When they reached Amy’s room, she unlocked the door and pulled him inside. That was when he got to live out his fantasy of making long, slow love to her in a bed with music playing and lots of time to savor and enjoy.
Which they did, twice before she collapsed on top of him and fell fast asleep. Before he followed, he had time to watch her. She didn’t snore, but she made cute little noises while she slept.
Noises, he suddenly noticed, that he didn’t hear now.
He reached for her, assuming she’d rolled over to the other side of the king-size bed, but he came up empty. He forced his eyes open and discovered he was alone. A glance at the clock told him it was only 9:00 a.m., and he decided to trust that wherever Amy had gone, she hadn’t run far away with morning-after regrets.
He propped one arm behind his head and stared at the ceiling. Thinking back on the night, he knew he’d seen a more adventurous side to Amy than he knew she possessed and he decided he liked it. A lot. The fact that she didn’t regret hooking up in the solarium reinforced his notion that she wasn’t someone he’d grow bored with too soon. She was good for him professionally and personally, he decided. And for now that was all he needed to know.
As his schedule started at ten, he headed back to his room for a quick shower. Then he stopped by the front desk to make his first request of the concierge. His plan? To fulfill a promise he’d made to Amy and show her all the ways he could make and keep her happy. Not just in bed, although he had to admit they’d gotten off to one helluva start.
AMY HAD LIKED WAKING UP next to Roper. She’d liked it too much, so she rose quietly, showered and met up with Hannah at the breakfast buffet. They walked the length of the long table together and Amy filled her plate with at least one of everything.
“I’m starving,” she said, the smell of pancakes assaulting her senses.
“Sex will do that to you,” Hannah said.
Amy choked. “How do you know what went on?” she asked, praying the other woman hadn’t seen or heard anything from the solarium.
Hannah laughed. “Until now, it was only a guess. One based on the fact that I’m beyond ravenous and I know what I was doing all night,” she said with a grin.
“So things between you and Mike worked out?” Amy grabbed one last pastry before heading for a small table in the corner of the restaurant.
Hannah followed. “Let’s say they’re at least moving forward. The only way they’ll be better is if he gets Big Mama’s blessing. All he’s ever wanted was his career and she can make or break him.”
They sat at a table and immediately dug into their food. While she and Hannah ate, they exchanged life stories, Amy about growing up without a father and as the only sane one among two childlike adults. She even revealed her mother’s Lady Godiva episode and what it had cost Amy in terms of not just a job, but a life among her peers, something she hadn’t been able to realize or put into words until now.
And Hannah described growing up with her mother, who lived her own unfulfilled dreams through her talented daughter. Hence the reason for the other woman becoming her manager and directing Hannah’s life, so that music was its only focus.
“You know you have to take control of your mother,” Amy said, stabbing her fork into a piece of waffle and talking to Hannah as if she’d known her forever.
Considering they’d already confided in each other about sex and their men, Amy figured the bond was already there. She liked people and talked to them easily. So this friendship with Hannah wasn’t a surprise, merely welcome.
She missed having someone to talk to. For years it had been her mother and her aunt, but with Hannah, Amy realized how badly she missed the companionship of someone her own age. A best friend.
“Not only do I know I have to take control, but I plan on doing something about it. Mike is going to kill me, but I intend to call my mother and let her know where we are.” Hannah accentuated her decision with a raise of her coffee cup.
Oh, wow. That was a huge step. “What exactly do you plan to do when she gets here?” Amy asked.
“I’m going to tell my mother that she will have to make a choice. Accept my relationship with Mike without any interference or lose not just her place in my life but her position as our manager.” Hannah set her cup down and met Amy’s gaze, not a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.
“You love him that much,” Amy said.
“I do. You don’t spend that much time with someone, in the studio, on the road, and not get to know him, the good and the bad, quirks, faults and all. He’s worth it to me.” She nodded definitively.
“You go, girl,” Amy said. She knew what Hannah was risking and yet she approved of her going after what she wanted most in life.
Hannah shook her head, her long ponytail falling over her shoulder. “Yeah, well, enough about me. Once my mother arrives it’ll be pure chaos.”
“When will that be?” Amy asked.
“I need another few days to savor this time with Mike. Then I’ll call Mama. At which point I’m sure I’ll be on your doorstep, begging for you to save me from her,” Hannah said, half jokingly.
“Can I ask you a silly question?”
Hannah nodded. “Of course.”
“I just realized that growing up the way I did and moving into a retirement community left me with few…okay, make that no real friends my age to speak of. Now I’m getting to know people at work, but I’ve revealed more to you than to any of them.” She glanced at her water, feeling ridiculous. “But what about you? Don’t you have a best friend or someone you go to when you need a shoulder? Or advice?” Why would the famous Hannah Gregory confide in Amy?
Hannah laughed. “I can see why you’d want to know, but the truth is I’m more like you than you realize. When I was young, I was tutored so I could take singing jobs, commercials, whatever Mom could line up. Now I’m in the studio or on the road. I’m with the guys all the time. The people I meet are either other performers, in which case there’s jealousy or competition, or they’re intimidated by me. I can’t relate to them. You’re the first woman I’ve met in ages I’d want to call my friend.”
A warm, fuzzy feeling settled around Amy’s heart. A friend. Silly as it seemed, she was feeling more and more complete with each passing day.
She wanted to reach across the table and hug Hannah, but the ringing of Amy’s cell phone prevented her from acting on impulse. “Excuse me. Just for a second.”
“Hello?” The phone number indicated it was Micki even before Amy had answered. “What’s wrong?” Amy asked, because they’d agreed Micki wouldn’t call and risk Roper being around and getting worked up by information from home. Amy would call her if she needed her.
“What isn’t?” Micki asked.
Amy closed her eyes, realizing for the first time just how easily the real world-and Roper’s problems-could intrude on her idyllic time here.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“SO WHAT’S GOING ON?” Amy asked Micki. She held the phone to her ear and mouthed an apology to Hannah.
“Cassandra Lee has camped out at my office and refuses to leave until I tell her where Roper is. I couldn’t believe how attached she is to him until I found out the real reason she’s parked herself at the Hot Zone.” Micki sighed.
“Which has something to do with Harrison Smith?” Not a difficult guess, Amy thought.
“He followed her here and now they are both seated on my couch. Both wearing full-length furs. Cassandra has a matching hat.”
“Oh, Lord.” Amy held her forehead in her hand. She could just imagine the sight. “Do you have a plan? Short of divulging our whereabouts, I mean.”