She was a total fraud.
‘I ought to take a couple of photos,’ she said, glancing back into the gorgeous room.
‘That would mean using your phone,’ he pointed out, then laughed at her expression. ‘One day without an update isn’t going to matter, is it? Anyway, I’m betting you have a week’s worth preloaded, right? With the odd gap for something ultra-current? No one is going to know you’ve run away for a night. You’re in the clear.’
‘You understand the process well.’ She chose to ignore the bit about running away for the night. And to ignore the whisper of want within her urging her to agree.
‘It’s my business to. We’ve been watching your blog for a while.’
‘Enjoying the tips?’
‘Enjoying watching your numbers grow. You’ve struck a chord with a segment of the market that we’d like to tap into. We’d like to take your success and replicate it.’
She wasn’t sure big business could create the same kind of in-your-own-home feel. But she wasn’t about to argue with him.
‘What’s on the other side of the camera?’ he asked. ‘Your vlogs are always filmed in the same space. Why don’t you go into another room?’
‘It’s what people have come to expect. The format… the habit.’
‘But how do you keep it fresh?’
‘With the content within the framework. I love tweaking, and the content is always changing.’
‘While you always present the perfect façade?’
She stiffened inside at that faint hint of disapproval. ‘It’s what people expect. It’s part of what they’re looking for.’
‘And you don’t think they’d stick around if they saw the bitten-down nails? What’s wrong with a little reality?’
‘Nothing.’ She smiled. ‘But my site is about escape.’
‘You said you had nothing to escape from?’
She couldn’t answer that. So she opted for diversion. ‘Tell me about this weird fruit—do you know what it is?’ she asked.
He frowned slightly, but followed her lead.
The rest of the meal they spent sparring lightly on topics she deemed safe. But inside her anxiety was rising again. She had to leave. She needed to ensure Dan was okay—that Tara had seen him and made sure of it. He ought to be well asleep by the time she got home, but she didn’t want to be worrying about him the entire drive back.
So while Jack went to contact the invisible hotel aides to get them to collect the trolley she quickly tiptoed down the stairs to where the car was parked. She reached into the glove compartment and quickly pulled out her phone.
There were no more messages, so she quickly texted Tara.
I’m going to be even later. Please check Dan and let me know he’s okay. Text asap.
She waited a moment, watching to ensure that the text was sent—there wasn’t great coverage here. But she had a reply less than a minute later.
Be as long as you like. All good here. Go be bad.
Fantastic. But she wasn’t going to be bad—merely late.
She switched off her phone and turned to put it back into the glove compartment before Jack caught her. But as she closed the compartment she heard footsteps behind her.
‘You couldn’t resist, could you?’ He walked up to where she’d frozen by the side of the car. ‘You made a call?’
She straightened and turned defensively. ‘Extenuating circumstances.’
‘No.’ He took two steps closer, so he was towering over her. Captivating her. ‘We had a bet. You lost. I win.’ He smiled. ‘But we both know you win too.’
‘Oh? I should consider myself lucky?’ She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide her breathiness. ‘You’re so arrogant you probably think I used it deliberately.’
‘Didn’t you?’
‘It was unavoidable.’ And unexplainable. She’d had to check on Dan. She couldn’t not.
‘You can tell yourself that if it makes you feel better.’ He put his hands on his hips and stood with his feet planted wide, as if ready to block any attempt she might make to escape. ‘Time to pay up, fairy princess.’
‘You can’t be serious?’ And she was not any kind of princess—certainly not fairy.
‘Sure I can.’
Yeah, she knew that seriousness was his default setting—that the flashes of wicked humour came only when he was relaxed, with his mind taken off whatever it was worrying him. Whatever that meeting was about.
She tried one last time. ‘This is inappropriate.’
‘Yeah, but we had an agreement.’
She closed her mouth, biting back the words because the more she said, the more determined he seemed to become.