I laughed at his pride in his Southern heritage and pulled his jacket closer around me. It felt like I was wrapped in a warm embrace, which made me smile stupidly. I chalked it up to the drugs starting to work. Warren tried to hail a couple of passing taxis but no one stopped, so we kept walking at a comfortable pace, though with each step, my body felt more and more leaden. My eyes wilted from sleepiness, and my mind grew foggy.
I saw a billboard of a woman draped in a seductive purple silk dress, and in my hazy mind, I started to snicker.
Looking amusedly down at me, Warren asked, “What?”
“That lady,” I said between giggles, “she looks like an eggplant.”
Warren glanced up at the billboard and, seeing things through his undrugged mind, he didn’t seem to find it quite as hysterical.
“Once, I tried on a dress that made me look like a pickle. Or was it an asparagus?” I chortled again.
“Sounds like the medication is starting to kick in,” he said, holding back his smile for my sake.
“Am I looking any better?” I asked, trying in vain to lift my heavy eyelids higher.
“Let’s just say you don’t look any worse. I’m no doctor, but I imagine it takes a while for the antihistamines to be effective.”
“By then, I’ll have crashed in bed.” I made the motion of an airplane with an accompanying explosion. The one sane voice left in my head knew I’d be horrified by my own behavior if I had control of myself but I was too loopy to care.
In my purse, I heard my phone trilling. I pulled it out and looked at the call screen—Mom. Deciding to take my chances with her now rather than risking her calling every five minutes while I was trying to sleep in my hotel room, I swiped the answer button.
“Hello?” I asked, wincing at the lazy way my mouth said the word.
“Eloise?” My mother’s voice came in loud and clear. “What’s the matter? Are you inebriated?”
I oscillated between wanting to giggle while at the same time defend myself. I’d never been drunk in my life, but I imagined taking the maximum dose of antihistamines was about as close as I’d ever gotten.
“No! Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because,” Mom said, her words clipped, “you’re slurring your words. That’s what drunk people do.”
I was prepared to defend myself, but my train of thought kept derailing. Instead, I asked, “What are you doing calling so late? You and Dad are always in bed by ten. It’s already, like, late at your house.”
“Because, I’m worried sick that both my daughters are meandering in a huge, unfamiliar city. Isn’t it acceptable for a mother to care?”
“Care away,” I said, giving her my permission with an accompanying snicker.
“Where’s Stella? She said you two were going to eat together tonight. Let me talk to her.”
“She’s still at dinner with Robby,” I informed her. “He’s going to take her back to their hotel afterward.”
“Thank goodness for Robby,” Mom said. I could just see her putting her hand to still her beating heart at the mention of him. “What are you doing, then? Staying put in your hotel room, I hope.”
“Headed there right now.”
“Headed there?” my mom said with alarm. “Please tell me you’re not walking.”
“Okay,” I said. “We’re not walking.”
There was a momentary pause. “I can hear that you’re walking. There are cars driving past. Are you with somebody? Do I know them?”
“I was—”
Warren lifted the phone out of my hand and pressed it to his ear. “Hello, Mrs. Stauch. It’s Warren Jackson.”
Warren patiently listened to my mom. I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but I couldn’t imagine it wasn’t all too pleasant. She hadn’t exactly been over the moon with Warren like she had with Robby, thanks to our little mishap, but I had to give it to Warren for not letting her intimidate him. With my inhibitions waning by the minute, I took Warren’s free hand and intertwined my fingers with his, resting my head on his shoulder, just like I used to do.
Warren seemed to take heart from my boldness and beamed at me.
“You look like a brown-eyed Superman,” I told him, reaching with my free hand to touch his square jaw.
Warren had to muffle the phone against his chest as he fought back a laugh. When he composed himself, he spoke confidently. “No, ma’am. She had a bad allergic reaction to some makeup and took the maximum dose of allergy medicine. Uh, huh. I think so, too. I imagine she’s learned her lesson about always checking the ingredient labels on the makeup, just like you taught her to do.”
