“Um, what?” She finally managed to croak out the words.
The man waggled his cell in the air. “Your room number? They’re probably going to ask for that when I call.”
“Room number!” she blurted. “Right. Uh…four-oh-two. No, wait!” Her eyes shot back to the shiny metal numbers mounted by her door. “Four-oh-three. Sorry. My room number is four-oh-three.”
The man seemed to stiffen, and a flash of something crossed over his assessing gaze as he kept staring at her.Studyingher.
Scarlett studied him right back as she wondered why his expression had suddenly changed course. But his odd expression vanished with her next breath, leaving her to continue wondering.
He’s probably trying to figure out what kind of lunatic woman he’d just come across.
It wasn’t as if she could blame him. She probablydidlook like a lunatic. Her recent—and highly embarrassing—fumbling of words had only made matters worse.
Her mind replayed the embarrassing moment, conjuring up the image of a well-known meme. It was the same one she’d seen a million times, used in a million different ways. Only this time, the imagined words scrolled across the mental image were created solely for her.
Yeeeah, if you could remember how to speak in full, coherent sentences, that would be great.
Scarlett felt her lips twitch with the urge to smile at her own silent joke. But then the good Samaritan tapped the screen of his phone and put it to his ear, and her attention was drawn back to him.
With her arms crossed tightly around her middle, she nervously shifted her weight from the ball of one foot to the other. As he waited for the person to answer his call, her unexpected hero’s gaze turned elsewhere. Taking advantage of the stolen moment, Scarlett used the opportunity to study him more closely.
The man’s hair reminded her of the color of midnight. Sheared short on the sides and back, he’d left the thick, straight locks on top a few inches longer.
In a casual-chic look, he’d slicked them back and over from a deep part on the left, and damn if it didn’t have her fingers twitching with the urge to touch.
Even from here, Scarlett could almostfeelthe silky smooth strands brushing against her skin. It was impossible not to imagine herself slowly raking her hands through the shiny locks.
The stranger muttered something else to the person on the other end of the call. Lucky for her, it was enough to drag her mind from the gutter and put an end to that particularwhat-the-hellfantasy.
She didn’t know this man from Adam. Hell, for all Scarlett knew, this guy could be a freaking killer out on parole while awaiting trial. But even as she thought it, she found herself torn between him either being a cat burglar or…a movie star.
Maybe he’s a movie star who plays a cat burglar.
Scarlett nearly smiled at the notion because this man—whoever he was—had not graced the silver screen. She felt confident in that deduction because, if he had, there was no way he wouldn’t be at the top of the A-list stars.
Dark. Sexy. A man’s man who fit the whole, action-adventure thriller package.
The kind of man you shouldn’t mess with.
He turned away, the phone still held securely at his ear. The movement drew her focus lower, and if she thought the view from the front was good…
Black jeans hugged his narrow hips, hugging a backside that was more than a little drool-worthy. The denim enveloping his legs grew snug around his taut, fit thighs. And the black, cable-knit turtleneck stretched across his broad shoulders in the most delicious of ways.
But the way the sweater showcased the man’s impressive biceps and pecs…
Maybe you were wrong. Maybe it’s your lucky day, after all.
“Okay, thanks.” The Man in Black—as she’d decided to think of him—ended the call and faced her fully once again. “That was John from downstairs. He’s heading up here now with a key.”
Key. Room. Towel. Meeting.
“Oh, that’s great!” Scarlett gushed, not bothering to hide her relief. “I appreciate that so much. Thank you.”
“Sure.”
This was the part where she expected him to leave. Any minute now, he’d give her another one of those not-quite-there grins and continue on his way to his own room.
His room. His girlfriend’s. The room he was sharing with his wife…