Maxine grinned and shook her head. She really wished she had such friends now.
Later, Maxine ran a warm bath and dropped in some bath oils compliments of the travel lodge. She really needed to soak her troubles away. Sleeping was out of the question. She had just sent an email off to the office to let Betty know she would be in much later in the day. She had to itemize damage for the insurance company in the morning. Then a horrible thought struck her. Did she renew her renter’s insurance policy?
Maxine slid down in the tub and tried to sink the worries of her day away. Her mother would tell her while growing up: “Worry don’t solve a thing. It only makes things look worse.” Maxine grinned. Those were the days, all right. Worrying about what happened would only give Maxine heartburn and elevated blood pressure. She would think about it tomorrow. Whatever was stressing her out.
Right then she wanted to switch her thoughts to something more pleasurable. Like Lucas sexy-as-hell Romero. She remembered what he’d said about calling him if she ever needed him. She dreamed about acting on his offer but changed her mind. No way could she do that. He was probably just being polite and routine by giving her his business card. How many other women had he given out his business card to? What about that woman from the nightclub?
She closed her mind to that thought. She thought instead of Lucas kissing her hand, only this time as Maxine closed her eyes luxuriating in the warm silky water, she envisioned Lucas kissing her nipple. She stroked her nipple under the water lightly imagining it was Lucas’s tongue and waves of pleasure pulsed through her body to her inner thighs.
“Oh, Lucas,” she murmured. If only she could get a guy like that. A strong, handsome, powerful man who would move earth and heaven for the woman he loved.
Oh, if only!
After her bath, Maxine grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her. Then she grabbed her white towel-fabric robe compliments from the hotel. She pinned her dark hair up into a bun and went towards the bed feeling hot inside but was distracted when a knock befell the door.
She glanced at the clock in the room.
Who could be knocking on her door at this hour? Was it the concierge desk? Oh, God! Had her credit card been declined, too?
Great! That was just the icing on the top of her cake of a disastrous day, wasn’t it?
She looked through the peephole and her heart leaped in her chest. Maxine blinked thinking she was in a dream or hallucinating.
Lucas Romero?
What was he doing there?
Lucy.
It must have been Lucy who told him about her situation. But then she didn’t tell Lucy she’d changed her plans to come to the travel lodge. Perhaps Lucas went to the Fairmont and that clerk told him that Maxine was directed to check in at the lodge. Or maybe it was Lucas’s men. He wouldn’t do it himself. Not with him being locally famous.
She pulled away from the door. Dazed. Lucas? Oh, my God! Lucas was standing outside the door to her room. How did he know she was there? Maxine thought she was hallucinating for sure. He looked so stunning. In a suit and tie. That much she could see from the peephole.
Maxine looked in the mirror by the door quickly and used her hands to brush the sides of her damp tendrils of hair so that she wouldn’t look so…unbecoming.
“Who is it?” she called out routinely.
“It’s Lucas, Maxine.” Lucas’s deep voice sounded curt yet soft. She just didn’t want to whip the door open first without hearing his voice.
She inhaled a deep breath, her heart pounding in her throat. She opened the door and her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.
“Lucas? What are you doing here? How did you-”
“Shh,” he said softly. “Can I come in?”
Her body tingled from head to toe when he spoke softly to her. It almost sounded seductive. His words, his voice alone was sexually charged. Oh, this must be a dream.
She opened the door wider. Of course, they had to keep it down given the time of night and she wouldn’t want to alert anyone else that she had often-infamous company at her door. Lord knew who was in the room across from her or next door. One could never be too careful. Though it looked as if the lodge was barely half full tonight.
Maxine was buzzing. All sorts of weird and wonderful thoughts whirled through her mind. Secretly she’d hoped and wished that Lucas would be there with her, alone. But never in her wildest dreams did she think the universe would present her with her dream man right there, in arms length.