But then, at the very last second, a handsome stranger would appear out of nowhere. He’d save the day, and the two would end up having a whirlwind romance with a happily-ever-after ending.
That might look good on paper, but it sure as hell ain’t gonna happen here.
Scarlett wanted to scream out in frustration. Seriously. If it hadn’t been happening to her, she probably wouldn’t believe it.
This sort of thing didn’t actually occur in real life. It had certainly never happened toher. And yet, here she was, nearly naked and locked outside her hotel room, and she had absolutely no way of calling for help.
Another thought struck.
My meeting!
Her gut tightened, and her stomach churned with dread. What if Oliver Garcia came to the hotel but left before she had a chance to get back into her room? What if he got so angry at her for ghosting him—even though she really wasn’t—that he never answered another one of her calls? What if…
Girl, you havegotto relax and start thinking of a way out of this!
The mental slap was exactly what she needed. Scarlett drew in a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. A quick glance at her watch was not as helpful as she’d hoped.
In addition to stressing the obvious, she also had to try to come up with a way to rectify the situation…while simultaneously trying like hell not to focus on the fact that she was now officially late.
Her mind raced through all the obvious options, but there wasn’t a good one in the bunch. She could start knocking on doors. Ironic, yes, but this was a completely different situation. If she got lucky, someone would answer, and be kind enough to let her use their phone to call the front desk.
But then she’d have to worry aboutwhoanswered their door. A sweet little white-haired lady, no problem. Some creepy, Chester the Molester-looking dude? Not a chance.
Okay, next option…
The lobby.
Scarlett considered it a moment. She could just suck it up and go down to the front desk. But not on the elevator. The last thing she needed was to get bumped into by a group of guests and end up experiencing her very own nip slip.
No free shows here, folks.
That left the only other option Scarlett could think of. The stairs.
She glanced to her left, spotting the illuminated sign above the stairwell at the very end of that hall. All sorts of images filled her head. Mostly dark, macabre pictures of a single woman being trapped in a dark stairwell with a masked attacker.
Probably not many of those wandering around a Denver hotel at nine o’clock in the morning, Scar.
Probably not, but that would be her luck. Actually,thiswas her luck. And, of course, today, of all days, it had decided to strike in spectacular fashion.
First, she oversleeps, and now this. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe everyone back home was right. Maybe this was a fool’s errand.
No.
Scarlett shook her head, refusing to believe that. Even with her current situation, she knew in her heart that looking for Rose wasn’t a waste of time. It was only a fool’s errand if she gave up, and that was not in her nature.
A new plan began to form. It was one she may very well soon regret. But it was the best thing for Rose, and since time was running out…
She glanced around before quickly adjusting her towel. Making sure it was as tight and secure as it could get—and that it was down low enough to cover her bare ass—Scarlett filled her lungs and took that first step.
The new plan still included the stairs, but rather than go to the front desk, she’d decided to head straight to the lounge area where she was supposed to meet her sister’s friend.Surely, once she explained the situation, he’d agree to wait for someone to let her back inside her room so she could get dressed.
It wasn’t an unreasonable request. Especially since this whole fiasco wasn’t even her fault.
Damn kids and their pranks.
Checking her watch again, Scarlett inwardly cringed. Man, she didnotwant to have to do this, but really…what choice did she have?
She moved slowly, at first. Hesitant. But after those first few steps, she regained her confident composure and lifted her chin. Pride be damned, Scarlett let her determination take over.