The Shoal of Time by J.M. Redmann

Author:J.M. Redmann [Redmann, J.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626390089
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2013-11-25T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

I woke by myself, wondering if it had been a dream. But then I rolled out of bed and noticed our two pillows next to each other.

The next thing I noticed was the smell of coffee.

Good coffee.

That got me up.

Bathroom first. The hotel provided robes, so rather than searching for my clothes, I put that on over my ratty T-shirt and underwear.

“Good morning,” Ashley greeted me as I entered the sitting room. She was also in a robe, just showered, her hair still wet. “I took a guess and ordered room service for us both.”

It had clearly just arrived. She was pouring her first cup of coffee, careful with the carafe as it was so full. Two covered plates promised food.

“This is wonderful. I could get used to it.” I sat down beside her and she poured me a cup before first sipping from hers.

“Milk? Sugar?” she offered.

I took a sip. “Nope. I do it the old-fashioned way.” Another sip. My brain was joining my body.

She removed the covers from the two breakfasts. One was French toast and the other was a standard eggs and bacon. There was also a fruit tray and pastry basket.

“You get to pick,” she said.

“Either is fine.”

“Same here. Which is why you get to pick.” She’d gotten the waffles when we’d gone to brunch, so I guessed she had more of a sweet tooth than I did. I pulled the eggs my way.

“Great choice,” she said with a smile, taking the French toast for herself. She sighed and said, “I have to be in a meeting in an hour.”

“So we’d better eat.”

“We don’t have to speed eat, but we can’t linger either.” She added, “This time.”

That was good enough for me. “It’s pretty nice having coffee and food magically appear. You can’t make the entire world go away.”

She smiled and we ate. Once we were finished, she said, “I need to get ready. Which means I’m going to have to throw you out.” She gave me the wistful smile again.

“I’ll stay out of your way,” I offered. “And I can take you where you need to go.”

“It’s just a few blocks away, I’ll walk. And…you’re a distraction.”

“That’s a bad thing?”

“It is when I can’t be distracted.” She stood up, took me firmly by the hand, and led me back to the bedroom. “You have to get dressed and out of here and I have to get ready for my meeting.” She let go of my hand.

I did as I was told, finding my clothes and getting into them. One advantage of the winter months was that yesterday’s clothes weren’t crusted in dried sweat. Never attractive. Ashley went back to the other room while I was dressing. That way neither of us could be a distraction to the other.

Once I was finished, I rejoined her. She was standing by the arm chair, putting her notepad into her briefcase, still in the bathrobe. It had loosened slightly, showing the pale skin of her neck, leading to the soft mounds of her breasts.

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