Just a Fling: A Heartthrob Hotel Novella

by Kiss, Tabatha

  I stifle another yawn. “I know.”

  “I was perfectly happy going back downstairs, but no. You said you wanted the daddy experience.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “So…” She stands up with one balled-up, used diaper in one hand and the other cocked on her hip. “How’d it go?”

  I look from her to the happy, naked baby sprawled over my writing desk. “It was fun,” I say with a shrug.

  “Fun?” she repeats.

  “Yeah, fun.”

  “You had fun?”

  “Didn’t you?”

  Veronica hesitates. “Well, I wouldn’t say it was a nightmare but I wouldn’t call it fun, either.”

  “Oh, come on.” I scoff. “Admit it. You had a little fun.”

  She bites her cheek. “Okay, I’ll admit it was more pleasant than doing it alone.”

  I smile. “I’ll take it.”

  “Cool, thanks,” she jokes as she drops the wrapped-up old diaper into my palm.

  “I didn’t mean this,” I say. “I meant — eh, nevermind.”

  I step into the bathroom to toss it into the trash as she chuckles behind me.

  A hard knock strikes the door.

  “Oh, yes. Food,” Veronica says.

  I continue at the same stride through the bathroom, words and concepts not quite making their way through my tired, pre-coffee brain as fast as they usually do. Coupled with flashbacks of the amazing sex I had on this very counter last night, it takes me a second to realize that room service wouldn’t have gotten that order together this quickly. Even if they had, the staff member delivering it will surely notice the mysterious woman and the adorable baby who obviously spent the night in my suite.

  The Botsford Plaza rumor mill will light up like a damn Christmas tree by lunch.

  “Wait,” I say, spinning back around. “Veronica—”

  I reach the suite just as she answers the door.

  “Oh,” Veronica says. “You’re not room service.”

  I stop in my tracks. A man stands at the door with his thick arms crossed over his chest. His nonchalant expression instantly turns to confusion at the woman answering my door then slowly morphs into a devious excitement that only a big brother can have.

  “Hayden,” I say.

  Oh, shit.

  Hayden.

  His eyes dart from Veronica to me to Michelle behind us to me again as his smirk climbs his face.

  “This is…” he pauses, “the greatest day of my life.”

  I ease forward, slowly guiding Veronica to step back. “Hayden…”

  “I’ve waited twenty years for a moment like this,” he whispers.

  “Now, hold on,” I say, raising a hand. “I can explain this.”

  “Excuse me,” he says as his hand disappears behind him. “I have to make a phone call.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  He takes a step back into the hall. “It won’t take long,” he says as he slides his phone out of his pocket. “I just have to call everyone I’ve ever met right now.”

  “Hayden, put that phone down.”

  Hayden breaks into a sprint and takes off down the hall.

  “Shit!” I say, bolting forward past Veronica to follow him.

  “What the hell is even happening?” she asks behind me.

  I ignore her as I pick up my pace to catch up with Hayden.

  Fortunately, while my brother is a professional athlete, he’s a recently-injured professional athlete and he’s holding back. Any other day, he’d easily outrun me and have what he saw all typed out into a group text to our other brothers, but not today.

  Today, I reach him before he makes it to the elevator.

  “Hayden, hold on—” I hop onto his wide shoulders and pull him backward, prompting him to grunt loudly. “Give me the phone—”

  “No!” He stumbles off balance while shoving me away.

  I sweep him down onto his good knee while maintaining the light choke-hold with one arm. I reach for his phone with the other but Hayden constantly wags it around, successfully keeping it out of my reach.

  “Hayden, knock it off!” I shout, getting increasingly annoyed.

  He reaches up and slaps me in the face repeatedly with his other hand. “Stop choking me!”

  “Stop slapping me and I’ll stop choking you!”

  He smacks me even harder and I growl in frustration.

  “Hayden, come on—”

  “You had a baby in there!” he says.

  I wince, praying that we haven’t caused enough ruckus to open doors. “Dude, keep your voice down—”

  “Why do you have a baby in your room?!”

