same, knowing his damp towel was on the floor between us, but I couldn’t control myself. 

Oh. My. God. 

My face grew so hot that I thought I was going to explode as it was confirmed that he absolutely missed his calling in the adult entertainment industry. 

“Your… Your towel!” I gaped, unable to tear my eyes away until he calmly bent down and grabbed it from the floor. 

“So tell me, how did you get into my room?” He asked, wrapping the towel around his hips again. 

“This is my room.” I snapped, placing my hands on my hips before suddenly feeling self-conscious and crossing them over my chest. 

He raised his eyebrows at me, as if still waiting for an answer. I turned to point to my key card on the nightstand before remembering that it hadn’t worked. We had gotten in with the master key…

Horror flooded through me with the realization.  

“This is your room,” I repeated, and he nodded. “You’re not an escort.” 

“No. I’m not.” 

I had been humiliated enough in the last twenty-four hours that I wasn’t sure I could take any more. 

“I am so sorry! Oh God! I am sorry!” I repeated as I gathered my dress and shoes from the floor, pulling them on as quickly as I could. 

Not able to look at him again, I kept my head down as I rushed past him, grabbing the door handle.

“Charlotte,” He called out, and I froze, knowing I hadn’t told him my name. “Does my nephew not satisfy you? You have to consider hiring an escort?” 

“Nephew? What do you…” The blood drained from my face as I sobered quickly, finally recognizing the naked man I had just been pressed up against. 

Derek Moretti, Justin’s uncle.

I had almost just kissed my husband’s uncle. 

“It would be great if we could pretend like I was never here,” I begged, my free hand shaking at my side.

He stared at me with a calculated stare, as if he were trying to read my mind, before he nodded in agreement. 

As soon as he did, I raced out of the room, desperate to put as much space between us as possible. 

It wasn’t until I was in the taxi that I realized something was missing. 

My hand flew to my wrist, and my heart dropped. 

The bracelet my mother had given me for my fifteenth birthday… was still sitting on Derek Moretti’s nightstand, and I had no choice but to see him again to get it back.