Lukas smirked and shook his head. “You should hit up Charlie for some green juice every now and then just to balance things out.”
I grimaced. “Yeah, no, thanks. Tried his shit once and lost my taste buds for a whole week.”
Lukas’s laughter followed me as I moved down the line. When my order was up, I grabbed it and nearly ran out the door to my truck. If Amelia was in trouble, I wanted to be there to help. Why hadn’t she called me? I got to the hotel and parked, instantly seeing the tree that tilted over the far-left side of the hotel. The roots were exposed on one side, and though it leaned mightily, it hadn’t fallen over completely. She’d have to get a crew in here to cut the tree down as soon as possible. Some of the taller branches had damaged the far corner of the hotel.
I took the donuts and coffee inside the lobby, watching a couple check out, their drawn faces showing a long night of little sleep. Amelia stood behind the counter, watching them go with a frown on her face. Her hair was down and loose, her face makeup-free. A black silk robe covered her body, but had me wondering what she had on underneath. Jesus, she was beautiful.
Ambling over and placing the box and coffee on the counter, I drank in her face, seeing with my own eyes she wasn’t injured in any way.
“Rough night?” I asked lightly.
Amelia took a deep breath and then blew it out, the frown line between her eyebrows finally leaving. “You could say that. Had hysterical guests in the halls when the tree fell. Just comped the couple in that room their whole stay to appease them. Now I gotta call Wayne and see if I can get him to get the damage fixed ASAP. He’s not exactly known for being on it, so we’ll see.”
She grabbed the coffee from my hand and took a huge sip. “Thank you. I’m going to need the caffeine and sugar.”
An idea hit me. A way to help her out. “Why don’t you show me the damaged room?”
She nodded and spun, heading to the stairs in flip-flops. I scrubbed a hand over my eyes and tried to focus on what I was here for and not on the bounce of her ass beneath that silk. Big Foot, the official mascot of Hell Hotel, darted down the hall next to me, his crazy eyes looking more crazed than usual. Poor feline had probably been half scared to death when the tree fell.
We made it to the room in the back on the second floor. I could see why that couple had been freaked out. A branch had come right through the wall. Structurally, there wasn’t a lot of damage inside, but I’d have to check out the roof to know the extent of it. If a crew came in and got that tree out of here before it fell further, this wouldn’t be a huge job.
“Why don’t you work on getting Wayne to hire a crew to cut down that tree. That’s the most pressing issue at the moment. I’ll send him a low-ball proposal for the repair work. An offer he won’t be able to refuse if he knows what’s good for his bottom line.”
Amelia’s eyes went soft. “You’d do that?”
I nodded and got out my phone to put together a bid. If I looked at her any longer, I might do something I’d regret later.
The wind shifted and suddenly Amelia was wrapped around me, her arms squeezing my neck. My phone dropped to the rug on impact, leaving my hands free to land on her back and then move quickly to her hips.
Fuck.
She wasn’t wearing a bra and those breasts were pressed against my chest as she lifted on her tiptoes to reach me. She smelled good too. Like shampoo and a hint of perfume from the day before.
“I don’t know where to touch you. Is your tattoo still healing?” I whispered, my words scraping along my throat.
Her head nodded against my shoulder, but still she didn’t let go. So, I held her hips tighter and found the limits of how hard I could grind my teeth before pain lit up the side of my face. I would not slide my palms down and grab her ass. Nope. I had more self-control than that. I knew I did. Somewhere.
“You’re the bestest best friend a girl could have, T.” Her lips tickled my skin as she spoke, every inch of my body hyper-aware of hers.
The whispered words rained down like ice water, reminding me my reaction to her was anything but appropriate for a friend. I shifted subtly, hoping she couldn’t feel the evidence of my attraction to her. I gave myself the count of three to gather the strength needed to release her hips and step back. I hated it, but I needed to create some much-needed space between us.
Amelia tightened the belt on her robe and smiled at me, oblivious to how twisted she got me with a simple hug.
I winked at her. “I like the new uniform.”
Her cheeks heated, which was an interesting response, considering almost nothing flustered Amelia. She glanced down at her red-painted toes and then back up.
“I guess I should put some clothes on and attack the day, huh?”
I walked her out of the room, shutting the door and leading her to the room she occupied on the opposite side of the hotel. Thank God the tree didn’t fall on her side. I didn’t know what I would have done had she been injured or worse.
“How about you get dressed and I’ll put together a bid for Wayne?” I stopped outside her door, not wanting to enter her personal space if she’d be changing.
“Sounds perfect.” She unlocked the door and entered, looking back at me. “You
