Hotel Ruby (6 page)

“Okay,” I start, “what is the deal with that guy?”

Elias groans like he has no idea where to begin and really doesn't care to. “You already told me you wouldn't be here long enough to send me a very polite rejection,” he says. “So you shouldn't spend your time guessing the intentions of the concierge. What you should do”—he holds out his hand—“is come with me.”

“And where are you going?” I ask with mock suspicion.

He laughs and lowers his hand. “To hell, probably. But first I was thinking of sneaking you around the Ruby. Kenneth will hate it.”

“I thought we weren't going to spend our time worrying about him.”

“I'll do the worrying for us both,” Elias says. “Kenneth's only concern is making sure the Ruby runs properly. He also likes to check in to make sure I'm not getting into trouble.” Elias purses his lips. “I always seem to find it, though.”

“You should try exhibiting some self-control.”

“Where's the fun in that?”

Getting into trouble with Elias sounds like an interesting way to spend my Wednesday afternoon. But I don't really understand why he's at the Ruby. Does he live in a hotel?

“What exactly do you do here, Elias?” I ask with a laugh. “Unless you're Eloise, I highly doubt—”

He takes my hand again to tug me forward. “Later,” he says with a mischievous smile. “Because right now I have a completely inspired idea, but”—he glances back at the desk to check for Kenneth—“we don't want the concierge to see us.”

“Sounds like you're looking for trouble again.”

“Indeed,” Elias says. We walk into the hallway, and I crane my neck as we pass the restaurant, surprised when I find my father still inside, now talking with Kenneth. How did the concierge get over there so fast?

My dad gets to his feet, his arms gesturing wildly as he and Kenneth engage in what appears to be a heated conversation. My father takes Kenneth's arm, desperate. And then, suddenly, as if he knew I was here, Kenneth's dark gaze snaps to me. Dread falls around my shoulders; my breath catches.

“Come on,” Elias says, oblivious to Kenneth's new location. He takes my arm, and then we're next to each other again, starting off down the hallway. I wonder momentarily what my father and Kenneth were arguing about. Was it about me? But then Elias laughs, and his fingers slide
down my arm to take my hand. The sensation on my skin makes my heart race, draws me completely into his world. It's been so long since I've wanted something—someone. I forget everything else.

“Don't freak out,” Elias says, his dimples deepening with his smile. “But I was thinking we could start at the spa. Namely, the steam room?”

Hot and sweaty while wearing a towel. I can't believe I'm going to agree to this. “Interesting suggestion,” I say.

“Yes, I thought it was brilliant.” We both laugh, and then he tugs me toward the frosted glass doors at the end of the hallway.

I've been in a steam room only once or twice, after working out at the gym. But the YMCA's white-tiled floors and benches have nothing on this place. The smell of cedar immediately hits my nose as we walk into the small room, a light fog hanging in the air. We have the place to ourselves, and I cross the wet floor to the benches. I sit first, expecting Elias to take a spot next to me, but he goes next to the water bucket and sits down.

When we walked into the spa, the woman at the desk didn't even glance at us, instead smiling at her phone like she was reading a text. I imagined Kenneth wouldn't be at all happy, but Elias only put his finger to his lips and pulled us past the receptionist. A girl in a bright-white dress stopped us then, greeting Elias with a kiss on the
cheek. I didn't roll my eyes; my time as Ryan's girlfriend was a crash course in handling jealously. Not that he would have strayed.

Elias asked the girl if we could borrow towels, and she shot him a disapproving look before grabbing a large, fluffy towel and extending it in my general direction. Like Catherine at the party, this girl didn't appear very pleased to see Elias talking with me. I thanked her and took the towel.

I changed in the bathroom and then met Elias in front of the steam room, a little stunned to see him without his shirt. Of course, I was standing in a towel as well, but I could barely formulate a sentence that didn't start with “Wow . . .”

Elias is not Ryan—he's not bulked up, thick and strong. Instead he's incredibly tall and thin, fit, with muscles corded around his frame. I actually like it better. Being with Ryan always made me feel a little self-conscious, like I should be working out instead of chowing down on movie theater popcorn.

I expected some recognition that I was also nearly naked, but Elias only looked me over once and then opened the door to the room.

As we sit here now, the room is certainly warm. I settle back against the heated wood bench behind me, staring across the room at Elias. He takes a ladleful of water and pours it over the hot rocks, the spitting steam hisses,
quickly enveloping the room. The vapor reaches me, hard to breathe in. But it's intoxicating, the pure heat licking my skin.

Elias stands and then comes over to where I am, climbing up to take the bench above me. I reposition myself, my elbow on his seat as I rest my chin on my arm. Elias lays his head against the wall and then looks down at me. Moisture has started to gather on his face, his collarbone. I'm feeling altogether seduced.

“Why did you send that postcard earlier?” he asks, his voice rougher in the thickened air. “What exactly did you have to apologize for, Audrey?”

I exhale, my muscles relaxed and loose. “For not loving him enough,” I say quietly. “For trying and failing. But worst of all, for not telling him even though I'm sure he knew. I was a coward, and he deserved better.”

Elias closes his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallows. “Sometimes we're with the wrong people for all the right reasons. Would it surprise you if I told you I could relate? Only I didn't try to love her, and I certainly didn't apologize.”

“That sounds harsh,” I say, fairly certain he's talking about the girl my brother's been sneaking around with. But since Elias just admitted he didn't have feelings for her, bringing up Catherine seems kind of pointless. “Why were you with her, then?” I ask anyway, hoping for a bit more detail.

Elias is quiet for a long moment, but then he opens his eyes and sits forward, elbows on his knees. His skin has grown pink in the heat of the steam room. “It was expected,” he says. “And even when I told her my feelings, she didn't care. She thought we belonged together no matter what.” He looks at me, really looks at me. “Now that, Audrey,” he whispers, “is a terrible girlfriend.”

