Scarlett

The next morning, the few guests we had at the hotel were all ready to leave. All, that is, expect Dan. I was sitting in the lounge after checking them out, and when he came downstairs, he found me there.

“Morning,” he said brightly, grinning.

I blinked, surprised because it was pretty early and he looked pretty fresh and ready for the day, while I felt exhausted.

“Hey, there,” I mumbled, waving a hand at him.

He tilted his head at me curiously. “Why do you seem so dead beat? Did something happen?”

I sighed. “I guess there was no way for you to find out. The other guests are gone. So, now it’s really just you and me.” I shrugged.

Dan was silent for a moment. Then, he moved to sit next to me. Because I was relaxing, I’d taken my shoes off and had them up on the seat. I didn’t feel the need to be formal with Dan, so I wasn’t hurrying to right myself, like if it had been a different guest. But it still made me jump when he suddenly lifted my feet as he sat down, setting them on his lap.