For a second, a bitter thought crosses my mind. “You’d wish those things for us even if he were Sean Ferro?” Sean tenses in my arms. It’s reckless, because in this moment his guard is down, and so is mine. If the old woman reacts the way the woman did earlier, I’ll cry. I don’t know why I said it. Something within me urged me to ask, so I did.
The elderly lady smiles, and touches my arm. “I’d wish every happiness on the two of you, especially if he were Sean Ferro. That man has had more pain in his life than one person could reasonably tolerate, and he’s bore it with grace. Everyone deserves a little ray of happiness after so much rain.”
CHAPTER 13
Sean presses his lips to the side of my face, covering me in little kisses. I giggle, I can’t help it. It feels like I’m floating, as if nothing could ruin this moment. The ring catches my eye, sparkling in the dim light of the elevator. I want to look at it, but I don’t want to pull away from Sean. I don’t want this moment to end. Something changed today. The walls that Sean erected came crashing down and he finally let me in. There’s nothing between us now and I can’t wait to snuggle against him once we get back to the room. It’s so hard not to jump up and down. I want to tell everyone and show them the ring. I want to tell them that I was right, that Sean wasn’t going to be the one to destroy me. I trusted my gut and I was right. It feels so good. The last few months have tossed me around so much that I didn’t know which way was up, but tonight, my feet are on the ground, right where they should be—between Sean Ferro and a crazy old lady who looks like she wants to celebrate with me.
She pulls out her phone and deflates when she can’t get a signal. “All my friends are going to be so jealous! I got to see the sweetest proposal I’ve ever witnessed and they’re all sitting in the room.” She chortles and holds her phone up, tilting it to the side like that’ll help it get some bars. “They’re going to blow a gasket when they find out it was Sean Ferro. And you... You are so sweet. I’m going to call you Sweetie.”
Sean holds me to his chest, hugging me hard and laughs. “She is sweet, and thoughtful, and completely perfect.” He kisses the top of my head and I feel my face flame red, which makes the old lady laugh more.
When the doors open on our floor, we both step out. The old woman stays behind. “Congratulations, you two! I’m going to go tell the girls!” She presses the button for her floor, the doors close, and she disappears.
There’s a fairytale smile plastered across my face. I used to wonder how princesses could look like that for so long. It had to be because of the prince. I’m talking about cartoon princesses, of course. When someone draws the perfect man, there’s a lot to smile about. Sean is by no means perfect, but he’s perfect for me.
Before we take another step, the squawk of a police CB shatters the hallway’s stuffy silence. Sean’s eyes narrow as his gaze shoots to the end of the hall. They’re standing in front of our room.
Instinct takes over and I grab Sean’s arm and try to pull him to the stairwell. It’s right next to me, but Sean shakes his head. They haven’t seen us yet. He shakes his head, and makes a snap decision. Leaning in close, he kisses my cheek, and shoves me into the stairwell as he does it. “Stay out of sight.”
Without a word, Sean walks toward the room. I glance through the little rectangle of glass, but I can’t see him. I can’t leave the hotel without setting off my bracelet, and I can’t hang out in the stairwell either. My stomach lurches as I consider why the police are here—what it means. Mel was in the room. Something bad could have happened to her, or worse. Someone reported us, which means someone knows we were here with Sean and what we are.
If the cops are looking for call girls, I look the part. Part of me wants to ignore Sean and walk down the hall. But, I’m not that stupid, so I rush down the flight of stairs and grab the elevator to the lobby. As I pass a large marble table with an oversized floral arrangement, I grab a newspaper and head to one of the posh seats. There are tons of reporters right outside the front doors. Flashes keep going off. I feel so sick. Should I crush the bead on my bracelet? Does this count as danger? Black could be exposed if they find me, but they must have found Mel.
I sit down on a blue velvet arm chair and slouch back like I’m not freaking out. As I ponder whether or not to break the bead, I hear three hotel employees speaking in hushed whispers. “I can’t believe it’s him, I mean first his wife and now this.”