I stared at Warren, and his eyes flicked in my direction, giving me a playful wink.
“That’s right. Straight to the hotel, no detours. I’ll be sure she makes it there safely. You have nothing to worry about.”
I was skeptical Mom had bought Warren’s promise until he smiled. “You’re welcome. You have a good night yourself.”
Hanging up my phone, he gave it back as we rounded the corner and our hotel came into view.
“Thank you for that,” I said, slipping my phone back into my purse. “I think she was afraid I was going to wander down a back alley by myself, and she’d read about my unidentifiable body being found in a dumpster. She’s a worrier, that one.”
“I think worrying is generally what mothers are known for.”
“I guess,” I said, with a huge yawn. Letting go of Warren’s hand, I stretched my arms high over my head, then rubbed my itchy eyes with great satisfaction.
“Hey,” Warren said, pulling my hands away, “you don’t want to trigger another reaction by all that rubbing.”
I dropped my hands and slipped them into his coat pockets instead of slipping my fingers between his again. “I thought you said you weren’t a doctor.”
“I’m not, but I’ve had allergic reactions before. Scratching is satisfying, but only makes them worse.”
“Well, Dr. Warren, I think the medication lasts for twelve hours. I should be good.”
“Hopefully you’ll be awake enough tomorrow for our finale.”
“After some sleep, I’ll be right as rain. You’ll see.”
We strolled through the front lobby, and Warren pressed the button for the elevator. “What floor are you on?”
“Tenth, please.” Tilting my head against the wall, I closed my eyes for only a moment, but when Warren shook me awake, I startled, realizing I’d dozed off. Ratting the bag with the allergy pills in it, I laughed. “This stuff is no joke.”
“So it seems,” Warren said, smiling as he took my elbow and guided me onto the elevator.
The ride up was quiet. I didn’t suppose there was much Warren could have said to me that I would recall the next morning, but as thoughts drifted in and out of my consciousness, I wondered aloud, “Warren? How do I know you’re not Preston?”
Warren cocked his head and looked at me through squinted eyes. “Preston? Who’s that?”
“It’s Mandy, er, Monica’s ex-boyfriend. She thought he was nice and everything, but it turned out he was a regular old turd.”
Despite my choice vernacular, Warren gazed seriously at me. “I guess you’d have to trust me.”
“But what if you’re not trustworthy? What if I’m not trustworthy, and I screw everything up?”
The elevator doors dinged, and I stepped off, trying to remember which direction my room was. Trailing behind me, Warren thought a moment, then said, “I don’t suppose any relationship is perfect, especially from the get go. The important thing is that both people are trying.”
“But why should we try? We already tried once.”
Warren pulled me around and wrapped his hands on my arms, bowing his face down to meet mine.
“Because, I keep trying to tell you Eloise, you and I are meant to be.”
Staggering toward my hotel door, it took me four tries to swipe my keycard. The giggliness of my medicine had worn off, leaving
me with a hollow, sad feeling, like my entire torso was void. “I’m not so sure we are. It was fun, but it might be time for us to finally move past each other.”
Chapter Twenty
I was lying in bed, conscious but unwilling to open my eyes. The blower on the air conditioning unit buzzed in the background, and I kept still, trying to remember exactly what’d happened the night before. There was the adorable pink dress, Vanessa and Stella hurrying to do my hair and makeup, camera flashes, loud music, dancing with Warren…
Shooting out of bed, I kicked off the covers and raced to the bathroom. As the light flickered on, I breathed a sigh of relief. There was a touch of residual redness, but my eyelids had shrunk back to their normal size. Thankfully, the makeup hadn’t done any permanent damage. Running a hand through my tangled hair, I looked down at the rest of me. I was still wearing the dress Stella had gifted me and over top was Warren’s black suit coat. I groaned, recalling the rest of the evening after I’d downed the allergy medicine. Had I really held Warren’s hand and lay my head on his shoulder? I was becoming the queen of mixed signals, and I had no idea how Warren could stand my lobbing back and forth.
