“Why would I take some man there and ruin all my peace?” Toni scoffed. “It’s the only time of year I can control exactly who I see and what I do. So Abuela can ask all she wants; that’s never going to happen.”
“Wouldn’t I be intruding, then?”
“No, because I’m choosing to see you, to spend time with you. Listen, you probably have a hundred better offers, but it’s there if you need it. No importa, right?”
She rarely lapsed into Spanish around me, but I appreciated the sentiment all the same.
“Let me check nobody made plans for me already—that happens sometimes—and I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
“Okay. You’re not tired from your flight? I don’t want to keep you out later than you should.”
“No, I’m wide awake,” I told her, and despite the long day it had the benefit of being true. “Tell me more about your grandmother’s house.”
I made it back to my suite just before midnight, unheard of at the start of a tournament. The Manhattan suite was everything I remembered but with a few new cool touches. My mother wouldn’t arrive until the following morning, so I had the whole set of rooms to myself. Parisa was in her own room somewhere down the hall, and she’d left my key at reception for me.
The knock at the door startled me. Had Parisa ordered some kind of room service for when I got back? I checked my phone for missed calls or messages only to discover it wasn’t in the pocket of my jeans. Great. I opened the door before I could get annoyed about that.
Only to find Toni standing there, my phone in hand.
“I figured you’d be on the top floor.” She offered me the phone, and I took it gratefully. Not that it really held all my secrets, but the thought of it being out in the world without me had still made me panic a little.
I realised my chest was still tight and forced myself to relax. “Well, you know, they just call, and I guess this is what I was offered. Usually Mamma takes the other room, but she’s not in yet.”
“I should get back downstairs,” Toni said, and the air between us was definitely shifting a little, something new and awkward there.
“Xavi will be looking for you, right?”
“Nah, he’ll be sleeping by now.”
“Nightcap?” I shouldn’t. We both had matches early afternoon. “I think there’s cognac.”
Toni considered a moment, still half-turned back towards the elevator. “Sure, I could drink some cognac.”
I ushered her in and nodded to the huge couch that dominated the sitting room. The bar was in the corner, so I tracked down the bottle and poured two measures into the ridiculously oversized glasses that let it breathe. The hotel staff had thoughtfully left some dark chocolate to go with it, so I brought the little plate of individually wrapped pieces along with our drinks.
“If my friends could see me now,” Toni said once I’d set her glass down. “Late night drinking with the world number one.”
“Your friends can see anything they like,” I said. “It’s just the press I stay away from.”
“It’s not like I can post a bunch of pics, though,” Toni said. “I’m not complaining; I’m saying I get it.”
“If you wanted a selfie you just had to ask,” I pointed out. “It’s so not the weirdest request.”
“What is? The weirdest?”
“Um, the girl in Melbourne last year who asked me to sign her left boob? She wanted it tattooed. I mean, why not, right?”
“She’s going to have fun explaining that to a doctor or a lover someday.” Toni saw the funny side, lifting her glass in a silent toast. “But I just wanted you to know…this isn’t about having a famous friend, for me. You must get a lot of fake people, and I wanted to make sure you knew there’s no agenda here.”
“That’s sweet of you,” I said, because it was. “Most people aren’t that thoughtful. It’s either full-blown creepy, or they do that thing where they insult you a lot to show how cool they are around a famous person. You, though, you can have your selfie anytime you like.”
“Let’s not show the world we’re up late and drinking,” Toni decided. “But when I see you on the warmup courts tomorrow, we’ll get ourselves some social-media buzz. I want everyone pulling for you to finish the year on top.”
“And I want you to jump as many ranking points as possible, so I guess that’s fair. We can be cheerleaders for each other.”
“That come with the cute little outfit?” Toni asked, and I felt that tingle again. “God, this sofa is comfortable.”
I yawned, the day finally catching up to me.
“I knew I was keeping you up,” she said. “Is it weird I want to just crash here?”
“There’s a bed,” I pointed out. “A spare bed, I mean.” Blushing, great. What a smooth idiot I was. “All yours if you can move that far.”
“Don’t think I can,” Toni said, her words more of a mumble. “Too tired.”
“When you crash, you really crash, huh?”
Toni’s response was to let her head fall back against the cushions with a soft little snore. I eased the glass from her grip before it dropped, and after a moment of debating myself, eased her down onto her side and placed a square pillow under her head. When she didn’t stir, I went into the unused bedroom and brought a sheet to cover her with, smiling at the finished sight of a sleeping Toni all tucked in for the night.
It made it a little harder to get myself to bed. Part of me wanted to just watch her for a moment longer and revel in the peace. Instead, I stripped off and crawled under my own sheets, too tired even for pyjamas.
The world could wait for a few hours.
Chapter Fourteen
“Elin, you could at least give the poor girl a bed.”
I woke up with a start to find someone leaning over me, saying those words.
