The Price of Love (A Price Novel Book 1) (17 page)

“I saw him at the front desk when I was heading out, and of course you can’t not pay attention to that. I don’t see how you concentrate with him in the same room, but anyway. I went over there so I could bump into him, if you know what I mean.” She winked. “And I heard him say your name. He was asking someone if they knew where to find you. I told him I was your roommate.” She smiled. “Of course, I was hoping he was a relative you had forgotten to introduce me to. He looked relieved to hear that someone knew where you were. I told him you had left with a friend and wouldn’t be back for a few hours, but that I would take him to your room if he wanted to wait. Or I could tell you to call him. He said he would rather wait, if that was OK. We just sat in the room and talked until you got back. I almost died when I saw Eric bringing you in like that. I could tell Slayde wasn’t too excited about that either, but he didn’t say anything.”

“What did you talk about?” I asked.

“Nothing, really, but he seems like a really nice guy. He said he knew you from high school, and that he ran into you in Paris when you got there, and that you stayed with him until your sister got back. But I want the scoop. You owe me the details. You’ve been hiding them from me, and it’s time to pay up, sister.” Milly was so nosy. “I still don’t understand why you came back here and didn’t say a word about him. What’s up with that? I mean, he didn’t make it seem like anything happened to make you so upset.”

I told her the whole story, from the day we met in the street to the day I left. Well, most of the story — I did leave out some personal details. After I finished, she sat there for a minute and then said, “Well? Is it his kid?”

“He said no, and I believe him.”

She turned her head sideways, looked at me, and smiled. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”

“What?” I could feel myself blushing.

“You little slut,” she said, laughing. I covered my face and shook my head. “Hallelujah! I was starting to think you were going to end up in a convent somewhere. Or they’d make a movie about you.
The Ninety-Year-Old Virgin
.” She laughed again.

“Excuse me for being selective,” I said.

“I’m going to leave that alone. Selective is a mild term for you — but getting back on track, what are you gonna do? You can’t just let him leave. Not after he came all this way.”

“Well, I told you I lost my cell phone when I was there, but I really left it at his apartment. So I don’t have his number in my new one.”

Milly grabbed my chin. “Well, lucky for you, I know where he is.”

“What? What do you mean?” My heart started racing, and I felt hopeful for the first time in months.

“He’s staying at the Crowne Plaza near the airport. He said he didn’t know if he would find you this time or not, but he had three days before he had to go back and finish up over there.” She started pushing me out of the bed. “Get dressed, and let’s go find him … but you might want to take a shower first. You kind of smell.”

Though exhausted and extremely hung over, I got ready as fast as I could. Milly drove me to Slayde’s hotel. When we pulled up, I couldn’t force myself to get out of the car. “What are you doing?” she finally asked.

“I can’t do this. What if he’s not even here anymore? What if he won’t see me?”

“What if he’s sitting in his room, wishing he could talk to you, but he doesn’t have your number? I highly doubt that he’ll turn you away. I mean, he did fly across the ocean three freaking times to come look for you. And what do you have to lose at this point that you haven’t already lost? Nothing! But if you sit your ass in this car and don’t go find out, you could be making the biggest mistake of your life. This guy loves you, Arden, whether you see that or not. Now get out of my damn car. I will be at the restaurant down the road getting breakfast if you need me in the next hour,” she said.

I got out of the car and walked to the front desk. “Is Slayde Price still checked in?” I could feel my legs shaking.

“Yes, he is. Is he expecting you?” the lady asked.

I didn’t know how to answer that, and I could feel a tear run down my cheek. But before I could say anything, she said, “Well, there he is,” and she winked at me and pointed toward the elevator.
How the hell does she know him that well?

I turned around, and he was walking toward me. I couldn’t read his expression, but he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. I forgot we were in the lobby of a nice hotel until he whispered in my ear, “Let’s go upstairs and talk.” I just nodded. He grabbed my hand and we walked toward the elevator. Neither one of us said anything.

He held open the door and let go of my hand so I could go into his room ahead of him. I sat awkwardly on the foot of his bed, and he sat next to me, chewing the inside of his cheek.