There's a sudden loneliness in his expression, even with our bodies close together, wet with steam and sweat. I connect to it—his melancholy mirroring my own. For an instant I'm not alone. Not with him. It's weird, because the more Ryan tried to give me, the lonelier I felt. And yet this stranger has broken into my world and taken up space.

Elias laughs, dragging his gaze from mine, and lies back on his bench. “You shouldn't look at me like that,” he says toward the ceiling. “It's too soon for me to kiss you. I haven't charmed you nearly enough.”

I put my fingers on my lips, covering my smile. “I think you're doing pretty well,” I say, making him laugh again.

“Yes, but if I'm going to practice that restraint you talked about,” he responds, “then we'd better get out of here before this heat clouds your better judgment. Come on.” He climbs down from the bench and then helps me up. I grip my towel, keeping it tight around me, even though a knot has formed in my stomach. I take Elias's arm, ready to pull him back, but as he opens the door, the cool air rushes in, bringing me back to my senses. The steam quickly
clears, along with the overwhelming desire, and I find Elias watching me.

“We'll skip the massages,” he teases. “You should definitely put some clothes on. Meet you out front?”

I agree, still a little shaken from my brush with complete and utter lack of self-control. And when we part, I head into the locker room to rinse off in the shower, setting the temperature to cold.

A
fter tying my damp hair up in a bun, I head to the entrance of the spa and find Elias chatting with the girl who gave me the towel earlier. When I walk out, she casts an uneasy stare in my direction, then tells Elias good-bye and leaves to go about her job. Not at all awkward.

Elias smiles broadly as I approach, his hair slicked to the side and his cheeks flush from the steam. “You're radiant,” he tells me. “I am completely under your spell, Audrey.”

“Uh-huh,” I say like he's full of shit. But I enjoy the compliment, especially when I'm feeling just as interested. “Now where to?” I ask. “I'll have to check in with my dad at some point; this day isn't carefree.”

Elias pulls open the door and we walk out, energized from our time at the spa. We're paused at the entrance of the lobby while we contemplate our next step, when I see my brother walk out from the restaurant. He's glaring down at his phone, his eyebrows pulled together.

“Hey,” I call to him. Next to me Elias straightens, sliding his hands into the pockets of his shorts. Daniel comes over, holding up his phone helplessly.

“I can't get a signal in here,” he says. “I've seen other people using their phones. Rot in hell, AT&T.” He stops and looks at me. “Why's your face so red? What have you been doing?” He squints at Elias. “Who's this?”

Elias stretches out his hand. “Elias Lange,” he says. “And you are?”

“Her older brother.” Daniel shakes Elias's hand, clenching his fingers in a way that tells me he's squeezing harder than necessary. Elias doesn't even flinch.

Daniel takes his role of protective brother seriously. Before Ryan, whenever Daniel didn't like a guy I was dating, he'd wait on the porch with a Louisville Slugger resting on his shoulder. But then there was Ryan, and everyone loved Ryan. My brother hasn't had to stand up for me in a while. In a way, I'm touched. I'm also glad he left his baseball gear in Phoenix.

“I'm heading to the pool,” Daniel says to me, turning his back on Elias. “Go grab your bathing suit.”

“The weather's perfect for a swim,” Elias interjects, seeming amused by my brother's lack of manners. “It's sometimes overcast this time of day, but it seems—”

“Now, how do you know my sister?” Daniel interrupts, spinning to him. He's pretending to be confused, which makes him all the more obnoxious. He shoots me the same look and I scoff. I don't know Elias half as well as Daniel knows Catherine.

“We met in the elevator,” Elias says. Daniel stares him
down, and then, as if just remembering the true source of his irritation, my brother pulls out his phone in search of a signal. While he's distracted, Elias leans in to me.

“I thought it best to leave out the part where you asked to see me without my suit,” he says casually. I push his shoulder, making him stagger a step, and he laughs quietly.

Daniel turns his attention back at us. “I'm going to check out the pool before I grab my stuff. Meet me there?”

“In a little bit,” I say. “I'm on a tour.” To be honest, I just don't want to spend the day watching Daniel sunbathe.

“Fine,” my brother says suspiciously. “But you better meet me later or I'm coming to your room.” He starts to pass us, then pauses to look back. “And you'd better be in there alone, Audrey.”

“Gross. Good-bye.” I wave him off, letting him know he's laying it on a little thick. Elias presses his lips together like he's trying not to smile at my brother's threat, and we watch as Daniel walks out toward the garden.

“Is he always so protective?” Elias asks.

“Mostly, but you seem to especially piss him off.”

“I sometimes have that effect. But then again”—he smiles, brushing back a wet strand of my hair that's fallen from the bun—“you do look . . . disheveled. I can see why he assumed I was a bad influence.”

I swat his hand away playfully, but his touch has already spiked my desire. “Whatever,” I say, pretending he's not driving me crazy. “I'm still waiting to hear why exactly
you're the Ruby's most eligible bachelor. Your entire existence is suspicious.”

Elias laughs, offering me his arm in a natural movement. His politeness is striking in my otherwise uncivilized world. “I live here,” he replies. “And before you jump to conclusions, let me finish showing you around. Maybe you'll understand why.”

“Why you live in a hotel?” I ask. “Doubtful. I'd tell you how bizarre that is, but I'm on my way to live in my grandmother's attic. So I'm not sure I'm in a position to make that statement.”

Elias looks at me, my admission catching us both off guard. I hate the heaviness that's seeping in, and I bump my shoulder into his. “Let's hurry before I change my mind and go to the pool with my brother.”