She kissed both cheeks and sighed happily. Her brown eyes twinkled in the light filling the lobby. “You look refreshed.”
I nodded. “I feel refreshed.”
“Come,” she said. “I’m famished and I’m dying to hear all about how your night went.”
I followed her out of the hotel and down the street to a local bistro with seating outside, sealed off by decorative black iron fencing. It gave off a very French feel with its black and white striped awnings and umbrellas that sat in the center of the round tables.
Once we were seated on the veranda. A plate of lemon and blueberry scones and chocolate-filled croissants sat between us. Each of us sat with a steaming mug in front of us. Charlotte’s was espresso and came in the tiniest mug. Mine was a macchiato. A large one with whip cream piled into a peak and caramel drizzle decorating the top.
Charlotte took a sip of her espresso and then leaned back in the chair. “So, how was your night?”
Her accent was laced with curiosity.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t remember much of it.”
“Really?” she asked, smiling wide and giving the impression my lack of recall was exciting. “Did you have too much to drink?”
I shrugged. “Eh. I recall dancing with some super-hot guys at that club you abandoned me at.”
She waved me away with a soft chuckle. “I had to see a friend. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“So, what else do you remember?” She draped her arm over the back of her chair. Her other hand rested on the table.
“We danced. A lot,” I said. “Then they walked me back to my room.”
I wasn’t sure about telling Charlotte everything. We had just met. I barely shared my sexual encounters with Gemma. Doing it with a woman I had only met the day before? That was out of the question. But there was something about her that made me want to open up to her and share everything.
“Sounds like they were perfect gentlemen,” she almost purred. Her nails tapped the table. “How sweet.”
I snorted and clutched my mug. “Maybe, but I certainly wasn’t ladylike. At. All.”
She stopped tapping her nails on the table and settled her gaze on me. “Whatever could you mean by that, darling?”
I smiled and shrugged. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t recall everything but let’s just say last night will be hard to beat.”
She raised an eyebrow at me. Her smile faded. She even stiffened as she stared at me. The next smile she flashed was incredibly plastic. “Well, isn’t that nice?”
“I guess so,” I said through a sigh. Clearly, she was upset about what happened last night. Why? I wasn’t certain. I cleared my throat and added, “Too bad I can’t remember everything, huh?”
“Indeed,” she said and took another sip of her espresso.
“You should eat,” I said.
She turned her nose up at the food. “Not hungry. You go ahead.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Why wouldn’t it be?” she asked, flashing another plastic smile. Then she sat forward, pulling her phone out of her purse to glance at the screen for a split second before placing it back into her bag. “Darling, I’m so sorry, but I just remembered an errand I needed to run today. Would you mind terribly if I skipped out a little early?”
I shook my head. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to stop you from taking care of what you need to.”
She cocked her head to the side and stared at me for a few moments. It was uncomfortable. Almost as though she was sizing me up. I almost squirmed. Then she gathered everything. “I’ll take care of the check. Stay and enjoy. I’ll see you around.”
Without another word, she stood from her seat and walked off.
I stared after her wondering what it was I had said that made her turn cold and run away. After the first few minutes, I refused to think too much about it. Once I had my fill of croissants and scones, I walked back to the hotel on my own.