We both started to speak at the same time. “You can go first,” I said, of course assuming the worst — if he was about to tell me he was tired of dating a crazy person, I sure didn’t want to embarrass myself by spilling my guts about how sorry I was and how much I missed him.

He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. Turned toward me. “I’m sorry I left like that. I was just so angry with you for not having more faith in me,” Slayde said. “I know I should have handled that differently. I hope you can forgive me.”

Was he kidding? Me forgive him? My rushed judgment and obvious insecurities had caused us both so much unnecessary pain. “Slayde, I don’t know what to say. Of course I will forgive you. I don’t blame you for being angry. I can’t believe that I was so dumb. I hope you can forgive me.”

“I just want to know why. Why did you just take Kenedy’s word on something so serious? I don’t understand that. You know she so obviously has a problem with us being together. It doesn’t even make sense. What did I ever do to make you think I was interested in being with anyone but you?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I didn’t believe her at first, but I came to look for you. You said you were at a photo shoot, but I saw you with Kinley, sitting outside the building. She was crying and you were holding her. I guess that just made what she said look true. I felt like I was dying. I had to get the hell out of there.” He didn’t say anything; he just started laughing and lay back on the bed and put his hands on his face. “Why are you laughing? I don’t see anything remotely funny about this,” I said.

“No, it’s not funny. It’s just crazy how this all turned out. I got to the photo shoot that morning, and Kinley was late. We waited around on her for an hour. The photographer was furious. When she finally came in, he lit into her, and she ran out crying. Which was weird for her — she’s usually such a bitch that she would just roll her eyes over something like that,” he explained. “I followed her outside to check on her and to try and hurry her up. I was hoping to get out of there early that day and spend the rest of the afternoon with you. When I found her, she was sitting with her head on the table. I sat down across from her, and she told me she was pregnant and her dad was sending her home at the end of the week to ‘take care of things.’ I let her cry, and I tried to console her. Which is, I guess, when you saw us.”

I closed my eyes and buried my head in my hands. “I’m so sorry. I know you think I’m crazy. I don’t really know what else to say.”

“How about banana pancakes?” he said, and when I looked up, he was smiling that smile I had missed so much.

“What?”

“They have the most delicious food here. Let’s order room service and sleep all day,” he proposed. “Unless you have other plans.”

“Well, I have class all day, but I’ve already missed my first one, so — oh well. It’s Friday. I guess I’ll make it a long weekend,” I said.

Pulling me down on top of him, he kissed me like I had been dying for him to do since I left Paris. We made love twice before ordering room service.

I had forgotten I was starving until the food got there. The delicious aroma of sweet buttery pancakes and crispy bacon filled the room, and we talked as we ate. It felt like the last few weeks had never even happened.

“I was starving,” I said.

“What, your date didn’t feed you last night?” He burst out laughing.

“Asshole.” I shot him a dirty look.

“Asshole, huh? Geez, what a little potty mouth you have. You have been out of my influence for six weeks, and I find you drinking like a fish and swearing like a sailor. I guess if it had taken me any longer to find you, I would’ve had to have bailed you out of jail.”

“Either that or a mental institution,” I laughed.

“So, what have you been doing since you’ve been home? I mean, besides dating that Eric guy. You can leave that part out. It makes me a little sick to my stomach.”

“A little jealous, huh?”

“Me? Never!” He shook his head and then smiled. “OK, maybe a little. But I don’t think he’s any real threat. Or is he?” His smile disappeared as he waited for me to answer him.

“I wasn’t dating anybody, and as far as I know, it wasn’t a date. We went to a concert with his brother. Really romantic, huh?”

“Well, he said he was your date, so I assumed you knew you were dating him. He sure wanted me to know, anyway.”

“Eric and I have been in school together for the last three years. I know he has a crush on me, but I don’t feel like that about him. I usually keep myself out of situations like last night, but I was having a bad day and needed to get out of that dorm room. I guess I was using him to make myself feel better,” I admitted.

“Well, good thing I got there when I did. From now on, I would prefer if, when you felt bad, you called me to make you feel better. I know what happens to you when you have too much to drink,” he said with a little laugh.

