God, she hoped so. But the look in his eyes made her believe he wanted more of her. For now, she had to plan her get away without Uncle James finding out.
“Beck, check out the door and see if Lopez or Annie is anywhere in sight.” Lopez was her uncle’s maintenance man slash security guard, and Annie was the maid. They had a small operation. Alana usually handled the front desk and reservations. Aunt Penny must’ve taken Dusty’s reservation. She hadn’t recognized the name the night before.
“Ah, alright! Hey, let’s all meet at the beach later today.” Becky looked excited as she crawled off top of Dusty’s midsection. It was hard to believe she was Alana’s elder by five years.
Alana creased her eyebrows. “Not at this beach,” she stated. “You work out the details. I’m in if you guys are.” She looked at Logan, hoping to see a speck of interest. He had his back to her and was busy peeking out the window. Damn, maybe their time had passed.
Logan didn’t hear the conversation, he was too focused on the beautiful shades of emerald and sapphirewater. Something about the sparkle reminded him of Alana’s eyes. He didn’t want her to go. He didn’t want to be in a room full of people either. All he wanted was her to himself so they could finish what they started. Shaking his head, he wasn’t able to figure out the uneasy feeling down deep in his gut. While awaiting his next deployment assignment he knew he shouldn’t get involved with anyone, yet he already knew he wanted more than one night with her. It wasn’t about sex, it was about her.
Becky made it to the door and looked outside. “You’re safe!”
Alana opened the door, stepped out just in time to hear the elevator door open.
“Alana? What are you doing?” A husky voice blared.
“Good morning Uncle James.” She smiled, pulling the door behind her so the others inside wouldn’t hear his wrath.
“What is going here young lady?”
“What is going on where?” She began walking toward the elevator. The room door opened and Logan poked his head out. Thank god he had thrown on a black t-shirt.
“Thank you miss,” He threw his hand up to her, “for the towels.”
“Uh, you’re welcome, sir,” she went along with him, wishing he hadn’t shown his face to Uncle James.
James Carpenter was a shrewd businessman and didn’t tolerate much, treating everyone as an employee, including his wife and Alana. She appreciated everything he had done for her. Hoping she would get a degree in hotel management, he had even helped pay her way through college. Once he realized that dream was his dream alone, he still gladly assisted her. He hadn’t expected her to repay him, but she knew she would be indebted to him. If she could’ve paid for school without his help, she sure as hell would have. But Aunt Penny still needed her help at the hotel, and she wasn’t about to abandon her.
“Towels huh?” he looked at her attire. “You decided to ditch your uniform today?”
“I, uh, stayed with a friend last night,” she stammered, “I came in early to check the front desk and had a message that this room needed towels. I decided to run them up before jumping in the shower and preparing for the day.” She pushed the buttons on the elevator repeatedly, hoping he was buying the story. “No sense making them wait. The guests always come first, right Uncle James?” She looked toward Logan, still standing in the doorway.
Uncle James grumbled under his breath and passed by Alana, giving Logan a contemptible look. She wasn’t sure he had bought the story, but at least she had saved herself the embarrassment of being reprimanded in front of Logan.
The elevator doors finally opened, and she turned to see Logan staring at her. He winked at her as the elevator doors closed. Good lord, he took her breath away. What was she getting herself into?
* * * * * * * *
Slowly closing the door, Logan rubbed his hand down the back of his neck. What was