  “If I tell you, do you promise not to say anything?”

  Hayden laughs. That’s a no, I guess. Can’t say I didn’t have that coming.

  He grabs me and rolls forward, shifting my balance completely and tossing me over his shoulder onto my back.

  I quickly spin onto my stomach, reaching out to latch onto his pants before he can stand back up. He slinks onto the floor again and tries to crawl away, his arm extended as far as possible as his thumb taps the screen.

  “Hayden, no!”

  I tug on his pants and belt and shirt, trying to drag myself toward it but he plants his other hand on my forehead and shoves.

  “Karma’s a bitch, eh, buddy?” he says, still laughing.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been a dick but seriously, Hayden, please—”

  “Give me one good reason—”

  “She’s my daughter.”

  Hayden pauses. “Your what?”

  “My daughter,” I repeat, out of breath. “That baby is my daughter. The woman who answered the door is her mother. I didn’t know about her until two nights ago.”

  “Who else knows?” he asks, his palm still pressed into my head.

  “No one,” I say. “Except the nanny. Oh, and Stella. Maybe. But that’s it!”

  “You haven’t told Dad?”

  “No.”

  “Mom?”

  “No! I haven’t told anybody.”

  He blinks twice. “You’ve kept a secret?!”

  I shove his hand off my head and push onto my knees. “Yes,” I answer. “I’ve kept a secret and I’d like to continue doing that until I can figure shit out so what do I have to do to keep you from sending that message?”

  Hayden winces. “Yeah… about that…”

  I look at his phone and my chest deflates. “You didn’t…”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  I groan at Graham’s amused voice on speakerphone. “How long have you been there?” I ask.

  “Oh, not long… Daddy.”

  Hayden laughs.

  I bite down, accepting my inevitable fate. “Okay, but guys, seriously, this stays between us. Okay?”

  The door behind us opens. Hayden and I spin around onto our backs and Jonah sticks his navy blue beanied head out into the hall and smiles.

  “And me, I guess,” he says with a wave.

  I exhale even harder at the ceiling.

  “Fuck,” I say.

  Thirteen

  Veronica

  I lower Michelle into the travel bassinet on the bed. “Okay,” I sigh. “Let’s get you settled here and then I’m going to find out why your father just had a slap battle with a full-grown man out in the hallway. Won’t that be fun?”

  A light knock echoes off the door. I pause for a moment, listening to the hum of multiple voices on the other side, before heading over with suspicion.

  I stop to peek through the peephole. It’s Ira… with three other men standing behind him.

  I open the door a few inches to get a better look at them. Each one has similar features; the same brownish-black hair and brown eyes. Chiseled chins and thick shoulders.

  “Hey,” I greet.

  “Veronica,” Ira says, “these are my brothers. Graham, Hayden, and Jonah.”

  They wave at me as their names come up and I nod at their eager faces. “Nice to me
et you,” I say.

  “I forgot my key…” he adds, clearing his throat.

  “Okay.” I shift on my feet, feeling more than a little exposed beneath their towering bodies. “What’s up?”

  “Well, they would like to… meet their niece,” Ira says. He holds up his hands. “But only if you are cool with it, of course. I said it was up to you.”

  I squint, somewhat relishing in the power I hold. They crane their necks to try and see behind me with excitement in their eyes.

  Their niece. My baby girl has uncles.

  Three very large and manly uncles.

  I ease backward. “Yeah, that’s okay,” I say. “I just got her dressed, so—”

  They shove Ira to the side and bolt through the open doorway one-by-one. I hop out of their way and a smile instantly locks my lips as they huddle around the bassinet.

  Ira closes the door behind us. “You okay?” he asks, staying close to me.

  “I’m fine,” I say. “What’s going on?”

  “I—”

  “Oh, my god!”

  “She’s so small.”

  “Such a cutie!”

  We look at his brothers. They’re all hunched over the bassinet, their voices blending together as they absolutely lose their shit.

