He felt alive.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he said.
“I’ve never done this just because I wanted to.”
Between the two of them, they had so much past.
He tightened his hand around hers.
“The problem with having never done this before is that I don’t know what would be the best way to do it.”
“Don’t say you only want the room for an hour,” Tiffani advised. “Hotels frown on that.”
He checked his watch. “I’m not sure we have an hour.”
“Oh, then that’s completely different. We’ll just walk up to the desk and say we want a room for half an hour. We’ll say that honestly, fifteen minutes could do in a pinch.”
“If they just have a roomy broom closet...”
“That’s the way to any hotel manager’s heart.”
Their walk had carried them to a reasonably upscale hotel. Once they pushed into that revolving glass door, it was either keep on straight towards their destination or wind up going around in circles.
He looked at Tiffani.
She’d been brave enough to restart her life.
He could be brave enough to restart his. Full throttle.
It was, after all, working out pretty well so far. Even if all this made him feel like a teenager.
“Excuse me,” an irate woman behind them said, “are you in or are you out?”
“In,” Martin said, and stepped forward straight and true.
The clerk at the desk wore a starchy shirt and an even starchier smile.
“Hello! Welcome to the Sinclair! Part of the Sinclair family of hotels! My name is Mary! What can I do for you today!”
Martin had no idea how to respond to that level of perky enthusiasm. He looked desperately at Tiffani.
She came to his rescue.
“Hi, Mary. I know it’s short notice, but our work thing is running into some serious overtime.” She rolled her eyes. “We’ll have to pick up some toothbrushes tonight. Could we go ahead and book a room?”
“Just one?”
“If it’s got double beds. The expense report’s going to be a nightmare already. Good luck making any money off this per diem, right, Martin?”
“Work!” Mary said brightly. “Can’t live with it, can’t live without it! Two keys or one!”
“Oh, one. We’ll be stuck together all day anyway.”
“Great! Room 1214! Credit card for one of you!”
Tiffani reached for her purse.
Martin, with his wallet just in his pocket, had a quicker draw.