Looking at myself straight in the mirror, I said aloud to my reflection, “I need to talk to Stella.”
She was the one person I knew I could trust to set the record straight. As far as Warren was concerned, he had a high stake on the outcome of me believing him or not. If Stella confirmed he was lying, I’d have no qualms slapping him across his face and yelling good riddance at him. If he was telling the truth…well, I hoped groveling would give me a better chance of winning him back.
After I raced through the shower and did a quick wardrobe change, I went down to the lounge where the hotel hosted breakfast, grabbing a banana and muffin from the bar. I spied Mandy sitting in a corner booth, staring out the window instead of doing whatever work she had open on her laptop. Not that I didn’t like her, but I didn’t feel like being drilled with the schedule for the day. I had to get some answers, and I had to catch Stella before she and Robby headed off to their conference.
Almost serendipitously, there was an unassigned taxi waiting outside the hotel. I jumped in and gave him directions to the Marriott hotel Stella was staying at, promising a generous tip if he could make it there in under ten minutes. He made good on his promise, swerving in and out of traffic and accelerating like we were headed for a NASCAR finish.
Glancing at me in his rearview mirror, he asked, “Hey. Aren’t you Eloise Stauch? The girl that almost won America’s Next Pop Star?”
“That’s me,” I said, holding my smile though I was terrified where the conversation might lead. It hadn’t happened often, but there were people who had clung to me like I was the living embodiment of fame itself and refused to let me go until I peeled them off.
“Whatever happened to you and that Warren guy? My wife’s been dying to know.”
That question drilled fear right into me.
“Oh, we’re just friends,” I said lightly, looking out the window so I didn’t have to meet his eyes.
“That’s too bad. She was hoping for a happily ever after for you two.”
Emotions painfully constricted my chest, and I had to force down a breath. “It’s a bit…complicated.”
The man scratched at his jawline and offered, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned after twenty blissful years of marriage is that if you love someone, they’re worth fighting for.”
“I suppose. I just have to figure out if he’s worth fighting for, first.”
The taxi pulled up under the hotel’s drop off awning. Stepping from the cab, I bent over and handed him his fare with the promised tip.
Clearing my throat, I said, “Thanks for the advice.”
“Advice is free but thanks for the tip all the same,” he said before rolling up his window and pulling away.
I stood up straight and drew in a breath, holding it in my lungs while I waited for my thoughts to settle. I didn’t exactly want to rush up to the hotel concierge, blubbering like an emotional mess. So much was riding on this conversation with Stella that my knees trembled. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to bear the stress.
I spied a couple across the street, sitting on a bench in the middle of a tiny but immaculately kept park. It looked like they were having a picnic of sorts, though neither of them was eating much. She leaned over and touched his knee, and he said something that made her tip her head back and laugh with her whole soul. A smile tugged at my face. Seeing such an obvious display of love and happiness made me hope that maybe I could have that myself…if Warren and I truly were meant to be.
Turning to go inside, the woman laughed again, loud enough that I could hear her. Doing a double take, I squinted and looked harder at them.
“Stella?”
Sure enough, Stella was sitting with none other than Robby. About to rescind my conclusion about their affection for each other, that thought was immediately put to rest when Robby leaned over and kissed her.
“What…?”
With the possibility that Warren was taking advantage of my sister, seeing Robby do the same thing made my blood boil. Stella was so innocent, and there she was, caught in the middle of not one but two men.
I clenched my fists and stomped my way across the street to where they were sitting, seemingly oblivious to the outside world as their kiss intensified and they hungrily mashed their mouths together.
“Robert Jenkins, what do you think you’re doing to my sister?” I demanded through clenched teeth.