  “Have…” I glance at Ira. “Have they never seen a baby before?”

  Ira blinks. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”

  Jonah whips his head back. “What’s her name?” he asks.

  “Michelle,” Ira answers.

  “Hello, Michelle!” they cry out.

  “Pretty name, Michelle.”

  “Michelle, Michelle, Michelle.”

  “She’s got Botsford eyes.”

  “Mom’s chin, too.”

  “Oh, my god. You’re totally right.”

  Ira takes my hand. His comforting clench tethers my heart, keeping it from breaking free. For so long, I assumed it would be me and her against the world, but maybe that’s not true. With uncles like these…

  I push the thought down. No sense in getting my hopes up.

  “When’s her birthday?” Graham asks.

  Ira opens his mouth to answer, but quickly stops and looks at me when he realizes he doesn’t know.

  “June 14th,” I answer.

  Graham stands up. “Just three months old?”

  Ira nods. “Yes.”

  “Congratulations. She’s beautiful.”

  I smile. “Thank you.”

  “Yeah…” Jonah looks over again. “This is amazing. And a first, for us. Obviously.”

  Hayden rolls his shoulders back. “This is unfair,” he says, crossing his arms.

  “Unfair?” Ira repeats.

  “This was my year!” he says, a petty twinge in his eyes. “Penny and I were supposed to dethrone Jonah as reigning king of birthday gifts but now — how are we going to compete with the most adorable baby on the planet? Their first grandchild. And not only that — a granddaughter. Mom’s gonna flip. Might as well not even try.”

  Ira sighs. “Really, man?”

  Jonah nods. “Hayden’s right. I officially yield the crown. This girl wins everything.”

  “I agree,” Graham says.

  The three of them bow their heads at Ira, a show of deep respect.

  I furrow my brow in confusion but I don’t dare ask.

  Ira hesitates. “Well, if you’re all in agreement, then I accept.” He turns to show the door. “That said, I need to get to work, so…”

  “Not so fast,” Hayden says, his eyes on me. “What’s the story here?”

  Graham shakes his head. “Not really our business, Hayden.”

  “You’re Towel Girl, aren’t you?” Hayden asks with a smirk.

  “Dude,” Ira says.

  I raise a brow. “I’m what girl?”

  “Ohhhh,” Jonah hums. “Okay, makes sense.”

  Graham winks. “Say no more.”

  Ira squeezes my hand. “I’ll explain later,” he whispers at me. “For now, can we please have some privacy?” he asks his brothers.

  “Of course,” Graham says as he corrals Hayden and Jonah toward the door. “Veronica, let us know if you need anything,” he says to me as he passes.

  “I will.” I nod. “Thank you.”

  Jonah bows. “It was nice to meet you.”

  “You, too.”

  Hayden pauses beside us, his devious eyes on Ira. “I’m gonna go find Penny and knock her up,” he says. “Gotta start planning next year’s gift.”

  Ira sighs. “I didn’t plan this.”

  “Sure you didn’t, brother.” Hayden pats Ira on the back. “Sure you didn’t.”

  Ira doesn’t bother arguing. He bites down and waits until his brothers exit out into the hallway.

  “Goodbye, Michelle!”

  They call out to her, making a flurry of kiss noises as well, before the door closes on them.

  I stare at Ira with a raised brow. “Towel Girl?” I repeat.

  “That…” he cringes, “is what the staff here calls you.”

  I tilt my head, awaiting further explanation.

  “They started to notice that every year, on the same night, I requested extra towels be brought up to my room,” he says. “After a bit of Nancy Drewing, they figured out that I had a girl staying with me on those nights — a girl they lovingly dubbed… Towel Girl.”

  I nod slowly. “Hm.”

  “I’m sorry if that’s stupid or offensive or—”

  “No, no,” I say, my lips twitching. “It’s amusing. Better than what my friends called you.”

  “What’d they call me?” he asks.

  “Dr. Dick.”

  He laughs. “Really?”

