He smiles and points toward his room. “We only have to walk a few more feet. You relax, and I’ll get some ice. If you’re hungry, I can order room service. I know I could use a drink, and I’m thinking maybe you can too.”
I don’t say anything because I’m overwhelmed by how wonderful he’s being right now. I have to finally ask why he’s really doing any of this for me. My being friends with Ava seems like a pretty weak excuse.
“Why are you being so nice to someone who’s practically a stranger?” I ask when we reach the door to his hotel room.
Marius shrugs as he opens the door and gently escorts me inside to the biggest hotel room I’ve ever seen in my life. Even with only being able to see out of one eye I can tell this suite is enormous.
I turn to face him and see him smiling at me. “Maybe I’m just a nice guy.”
Marius King a nice guy? No way.
Taking a deep breath, I let it out in a rush after telling Ava the beginning of our story. She sits listening like her life hangs on every word, and when I stop for a break, she shakes her head.
“I never liked Justin, but why did you lie to me when you came back? You said you had a great time in Vegas. I believed you because you extended your stay to a week. Why didn’t you tell me the truth about what happened with him?”
Like that day in the lobby of the hotel in Las Vegas, I hang my head in shame. “I was too embarrassed. I let him do that to me. I don’t know what was wrong with me. I’d never let anyone treat me like that.”
“I’m just glad Marius showed up and got him kicked out and gave you a place to stay. It’s definitely an exciting beginning to you two.”
She has no idea. If she thinks that was exciting, just wait until she hears how we spent the week and then got married after seven days.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Eden
A half hourin the biggest soaker tub I’ve ever seen gives my anger a chance to rise to the surface, replacing the humiliation I felt before. And to think I bought that dress believing Justin would go crazy for it.
Jackass.
I finally get out of the tub when my fingertips get pruney, and I see a white cotton bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. Did Marius put that there? I don’t remember seeing that when I walked in.
Then again, I do only have one working eye, so maybe I missed it. No matter. Whoever hung it there, thank you.
I slip it on, and oh my God, it feels heavenly against my skin! This is no ordinary cotton robe. It feels like the softest cotton known to man. I guess there are perks to staying in a suite here.
When I walk out into the hotel room, Marius is sitting on an enormous black sofa watching something on a large screen TV. He smiles when he sees me, patting the cushion next to him.
“Come sit down and rest. Did you have a nice bath? I ordered room service. Since I didn’t know what you liked, I got a bit of everything.”
After I do as he suggests, I suddenly feel awkward when I remember my eye probably looks awful. I lower my head and focus my attention on the white hotel robe.
“You okay?” he asks, but I don’t look at him.
“Yeah. The bath was nice.”
He falls silent, so I assume he’s returned to watching TV. All the better. I really don’t know what to say right anyway. I don’t understand why he’s being so nice to me either. Maybe it’s because Ava is my best friend and she’s with Matthias. It certainly isn’t because we’re good friends since I don’t think Marius King and I have spoken twenty words to one another before today. Yes, we attended the same high school, but he was a year ahead of me. The closest I ever got to him was knowing his ex-girlfriend.
All of this fills my head so I don’t pay much attention to him until he taps me on the knee. I look at my leg and notice the robe has fallen open. Great. First, I get punched in the face by my lovely ex-boyfriend, and now I’m flashing the guy who’s trying to help.
What a day.
“Eden, are you sure you’re okay?”
I nod but still refuse to look at him.
He leans over and slides his finger under my chin. Gently lifting it, he forces me to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
“My eye hurts. I don’t even want to look at it. I bet it’s horrible.”