Stella and Robby flew apart, sliding as far away as possible from each other.
“Eloise?” Stella said, shielding her eyes from the rising sun so she could look at me. Her lipstick was a tad misaligned, and her cheeks were blazing red. It would’ve been funny if I wasn’t in defensive mode, ready to rip Robby’s head off. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” I snapped. “The both of you.”
Stella and Robby looked at each other, then stifled a silly giggle while trying to maintain neutral expressions.
Fixing his polo shirt, Robby suggested, “Maybe I should leave you two alone to chat.”
Stella reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Rob. We can meet in the lobby in an hour and ride over to the conference center together. Sound like a plan?”
He nodded and packed up their half-eaten breakfast. Looking over at Stella, then up at me, he hesitated briefly before leaning over and tenderly kissing her on the cheek.
“I’ll see you soon,” he murmured into her ear. Stella beamed at him, and touched his face in return. As he walked away, he looked like he might as well have been floating.
Turning back to my sister, I crossed my arms and demanded, “What was that all about?”
Stella straightened her skirt and brushed off a crumb. “I think you saw exactly what it was.”
“Oh, I saw alright. What I’m wondering is what you’re doing? You’re either being duped by Warren and Robby, or you’re the one who’s two-timing.”
“What?” Stella said, her jaw plummeting, leaving her mouth wide open in disbelief. “Where did you get the ridiculous notion that I ever liked Warren?”
“When we were in Denver, I overheard him on the phone with you. You were talking about going on a date…Warren said he loved you. I heard it all.”
“Eloise,” Stella groaned and rolled her eyes. Taking my wrist, she yanked me down to sit next to her. “You have got it all wrong. For one, Warren never said he loved me. He said he loved how my mind worked and that it was a thing of beauty.”
Sniffing and sitting rigidly, I crossed my ankles. “That’s not how I remember it.”
“Well, I was the one actually talking to him, not you.”
“Okay, fine. So I may have read into your phone conversation a bit.”
“A bit?” Stella laughed outright. “For one, you were only hearing one side of it. And I doubt you were standing right next to him when he
was talking to me. What? Were you hiding under the clothing rack to spy on him?”
“No.” My hands couldn’t seem to sit still in my lap. “I was in a nearby dressing room.”
“Oh, Eloise,” Stella said, chuckling again. “You have the most active imagination of anyone over six years old that I know.”
I slumped back against the wooden bench and massage my temples. “I’ve gotten everything all wrong, haven’t I?”
“Big time.”
“But I thought you had a thing for Warren. I mean, why else would the two of you be sneaking around? And then, last night, you looked like you were having such a good time together.”
“Warren is a great guy,” Stella agreed, “but he’s not my type. Kind of like a goofy big brother that I feel like I can tell anything to. In fact, that’s why we were chatting on the phone when you came to such grossly wrong conclusions. I was actually asking him for advice about Robby.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Really? I mean, Robby’s so sweet, but you have to admit, he’s a bit of a nerd.”
Stella laughed, shoving my shoulder hard. “That’s coming from a girl who’s pining over Jed Clampett. I mean, I don’t think you could find anyone more Beverly Hillbillies than Warren.”
“I’ll give you that,” I said with a snigger. “He’s definitely from another world.”
“When you agreed to go on a date with Robby at Mom and Dad’s house, it was so obvious you were doing it to try and make Warren jealous, and that Robby was merely being kind. So, Warren and I schemed how we could each get what we wanted.”
“You wanted to be with Robby…”
“And Warren wants you. And though you’re fighting it for some dumb reason, it’s so apparent you want Warren.”
Leaning forward, I dropped my head into my hands while I internally sorted out the mess I’d made. This whole debacle was my fault, and it made me sick. I’d painted Warren out to be a scumbag and had treated him accordingly more often than not. How could Warren possibly ever trust me again? For all he knew, I’d always be hot, then cold with him.
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