  “Well, since I was going to a medical conference, they naturally assumed I was hooking up with some guy at the conference, but I never corrected them.”

  “I like it,” he says.

  “I thought it suited you well enough.” I press my lips together and gesture at the door. “So, what was that about a gift, exactly?” I ask.

  “Just…” His shoulder sag. “Every year, my brothers and I compete over who can get our mother the best birthday gift. It’s mostly stupid and a bit silly but we take it pretty seriously.”

  I nod. “I see.”

  “This year, Hayden’s bringing home a girlfriend for the first time ever and figured he’d be a shoe-in for Mom’s approval but…” He looks at Michelle. “Yeah, I guess the first grandkid is gonna upstage that somewhat.”

  “When is her birthday?” I ask.

  “Today, actually.”

  “Oh, nice.”

  “They’re all in town for dinner tonight,” he says. “Honestly, I was panicking a little because I wasn’t sure what to get her. Hadn’t even thought about Michelle being a part of that but now it seems obvious.”

  “You want to take her to your mother’s birthday dinner?” I ask.

  He gazes at me. “No, I want to take you to my mother’s birthday dinner.”

  I smile. “We come as a pair, you know.”

  “Even better.” He smiles back. “Only if you approve, of course,” he says quickly. “I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for or you think she might not be ready for. We can introduce this slowly, if you want.”

  I think for a moment. “It’s not anything too fancy, is it?”

  “No,” he answers. “We usually just get a table downstairs in the restaurant. Sometimes head back to the house for a movie or something afterward. Mom doesn’t like to do anything too extravagant these days after her epic fiftieth birthday bash that resulted in her having to bribe a security guard to keep Jonah and Hayden out of jail at a Celine Dion concert — but that’s a really long story for another time.”

  I laugh as my heart stalls, begging for a bit of rest. These last few days have been a roller-coaster, from trying to start a new life and dodging my past and rekindling things with Ira — it’s hard to keep up. But sure, let’s add dinner with the freakin’ Bo
tsford family to that list.

  “Yes,” I hear myself say.

  “Yes?”

  I nod. “Sure, we’ll go with you. Gotta meet them eventually, right?”

  Ira smiles and wraps his arms around me. “Thank you. I promise it’ll be great. They’re gonna love her.” He pecks my cheek. “And you,” he adds with a smile. “What’s not to love about Veronica Robb?”

  I go silent in his embrace, unwilling to answer the question.

  Fourteen

  Ira

  I glance at the clock on my desk. 4:17 PM.

  Two hours, thirteen minutes until Mom’s birthday dinner.

  The last time I stood up at family dinner with an announcement, I was a seventeen-year-old kid. I looked my parents in the eyes and told them that I’d enlisted in the Marines and I’d be off to basic training two days after my eighteenth birthday.

  Their reactions were mixed.

  My mother was rightfully scared, but proud. Her father had served. Her brother had served. I had a drive to be a part of something larger than myself and she understood that — in some ways better than I did.

  My father, not so much.

  He took it as a slight. Two of his sons had now rejected his master plan for them and his youngest would surely follow any day. He wished me luck, walked away from the table, and barely said two words to me until I came home a few years later and asked him for a job.

  Now, I’m about to look them in the eye and tell them they have a grandkid they never knew about, possibly opening the door to copious bad press and gossip that could follow our family around for decades, if not forever.

  To say I’m nervous would be an understatement.

  “Hey, kid.”

  I look up from my sleeping laptop and nod at the familiar tight, blonde bun lingering in my office doorway. “Hey, Stella,” I greet as I sit back. “How are you?”

  She steps inside and casually closes the door behind her. “Stopped by to get a few signatures from your dad on my way to the airport, thought I’d swing by and check on you.”

  “I’m… good,” I say. “Why?”

  “Well, after what I sent over to you the other day, I expected at least a peep or two but you’ve been oddly silent.”

  “Oh, that.” I wave a hand. “I thought twice about it. I already paid the invoice Nigel sent over, so don’t worry about that—”