She gave him a slight smile. “If you want me gone, find me some comparable lodging. Any five-star hotel will do. If not, I’m staying here and I’m definitely not sharing your bed.”
He snorted. She talked big now, but she’d change her tune soon enough when she realized he was serious. Either way, he was going to have her in his bed that night.
He dialed the travel concierge on his speed dial. Unlike most travel agents who only booked hotels and flights, the one his family used arranged for everything related to family travel.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Pryce. How may I help you?” came a professional voice.
“Need a room at a top hotel near our family vacation home in Thailand immediately.”
“Certainly.” A few moments later, the woman said, “I’m afraid there aren’t any.”
There aren’t any? “I thought May wasn’t the high season.”
“It’s not, but none of the acceptable hotels are showing any availability. The earliest is three weeks from now.”
“But that’s June!”
“That’s correct.”
His hand clenched around the phone. Suddenly all of the resorts and hotels were fully booked from May until June? He didn’t think so. What the hell was Dane playing at? “Did Dane tell you to do this?” he asked point-blank.
“No, sir. I haven’t heard from Mr. Dane Pryce since—”
“Forget it,” Shane managed to maintain a civil tone. That jerk-off had probably reserved every vacant room in the area.
When he hung up, Ginger quirked an eyebrow. “Well?”
“Everything’s booked.”
She didn’t seem surprised. “Well, guess that’s it.”
“There’s a reason why Dane’s an asshole.”
“Oh, there’s more than just one. And don’t forget to add ‘bastard’ to the list.” She punctuated that statement with a smile. It was so unexpected and sweet it hit him like a punch to the gut.
Before he could recover, she went upstairs, her hips sashaying. He ran his hand over his mouth. It didn’t matter.
He’d have her anyway.
* * *
Ginger went upstairs to the bedrooms. Peeraya had put her bags in the guest suite across from the master bedroom suite, which she assumed Shane was using.
If the housekeeper was surprised at Ginger’s request to be in a separate room, she didn’t show it. But then Shane’s family wasn’t known for normal interactions. Ginger had often wondered why his parents kept the property on the beach anyway since the family rarely vacationed together anymore. And she knew for a fact that Shane’s parents had remodeled the master bedroom suite so it now had two connecting bedrooms.
The guest suite was smaller, with a queen-size bed, but decorated with a
feminine touch in pink and pale gold. Shane’s sister Vanessa used the suite whenever she was in the area. The vintage four-poster bed was done in wrought iron, and a pale lace canopy hung over the frame. Ginger ran her hands along the pink sheets, enjoying the cool silk.
She perched on the edge of the mattress. Her heart had slowed now that she was away from Shane, and she felt like she could breathe normally again. She couldn’t believe how he could affect her like this even after everything that had happened between them the previous year. When he’d looked at her mouth with that scorching intensity, all the wicked things they used to do had flashed through her mind, and she’d wanted to pull him down for a kiss as her panties grew moist.
But she knew better than to give in to temptation. The Shane she used to know was gone. This new Shane was different…harder and more cynical. Besides, she still had no idea why he’d fled. Everyone around them said he’d “left”, but that wasn’t the right word.
When she’d come home after an out-of-town photo shoot, he’d been gone. Just…gone. No note, nothing. The walk-in closet they shared looked like it had been ransacked; piles of clothes were on the floor, and some of the dresses and jackets were hanging lopsided. His dressers had been in the same condition, and the bathroom had been missing all of Shane’s things.
She’d been so worried and concerned. But no matter how many emails and texts she’d sent, he never responded. She’d called him numerous times, but they’d all gone to his voicemail. Eventually she’d needed to talk to him, and it was his older brother Mark who’d told her Shane was in South Africa taking nature photos.
“Is he in a jungle or something?” she’d asked.