Page 63 of Lovely Darkness

“No need,” McKay says. Then he holds his hand out, palm up. “We can find our own way.”

For a moment, the concierge is confused. On the one hand, he’s been trained to defer to the guests’ wishes. On the other hand, I’m here. “It’s fine,” I say.

He lets out a breath of relief and places the keycard into McKay’s hand.

“Who did the interior design?” There is no denying that the interior of the Corinthian Hotel is spectacular and I love the way McKay doesn’t hide his curiosity and appreciation. We live in luxury, so it’s nice to know that he hasn’t been desensitized to it.

“I hired a woman.”

“She did good. When did you buy this place?”

“I bought the whole fuckin’ chain about three years ago.”

McKay whistles again. “We need to get out more.”

I laugh as we get in the glass elevator that faces the central courtyard. I flash the keycard, gaining access to the button for the top floor, and say, “We really do.”

He leans against the glass wall and folds his arms, smirking at me. “I know you got something planned for tonight. So how long are you gonna keep me in suspense?”

I grin back at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

The elevator stops, and when the doors open, we are looking into the main living space of the penthouse. It’s a semicircle with floor-to-ceiling windows. There are two couches opposite each other in the center, a fully-stocked bar on the far right end, a music nook with a baby grand piano in the corner, and double doors leading to the master suite.

“Now this is nice,” McKay says. He walks right over to the windows and takes in the view of the Mississippi River. The sun isn’t disappointing us tonight. The smattering of bruised purple has mixed with the deep red and the sky before us is now a calling card for the apocalypse.

I join him at the window and we just stand there for a moment. It’s a little bit weird because we haven’t been us for very long. We took that trip to Savannah last month to meet up with Nathan, and it was fun. Also one of my hotels. But it was business dressed up as pleasure.

This time, we’re here one reason only. Each other.

McKay lets out a long sigh, then turns his back to the devil sky and leans against the glass. “Hi.”

I laugh. “Hi yourself.”

“I feel like it’s been a long time.”

“A long time since what?”

He makes a face. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

I make a face back. “If you start in—”

“I’m not gonna start in. I’m just sayin’. This feels like a date. A real date.”

I shrug. “So it does.”

“Are we going out to dinner?”

“No,” I say. “We can eat any time we want. We’re gonna go down to the private club, have some drinks, and pick up a woman.”

He smiles. Dimples pop out. And holy fuck, Core McKay is hot. Not only that, he’s mine. And there isn’t a damn thing anyone in this world could do to take him away. It’s a thing that just is. Me and him. Us. We are just… well, what we are. “A woman, huh?”

“I’ve heard you like them.”

He looks down, scoffing, then looks up again and his blue eyes look straight into mine. “You brought me to a five-star hotel in New Orleans so I could hook up with a girl?”

“You?” I smirk at him now. “No, McKay. Us.”

“Well.” He nods his head a little. “I’m… well, I was gonna say pleasantly surprised, but I’ve got to be honest, Adam. I’m way more than surprised. I’m fuckin’ intrigued.”