She slowly turns around, hesitantly, like she expects that Cody and I have stripped and started screwing right there on the couch in the two seconds since she looked away.
“Yes?” she asks timidly, and she’s so cute that I want to stick her in my pocket and keep her there forever. Brother and sister similarities, I suppose.
“Are you okay?” I ask her gently. I feel my heart melt when her face warms like the epitome of sunshine. She nods, a little smile spreading on her face.
“I’m beyond okay, Darcy. I’m great.This,” she gestures between her brother and me, “is great. Well, notthisas in—this moment I’ve interrupted…whatever was happening… But just—in general. I’m—I’m happy for you guys.”
I beam at her.
“Hey, Maya?” Cody asks.
“Hmm?” she calls to him, looking at me with eyes full of love. Louis continues to laugh in the doorway, trying to give Cody a distasteful air-high-five.
Cody still looks like he’s in pain. I can’t imagine how embarrassed he must feel, sitting under blankets completely naked after his baby sister’s BFF just had his dick in her mouth. “I love you and all, but can you get the fuck out?”
CHAPTER 24
CODY
As much as I don’t want to leave Darcy’s side, I eventually have to so that I can deal with the Milo situation. Darcy’s not happy about me refusing to let her anywhere near him, and she had words to say when I announced my decision to see to it myself that he puts as much distance between himself and Darcy as possible. For good. It took a lot of bickering and arm crossing and eye rolls—on her part—but when I finally ride the elevator down to the offices where Ben notified me Milo’s been detained, I get a text from Thommes.
You got in a physical altercation with a guest in the lobby? Christ. What’d I tell you. BAD FOR BUSINESS. Hurry up and get down here. That means NOW, Cody.
I putmy phone in my pocket and rub my hands together, nodding sweetly at the little old lady riding in the elevator with me. Looks like it’s time to work the ole Cody Charm.
The back offices of the resort all have glass windows facing out into a narrow, brightly lit hallway. I walk down it and smile when Milo leaps from his chair inside the room we keep the disorderly guests and pounds a fist on the window.
“Let me the hell out of here! Where’s Darcy?!” He’s sporting a black eye, a busted cheek, a split lip, and a bloody nose. I think it’s safe to say he’s a lot worse off than I am. Good. I smile at him and give him a small, two-fingered salute as I pass by. He’ll have to wait until after my talk with the boss.
“I really tried to keep my cool, Mr. Thommes,” I say in my chair across from Thommes desk after he yells at me for five minutes straight about how he warned me I was on my last leg and now he has to cut me loose. “But he was seriously asking for it.”
“You’re not helping your case, son,” Thommes says, all ruddy cheeked and out of breath from all the yelling. I explain my side of the story—in great detail—glad he’s giving me the chance to. When I’m finished, he’s calmed down considerably. We talk it over for a bit, and what do you know—Thommes also hates the prick, who’snota guest and is trespassing on privately owned property. I was merely protecting the safety of the guests at our resort. I’m a goddamn hero, so my job is safe another day.
It makes it all the more satisfying when the police show up, slap the cuffs on Milo’s swollen wrists, and haul him out of there. Before they left, I made sure to get information from one of the officers about how to go about getting a restraining order placed to keep him away from Darcy.
I don’t sleepmuch that night. Darcy stays with me, which helps to keep me calm, but my mind is too polluted to rest. I’m anxious, and I can’t place why. But I know one thing.
I’m not running away this time.
I’m going to stick it out and heal with the people who promise that they care about me. Because, at the end of the day, that’s the quickest way to contentment.
Around six a.m., I decide to sneak downstairs and grab some breakfast for Darcy and me. She’ll probably still be asleep for a couple of hours, but I figure I might as well get an early start since today is going to be a hectic day. Darcy and Maya are set to fly out later this evening. The thought of saying goodbye makes me sick, but I’d never tell them that. This trip has already been enough of a mess as it is. I just need to get them home safe and sound, and then I can process my emotions about it all by myself once they’re gone. After all, a man can only change his set-in-stone ways so much in a single day.
I grab Darcy a coffee, some eggs, a bagel, and a glass of orange juice—for good measure. We had a big dinner with Maya last night, so I’m not quite hungry enough for real food. I just get some toast and a cup of coffee for myself.
When I return to my room, I’m surprised to see Darcy awake and sitting up in bed, eyeing me with disdain the second I walk through the door. “I got déjà vu when I woke up and you weren’t here,” she tells me, and I detect just a bit of anger in her voice that I immediately work to soothe.
“I... Shit. I didn’t think about that, Darcypops. I’m sorry. I just went to grab us something to eat.” I lightly jostle the Styrofoam containers in my hands. “I didn’t think you’d be awake by the time I got back, or I would’ve left a note or something.”
Darcy watches me for a moment, her eyes eventually softening. “It’s fine. I’m sorry. Just… paranoid, I guess.”
I chuckle softly and kick off my shoes, sliding back into the bed and settling in next to her.
“Darcypops,” she snorts.
“It suits you,” I grin.
“It didn’t suit me when I was 10, it doesn’t suit me now.”
