Chapter Five

 

* ABBY *

 

The smell of bacon and eggs stirred me from a deep, dreamless sleep. I smiled happily, thinking about how nice it would be to have an actual breakfast for once instead of quickly toasted frozen waffles.

Then, I sat up straight in bed, my eyes wide with shock. Where was I, and why was I smelling bacon and eggs? I didn’t think I’d bought bacon or eggs in years, which meant I wasn’t at home.

As I looked around, and the room slowly came into focus, I realized that I was in a suite at the Evans Resort and Spa. The events of the night before came cascading into my consciousness like a wild flood, and I clapped my hand over my mouth in disbelief.

Well, it was official. I had lost my ever-loving mind.

I had spent almost the entire night cavorting with a billionaire. A billionaire that pretty much everyone I knew hated. But what was worse was that I could hear the sound of whistling coming from the living area of the suite—whistling that I was pretty sure belonged to Zach. He was still here and I was going to have to face him.

I glanced underneath the silky soft sheet I was lying under, mortified to find that I was completely naked. That shouldn’t have been a surprise, considering Zach and I had only made love about a thousand times last night. But now, in the light of day, I didn’t want to face Zach naked. Quickly, I hopped out of bed and ran into the adjoining bathroom. I shook my head in amazement at the sight.

I’d seen the room the night before, but I hadn’t paid much attention to it. I’d been too focused on…other things. But now, I was fully noticing the fact that the bathroom itself was probably as big as my living room and kitchen combined back in my tiny beach house.

“This place is nuts,” I announced to myself in the mirror. Then, I quit wasting time and hopped into the giant, marble shower. I wanted to get showered and have a robe on before Zach came looking for me. I wasn’t sure why I felt so self-conscious. After all, he’d seen me from every possible angle last night. But still, I felt different in the daylight. I had the irrational fear that he was suddenly going to realize that I wasn’t as good-looking as he’d thought, and that he would regret everything we’d done last night.

Why should that matter?

Zach could think whatever he wanted of me. We’d had some fun with our little fling, but I didn’t expect anything beyond the one night we’d shared. The more I tried to tell myself that I didn’t care, the more I realized that a part of me was definitely falling for him, and that was bad news. Zach obviously wasn’t the “settling down” type, and I didn’t want to become just another desperate female in a long line of women chasing the billionaire. I had some pride, damn it.

I ended up spending forever in the shower, hoping that Zach would just leave. Surely he had some meetings to be at or something? If he just left and left me a polite little note saying thanks for a great evening, then that would be totally fine with me. I’d probably have to see him again at the wedding, but I’d be so busy that it would be easy to act like nothing had happened. I’d just avoid him as best I could and smile platonically if he looked in my direction.

I had no such luck, though. When I got out of the shower, I could still hear Zach whistling. I was going to have to face him. With a resigned sigh, I pulled my hair back into a messy bun and pulled on one of the oversized robes hanging from a gilded, heated rack. The robe was so warm and fluffy that for a moment I forgot to be worried about Zach. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling like I was enveloped in a warm cloud.

“Abby! You awake in there?”

The sound of Zach’s voice brought me back to reality. I tied the robe tighter around me, held my head high, and made my way out to the living area. Zach was standing out there in a pair of cotton pajama pants and pouring coffee into two mugs on the table. Two plates, loaded with bacon, eggs, and toast, graced the table, along with two glasses of orange juice. I’d assumed he’d ordered room service, but when I glanced at the kitchen I saw a couple of dirty pans still sitting on the stovetop.

“Wait a minute…Did you cook?” I asked him.

He glanced up at me and grinned. “Oh, hi! Good, I’m glad you’re up. Food’s just finished. And yes, I cooked. Even billionaires make their own eggs and bacon every now and then. Especially when they’re trying to impress a girl.”

He winked at me, and I groaned.

“Are you trying to impress me?”

“Yes. Did it work?”

I rolled my eyes, even though I actually was a little bit impressed. It’s not that a man making bacon and eggs was so groundbreaking. It’s just I had never expected a man as filthy rich as Zach to do anything for himself.

I also hadn’t expected a man like Zach to be worried about impressing me. He must be teasing, right? He was just trying to be polite and not make me feel like a one night stand. Even though that’s what I was. Or maybe we could have a two or three night stand at the most.

No, no, no. I couldn’t think that way. I’d already done too much with him. We sat down to eat breakfast and he talked and joked lightly through the whole meal, but I couldn’t seem to get more than a few words out. I had a lump stuck in my throat, thinking about the fact that I wanted nothing more than to have a man I couldn’t have.