When we had finished our breakfast, my cell phone started ringing, and I saw that it was Eric. I pushed the ignore button and set the phone back on the nightstand. We got back into bed and snuggled up, and as soon as we got completely comfortable, Eric called again. I had never seen him act like this.
What bad timing.
I turned the phone off. Whatever he wanted would have to wait.

We slept most of the day, and when we woke up, I didn’t feel like going anywhere, but Slayde insisted on taking me somewhere nice for supper. I told him I would have to go back to the dorm for clothes before I could go anywhere, so we headed back to the school.

When I got back to the room, Milly wasn’t there. The room was just as we’d left it that morning. It didn’t look like she’d even been back.
That’s odd,
I thought but reminded myself that Milly had a one-track mind. Who knows what she’d gotten into.

While I was getting some clothes, the dorm phone rang, but I didn’t answer it. I figured if it was important, the caller would leave a message. I decided to write Milly a note to let her know that I was going to stay with Slayde and that I wanted her to call me tomorrow when she got up. Milly loved to sleep in on Saturdays, and I wasn’t going to deny her that.

As soon as I finished the note, I pushed the button to see who had called. “Arden, this is Eric. You need to call me on my cell ASAP. It’s important.” He sounded serious.

Slayde rolled his eyes and said, “He’s pretty relentless. Maybe you should call him back so we can have some peace for the rest of the weekend.” I could tell Eric really bothered him, and I thought it was cute.
Slayde Price, jealous.
That was a concept I’d never thought of.

“OK, maybe you’re right.”

I picked up the phone and dialed Eric’s cell. He answered on the first ring. “Where in the hell have you been? Off with your boyfriend, doing God knows what? I have been calling you all day,” he said in a strange tone that I had never heard him use. Not with me, at least.

“Excuse me? I don’t think where I’ve been or what I have been doing is any of your damn business, Eric. Now what is so important that you’ve been calling me all day?” I asked, unprepared for what he said next.

“Milly has been in an accident, and you need to come to the hospital now.” I went numb and dropped the phone. I was too shaken to say anything.

Slayde must have been able to tell this wasn’t a phone call to be jealous of, because he picked up the phone. “Eric, what’s wrong? Where is Milly? OK, we’re on our way.” And he grabbed my hand and led me back to the car.

We drove in silence for a while. Eventually, Slayde reached over and grabbed my hand. “She is going to be OK, Arden. Don’t panic.” I wanted to believe him, but until I heard it from Milly’s own mouth, I wasn’t going to.

“It’s all my fault,” I whispered.

“How do you figure?”

“She wouldn’t have been out if it weren’t for me. She brought me to the hotel this morning. I can’t believe I turned my phone off. I am a horrible, selfish person,” I cried.

“You are not selfish, and I’m not going to let you beat yourself up. You know good and well Milly wanted to be right up in the middle of getting you and me to work this out. She wouldn’t have let you come alone if you had wanted to.” I knew he was right. He’d only spent a few hours with her, but he had her pegged.

Eric and Karen were in the hospital waiting area when I came in. Slayde and I were still holding hands, and Eric must have noticed, because he made a face. I guessed he thought this wasn’t the time to argue, though; he simply hugged me and nodded at Slayde.

“Is she OK? Can I see her?” I asked them.

“She’s in surgery. She’s been in there for two hours. They’re trying to relieve pressure on her brain. We don’t know anything yet,” Eric said.

It was bad. I had to sit down. Slayde walked me to a chair. “Sit down and let me get you something to drink. Would either of you like something to drink?” he asked Eric and Karen.

They both said no. When he was out of earshot, Karen turned to me and said, “Who is that? And does he have a brother?”

Eric must have felt that was inappropriate, because he snarled, “Dammit, Karen, Milly is lying in there, in surgery, and you’re drooling over Arden’s hot-shot underwear-model boyfriend? You need to get a grip, both of you.”

Karen shot me a wild look. “Boyfriend? Why hasn’t anyone informed me? And you know as well as I do that Milly would say the same thing if it were her out here and one of us in there. You’re just pissed because Arden’s finally dating somebody, and it’s not you.”