****
He promised dinner. But that was it. No time. No place. Just a promise. Lisa glanced at her phone for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. One more session stood between her and the possibility of being stood up by the sexiest, most mysterious, most terrifying man she’d ever met. Lisa gave herself a mental shake. Did she want him to show up or not?
The presenter at the front of the room droned on about cataloging. Half the room had their eyes on various models of smart phones. The other half had the dazed look of someone wishing they’d brought their smart phone. Lisa studied the man as he stared at his slide, as though it had been unexpectedly thrust in front of him. The cataloger at her own library was significantly better at explaining the process. At least she didn’t take herself so seriously.
Lisa glanced longingly at the door. If she left now it might start a mass exodus and that would hardly be polite. Another slide flashed onto the screen and several moments of silence followed. That was it. She’d had enough. Stepping over bags and feet, she shimmied down the aisle toward the door.
The halls were quiet, as she made her way toward the lobby. Perhaps she could waste time looking at the vendors. The children’s book sellers had just slashed their prices and her niece did have a birthday on the way. She took a hard left into the ballroom and headed for the brightly colored display. Her niece was into princesses and it looked like there were plenty of books to choose from.
“Hey Lisa,” Robert said from the booth across the aisle. She waved then handed the saleswoman her credit card. He joined her as she grabbed her bag and returned her card to her wallet. He said, “We’re going to check out another club tonight. Did you want to join us?”
“I think I’ll skip this one tonight.”
Robert slid a sidelong glance at her and hid a frown with a quick comment. “Hot date?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
He mumbled something under his breath then stopped. Coming to some decision, he rubbed his hand over his bald head and said, “Is it that guy from last night?”
Lisa nodded.
“I don’t like it. He seemed a little weird. Didn’t you just meet him?”
“It’s only dinner.”
Robert’s hand fell from his head and brushed against his pant leg in agitation. “Can you just promise to call if things get weird?”
Lisa flashed a smile. “Of course.
Relief didn’t rush over his features like she’d hoped, but she certainly felt it herself. She might be dumb enough to go on this date, but at least she had a backup plan. Reaching over, she squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
With a quick nod, he let the moment pass then mumbled about a vendor offering free thumb drives across the hall. After an uncomfortable farewell, she took off toward her hotel room. She cast a quick look back as he disappeared down the aisle. Robert had never shown an interest before. It had to be general concern for a friend. Right?
The quick walk to the room erased any thought she had of Robert. The slim plastic card slid into the lock and the red light blinked twice to let her in. A heavy sigh escaped as she crossed the threshold. Three days of presentations had taken their toll. She convinced herself the buzz of anticipation had everything to do with a chance to break away from the conference. It had absolutely nothing to do with a certain dark-eyed mystery man. Absolutely not.
Three hours later, she gazed into the giant bathroom mirror and grimaced. Tastefully applied makeup, carefully tended hair, and a smoking hot dress that tapered at her hips only to flare out in a flouncy skirt completed her ensemble for the night. She looked amazing. At least, the best she had in a really long time. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d put so much effort into her appearance.
And she was an idiot. Carlo hadn’t told her when or where. What was she supposed to do? Walk around the hotel grounds hoping he’d run into her again? The mascara stick clattered against the counter and she scooped the rest of the makeup into her bag. She was not going to walk around stupidly hoping he’d just showed up.
Grabbing the remote, she jumped onto the bed and clicked on the television. It was for the best. Her instincts had warned her from the beginning. Robert warned her too. In fact, everything told her that she should do her best to never see Carlo again. She smiled. Hiding in her room was the smart thing to do.