If Zach noticed how quiet I was, he didn’t show it. He talked a mile a minute about his plans for a new resort on another nearby island that he thought would be just as successful as this one. I nodded and tried to act interested, but all I could think about was how I had spent the night with his giant dick inside of me.

It all felt like a dream, except I knew it wasn’t because I was sore, just like I’d predicted I would be. I was also fighting feelings that I knew were much deeper than physical attraction, and it was freaking me out. I forced myself to eat my eggs and bacon, and to smile and nod as he told me about his plans and about how much he loved to see a new resort take off.

You see, Abby? He doesn’t want to settle down on an island. He wants to keep traveling all over the place. Your lives would never fit together.

Just as I shoveled the last bite of egg into my mouth, Zach glanced up at the large clock above the kitchen counter and groaned.

“I didn’t realize it was so late,” he said. “I canceled my first morning meeting but I couldn’t cancel the second. I need to get dressed and get going.”

He disappeared into the bedroom while I looked around the room trying to spot where my clothes might have ended up last night. I couldn’t exactly walk out of here in just a robe, although I didn’t think my clothes from last night would look much better. Was it going to be obvious to anyone that I was doing the walk of shame? Maybe not. After all, it was perfectly reasonable to think I might be going to the gym in the morning, right?

But I could not find my clothes anywhere. I didn’t want to snoop too much through Zach’s stuff, but I was beginning to think they must have ended up in his suitcase somehow. I didn’t see where else they could possibly be.

Then, Zach’s voice calling from the bedroom solved the mystery for me. “Oh, by the way, the black garment bag hanging in the second bedroom has clothes in it for you. They should be your size. And your clothes from last night are in there, too. I had them laundered for you.”

I blinked, and looked at the clock again. It was only eight thirty. How in the world had he had time to figure out my size, order me new clothes, launder my old clothes, and make breakfast? He’d been up just as late as I had, but he seemed to have twice as much energy.

Zach stepped out of the bedroom just then wearing what looked like exactly the same casual khakis and button-down shirt as he’d had the night before. He noticed me giving him a confused look, and apparently mistook my confusion as my wondering why he wasn’t wearing a suit.

“I’m doing meetings with the kitchen staff this morning,” he explained. “And as much as I like to look professional, a suit and tie really don’t hold up well in these industrial kitchens.”

“It’s not that,” I stammered out. “It’s just that that looks like the same shirt you had on last night. But you tore the buttons off your shirt last night. Surely, you didn’t already have your shirt mended? I’m still trying to figure out how you already managed to get me new clothes and get my old clothes washed.”

Zach furrowed his brow for a moment, and then laughed.

“Oh, no. This isn’t the same shirt. Well, not the exact same shirt. It is the same style and color as the other one, but it’s a duplicate. In addition to my suits, I packed nine of the same shirt in my suitcase for this trip. Nine of the same pants, too. I just find it easier to not have to worry about wardrobe choices every morning, so I generally wear duplicates of the same outfit.”

I stared at him for a moment, then shook my head. “You’re the weirdest billionaire I’ve ever met.”

Zach tilted his head to one side in amusement. “Oh? And how many billionaires have you met before me?”

“Just two. Your brother Logan and my friend Megan’s fiancé, Trent. But you’re the weirdest of the three.”

Zach shrugged good-naturedly, then grabbed his briefcase and started heading for the door. “Well, I don’t mind being a bit weird. But I do mind being late for meetings, so I need to go. Can I call you later this week?”

The question caught me completely off guard. “Uh, sure.”

“Great. Talk to you soon!” He started to disappear out of the suite’s front door when I realized that he didn’t actually have my number.

I felt suddenly angry. He was just asking to call me to act like he cared, but he didn’t have any plans to actually call. It wasn’t such a big deal if he wanted this to be a one night stand. After all, we hadn’t made any promises to each other. What was a big deal was acting like it was more when it obviously wasn’t.

Despite knowing better, I had the urge to call him out on his bullshit. I wasn’t going to just stand here and be lied to like some ditz who didn’t even know better. I didn’t know what kind of girls he normally took back to his hotel room to bang, but I was not the kind of girl to be lied to.

“Hey!” I said sharply, crossing my arms. Zach paused just before closing the door and stuck his head back in, looking completely innocent. He frowned a bit when he saw the look on my face.

“Everything alright?”

