Abby sagged against the elevator wall, completely exhausted from her long day. All she wanted now was the hot bath Sean had promised, followed by blissful sleep. Sophie, along with her personal security detail, Danny Nucci and Ron Miller, stepped into the elevator with her.
“That wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been,” Sophie said.
“Danny was lucky enough to get cornered by that woman.” Ron chuckled and pressed the buttons for their floors. “Left me to hold back all the squealing teenagers.”
Abby fought the urge to roll her eyes. The woman was gross. She was dressed like a cheap whore. And, she was there with her daughter, not at some nightclub. She wouldn’t leave Danny alone.
“You could’ve given me some help. She was disgusting.” He shook his head exaggeratedly.
“She was quite fond of you.” Abby laughed to mask her real feelings.
“Not one of you tried to intervene. I’m gonna need to shower for a week in order to get her perfume out of my nose. She reeked.”
“Yeah, you do smell pretty,” Abby goaded.
“I’ll remember this. Just wait,” Danny warned as the elevator door opened to Sophie’s floor.
“Night.” Sophie gave Abby a quick peck on the cheek before she stepped off the elevator.
“Night.” Abby waited inside the elevator with Danny. He held the door open while Ron walked Sophie to her room.
“So, what are your plans for the rest of the night? A late night rendezvous with the smelly cougar?” Abby teased.
“Aren’t you the funny one this evening. Well, baby doll, it’s two-thirty in the morning, so I’m thinking sleep. Why? Did you have something in mind?”
She got lost for a minute in his deep-brown eyes that sparkled with mischief. She’d always thought he was hot, but she was caught off guard by the desire to touch his cheek, to smooth her fingertips over his dimples. This visceral reaction to Danny kept happening more and more frequently, no matter how much she tried to suppress it.
“Um, you still with me, Abby?”
She blinked, and her cheeks flushed with heat. “Oh, you want me to answer you?” she laughed to cover up her embarrassment. She didn’t want him to realize she’d been daydreaming about how rough his five o’ clock shadow would feel against the flat of her tongue. “I told you how I feel about your stupid nicknames.” She tried to sound pissed, but didn’t pull it off.
Ron laughed as he entered the elevator and pressed the button for their floor. Danny glared at him for a moment then started laughing with him.
Abby changed the subject. Much safer that way. “What time are we heading out in the morning?”
“Oh-nine-hundred hours,” Danny replied.
“Okay, Drill Sergeant, I’ll be ready.” The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the semi-private floor which held the suite she shared with Sean, along with another across the hall where Danny and Ron stayed.
“Well, Military Man, it’s been a pleasure. I’m gonna go pass the hell out. Have a good night. See ya, Ron.” She waved over her shoulder as she slid her keycard through the electronic lock. When the reader beeped and the green light came on, she gave the men one last smile before entering her suite.
She closed the door and removed the nude color platform pumps from her aching feet. Clearly, her shoes were made for showing, not walking. She made her way into the large sunken living room; the muted neon glow from the Vegas strip was the only light in the room.
“Sean?” Abby called on her way to the bedroom. She dropped her shoes next to the dresser.
Sean wasn’t there, even though he’d said he would be. Abby blew out a puff of air, annoyed with herself for believing him, yet again. She wasn’t lying when she said she’d reached her limit, but that didn’t matter when he knew that it wasn’t up to her anyway. Her mother would never let her leave him. She had plans, and it didn’t matter what Abby wanted. Abby turned the light on then dug into her bag for her phone. It wasn’t there. “Fuck,” she muttered. She picked up the hotel phone and dialed Sean’s number. It went to voicemail. She hung up. There was no point in leaving a message.
She dialed back to the operator and asked to be connected to Sophie’s room.
“Hey, sorry to bother you, but do you have my phone?”
“No, I don’t think so, but let me look. Hold on.”
Abby chewed her lip, thinking about Sean. Where the hell was he? Worse, who was he with? A hard knot formed in her stomach as she thought about what he might be doing.
“Hey,” Sophie said. “I don’t have it.”
“I must’ve left it in my dressing room.” Typical, considering the way her luck had been tonight. “Sean’s not here. You know what that means.” She sighed. “I’m gonna go find my phone.”
“Why do you even bother with him anymore? We’ve hashed this out before.”
“It’s late. Can we talk about this later? He’s not here and right now I can’t even think about what that means, but I know I need my phone.” She was sick of it all.
“You shouldn’t go alone.”
“It’ll take twenty minutes. Quick and easy.” Thankfully the arena was connected to the hotel.
“Okay, but ask one of the boys to go.”
“They’ve had a long night. I don’t want to bother them. I won’t be long, and besides, you’ll know where I am. When I find my phone, I’ll call you.”
“Abby! Tell them. I get that you’re upset, because Sean’s disappeared…again but don’t do something stupid.”
“Fine. Will you come with?”
“I’ll meet you at the elevator.”
“Perfect. Thanks.” Abby slipped on a pair of flats and unhooked the panic button from her purse and attached it to her bracelet. Danny insisted that she wear the damn thing. She insisted that it looked good as a charm she could wear hanging from wrist or attached to her purse. After all, security was important, but appearances could make or break her career. She didn’t want it to look like she had a tracking device on her.
Abby double-checked that her keycard was in her pocket before she let her door close behind her, then she jabbed the call button for the elevator. She was about to knock on the door to Danny and Ron’s suite, but a ding sounded behind her and announced the arrival of the elevator. “Damn.” She decided to call the guys when she got her phone and hurried into the elevator before the doors could slide shut without her.
Debra is a native New Yorker who made her escape to the suburbs. She often returns to her hometown to visit her favorite deli for a bagel with butter, because there’s no better bagel than a New York bagel. When not in search of bagels, Debra spends her time running Book Enthusiast Promotions, an online promotions company that helps indie authors spread the word about their books. She’s also the owner of The Book Enthusiast blog.
She started writing lyrics in her wall-to-wall NKOTB bedroom at the tender age of thirteen while dreaming of the day she’d become Mrs. Jordan Knight. That dream never came to fruition, but she has continued to write.
