Chapter Six
Thehotelwasbusy as usual. Ozzie made his way through Valet without issue. When they landed, Sofia excused herself to the restroom, and he called the hotel’s Operations Manager to make it very clear he did not want anyone to acknowledge they knew him. He’d tell Sofia everything, but this weekend wasn’t the time. He had promised her he would be there for her this weekend and that took priority over anything else. The valet manager gave him a knowing smile, and the front desk manager was hovering closely behind her staff. He appreciated the care they took in keeping his identity a secret. The complicated part was keeping everything from his father. He knew that the hotel managers from all of their properties had a weekly call on Tuesdays. Since they arrived on Thursday night and were leaving on Sunday, there shouldn’t be a problem. He would just need to remember to tell his father when he got back to town.
“Can you believe this place? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel this lavish before.”
“Lavish?” Ozzie said with a laugh as they entered the glass elevators that would take them to the suites on the top floor.
“How else would you describe it?”
Ozzie looked down into the lobby as the elevator ascended to their floor. He had become immune to the beauty of their properties a long time ago. Seeing things through her eyes brought a different view. The white marble lobby floors were a signature of Ashford Properties. The lobby was full of staff ready to greet their private party dressed perfectly in uniform. Most hotels had taken on a modern approach to apparel, but his father insisted the staff continued to wear the standard black uniforms that had been in place since his grandfather owned everything. He had to admit as he watched them bustling around with the black uniforms’ golden accents; it was a nice touch.
“I suppose you are right. Lavish would be the best word.”
“I don’t think I’ve told you recently, but I’m really grateful that you came. The idea of walking into a place like this and not feeling completely overwhelmed is huge relief.”
Ozzie reached for her and pulled her body into his side. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m happy to be here with you.”
Sofia’s phone dinged as a message came through and she fished it out of her purse with a squeal of joy. “It’s Jenny. They are already here! I can’t wait to see her. I promise you, my niece is one of the absolute coolest people you will ever meet.”
“I don’t know. I’ve met some pretty cool people.” Ozzie joked as they exited the elevator and approached the double doors to their suite. He used the key card to open the door and was pleased at the state of the room. Every time he stayed at The Sapphire, he spent his time in the presidential suite, which is where Sofia’s brother and future sister-in-law were staying. Their suite was decorated in dark woods and navy blue. It had a full kitchen and living room area and glass double doors that lead to the master. He watched as Sofia gushed over everything from the stainless steel appliances to the softness of the couch. Her excitement over it all made him want to spoil her with every nice thing the world offered.
“Oh, no!” she said, suddenly coming to a stop in front of the bedroom, “As soon as I knew you were coming I called and asked that I be changed to a room with two beds.”
Ozzie walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, placing a soft his on her neck. “It’s okay. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Her body melted into his, and she moaned softly when his lips touched her skin. “I... um... no, it’s okay. We can make it work.”
He turned her around so she was facing him. “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Yeah, it’s fine really.”
Sleeping next to Sofia was going to be one of the hardest things he had done in a long time. He wanted her more than he could express, but there was so much she still needed to know. Not only about his family, but they hadn’t had any conversations about where their relationship was going sexually. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off, but good old-fashioned vanilla sex didn’t always cut it. He leaned down and kissed her again, this time with even more force than before. Being alone with her had a heady effect on him, and he was quickly losing control. Her arms snaked up between them and he felt her push on his chest slightly, indicating she wanted to stop. As disappointed as he was, he pulled back and steadied her on her feet. Her mind may have been telling her no, but her eyes were dilated, her lips were plump from his kiss, and her breathing was erratic. His control was breaking, and they had only just arrived.
She took an exaggerated breath. “Let’s get changed and go see Jenny. She’s downstairs in the restaurant. Are you hungry?”
“I could eat.” Sofia’s eyes went wide, and he realized his response was a more suggestive than he expected. “I mean food. I could eat food.”
“Right, um... I’m going to change real quick.” She turned and made her way to her suitcase, pulling out a change of clothes, then disappeared into the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, placing his head in his hands. The weekend was full of events, dinners and parties, all leading up to the wedding on Saturday night. If he could keep distracted with everything they needed to get done, then maybe, just maybe, he could make it through the weekend without holding her down and plunging his dick into her. It had been years since he dated someone seriously and Sofia wasn’t a hook-up kind of girl. He liked her too much to just use her for the weekend and then never see her again. Being as rusty as he was, winning her over was difficult, too. He wanted to take the lead from her. After all, it was her family’s wedding, and he was just there as her guest. Someone for her to lean on in difficult situations. They had only known each other for a couple weeks, and he knew she needed that from him more than anything else.
“Ready?”
He looked up to see she changed into a simple black dress and heels. The way it wrapped around her curves made him want to reach out and touch her. “You’re beautiful.”
“What, this old thing?” she said with a laugh as she walked past him to pick up her purse, “Jenny said Bella and Luca needed some alone time, so she’s pigging out on every appetizer she could fit on the table. I’m suddenly starving at the thought of all that goodness waiting for us. Come on, let’s head down.”
“There she is,” Sofia said, pulling Ozzie behind her. As soon as Jenny saw them, she jumped up from the table and ran to her, enveloping her in a huge hug.
“You’re here!!! Oh damn Zia Sofia, he’s a hottie,” Jenny said as soon as she got a look at Ozzie.
Sofia couldn’t argue with that. The man was gorgeous. He traveled in a pair of dark jeans with another form fitting Henley. She loved the way the shirt tightened around his muscular frame, and each one he wore was softer than the last. It made keeping her hands to herself a laborious task. She had butterflies in her stomach from the second she saw they had only one bed in the room. Sharing living space was one thing, but sleeping next to him was a whole other thing.
“You must be Jenny,” Ozzie said, reaching his arm out, “Sofia has told me so much about you.”
“No sir, we hug in this family,” Jenny said, reaching for Ozzie and squeezing him tight, “Zia, he’s literally solid as a rock. How did you catch this one?”
They turned to the table and Sofia smiled as Ozzie pulled her chair out for her to take a seat. “I found him at a coffee shop.”
“Actually, I found her,” he said as he took the seat next to her and placed his arm on the back of her chair, “I caught sight of her through the window. She had a copy of A Wrinkle in Time in front of her and a coffee the size of her head. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Then when the baby at the table next to her dropped its bottle, I watched as she reached for it and helped the baby’s mother calm her child. I knew in that moment that I Sofia was someone I needed to meet. So I asked to join her and it was probably the best decision I ever made.”