I raised a challenging eyebrow in his direction. “How are you going to call me if you don’t even have my number?”

I waited for him to look ashamed at the fact that I’d just caught him in a lie, but instead of looking embarrassed, he laughed.

“Oh, Abby. Don’t worry about that. I’ve already got your number.”

“What? How?”

He winked at me. “When you throw enough money at any question, you can get the answer you want. Phone numbers are easy to get, and I wanted yours.”

Then he winked again before leaving, shutting the door firmly behind him. I felt my cheeks burning red with embarrassment, and I was glad that he wasn’t around to see.

“I am such an idiot,” I announced to the empty room. Then I quickly went to the suite’s second bedroom to change. I just wanted to get out of here now. This world of the uber-wealthy was too much for me to take in. I needed to get away from the resort for a while and be around normal people.

The dress that Zach had ordered for me was gorgeous. I don’t know if he’d picked it out himself, or if he’d paid someone to pick it out for him, but I loved it. It was a sleeveless A-line in a deep pink color, with delicate white flowers printed all over it. And somehow, it was just my size.

But I didn’t put it on yet. Right now, I just wanted to feel like myself, in my normal clothes. So I slipped into my freshly washed gym clothes, then gathered up the rest of my things. I hoped with every fiber of my being that I wasn’t going to run into anyone I knew on my way out of the hotel. It was bad enough that the bartender from last night no doubt realized what I’d been up to. At least he was the epitome of discreteness, though. He wouldn’t blab to anyone else about it. Some of the other staff, though…they’d be all too eager to spread the word that Abby Reyes had shacked up with Zach Evans himself for the night.

My cheeks burned as I slipped into the hallway. Luckily, no one was out here right now. I quickly went to the elevator, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was empty as well. I’d have to cross the lobby at the bottom, and someone from reception might see me. But at least down there it wouldn’t be obvious whose room I had come from.

I scampered across the lobby without looking. Then I walked so briskly through the parking lot that I would have been running had I gone any faster. I reached my car in record time, wincing at the sight of all the bumper stickers on it. I’d gone through a phase where I’d found as many cool, funny, or unique bumper stickers as I could. I’d plastered them all over my car, and for a while I’d loved them. Lately, I’d started to think that they looked a little unprofessional, but I hadn’t cared that much. It’s not like any of my clients ever saw my car. But after spending a night with Zach, and then seeing how well-ordered his life was, I realized that I probably looked like a hot mess driving around in this thing.

“Mental note to self: make sure Zach never sees this god-awful stickermobile.” I unlocked the stickermobile and jumped inside, slamming the door shut behind me as though I would be protected in here from the craziness of the outside world.

I had so much to do today, but I paused for a moment and let my forehead rest on the steering wheel, trying to process everything that had just happened. I needed to let the night go. It had been one night of fun. And now it was time to get back to reality.

I glanced longingly at the black garment bag that held the dress Zach had left for me. I should have left it behind and refused the gift. What sort of self-respecting woman lets a billionaire buy gifts for her after one night?

Apparently I was not that self-respecting woman, because I intended to keep the dress. It was just too perfect to leave behind. I hoped that Zach did call me, if for no other reason than I would then feel like what we’d had had been more than a one night stand. That would make my conscience feel better about keeping the dress.

I tore my eyes away from the garment bag and pulled my phone out of my purse. I’d been avoiding looking at my messages, but it was time to get to work. I scrolled quickly through my emails and texts to see if there was anything that constituted an emergency. There were a lot of requests from Bruce and his fiancée in addition to what they’d already asked me to do today, but nothing was an absolute emergency. Looks like it was going to be a long day of trying to get ahead, but that was alright. I was used to hard work. And it would be good to have something to distract my thoughts from Zach.

I put the key in the ignition and turned my car on, then made a split-second decision and picked up my phone to text my best friend, Kelsey.

Hey! Can you meet me at Joe’s Sandbar tonight after work? I have a lot to talk to you about.

Almost immediately my phone buzzed back with a text from Kelsey. Sure! Is this about a boy?

I rolled my eyes. How did she always know what I was talking about without even a single hint? Sometimes I thought she knew me a little too well.

You’ll see. Just meet me tonight.

I threw my phone into my purse and started driving. I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain to Kelsey the fact that I had slept with Zach Evans, or the fact that I was totally falling for him no matter how much I tried to deny it to myself. But if anyone knew how to handle this, it would be Kelsey. I had to talk to her ASAP.