Hold You In My Arms (Stevens book 9)

Chapter 8

Henry felt Fiona jerk as she looked at the three couples as if something or someone caught her by surprise, then she automatically reached for Henry's hand.

Henry Mercer, these are my friends, Valerie and her husband Todd, Becky and her husband Patrick, Stephanie, and Clayton.

Todd was the tall and skinny one, Patrick was the balding one, and Clayton was the polished one. Henry nodded to all of them.

Fiona stepped forward and air-kissed everyone except Clayton, to whom she only nodded.

"Henry and I would like to get settled. Can you give us some time before we join you?"

"Of course, darling!" Beck insisted. "We have a dinner reservation for half-past eight in the dining room. Will that give you enough time?"

"It should. Are we dressing up, or is it come as you are?" Fiona still had a tight hold of Henry's hand.

"Let's call it business casual. Here, I'll walk with you to the elevator." Beck said, all smiles.

Henry was intrigued. First, there was the man she wouldn't greet like the others, and now Becky was kindness itself. He had the feeling that Fiona's friends had invited her down for a bit of sport, and she was the ball.

"I'm so sorry about Clayton. Valerie and I were under the impression that he was going away on business for the weekend. We were floored when he showed up with Stephanie. I didn't want to tell you because I knew you wouldn't come if he were here, and I so wanted to see you again." Becky gave a little pout.

"It's fine. Henry and I will get ready for dinner and meet you in the dining room." Fiona led the way into the elevator with the bellhop following. Then she gave a little wave with her fingers as the door closed.

The ride to their room was a silent one, and Fiona tipped the bellhop with efficiency, sighing in relief as she closed the door.

Henry couldn't wait to hear what she had to say as he sat on the bed with an exaggerated bounce.

Fiona rolled her neck and started to pace.

*******

"Thank you for playing along back there," she said after a few minutes.

"Sure," Henry agreed so readily that Fiona shot him an unsure look. He didn't appear concerned in the least that they were sharing a room.

"I will say that I don't think your friends are heartfelt in their friendliness, and I think they forgot to tell you about the dress code for the weekend," Henry said drily.

His words amused Fiona, and she smiled. "They did all look like they bought the same dress in a different color, didn't they?"

"Your friend Becky didn't appear to be sincerely sorry that the one name Clayton was here either, and by the looks on all of their faces, I would say that none of them were expecting me." Henry flopped back on the bed, causing his t-shirt to ride up and flash a strip of toned, tanned skin above his waistband.

Fiona plopped down in the chair by the window, averting her glance. "No, I didn't tell them in case I backed out at the last minute."

Henry sat up quickly and looked over at Fiona. "What the hell does business casual mean?"

"You noticed that all of the women were dressed the same, but you don't know what business casual is?" Fiona asked.

"It's not a thing in the Navy or on a ranch," he defended, falling back on the bed once again. 

It was a fair argument, Fiona conceded. "A button-down shirt and some nice, clean jeans will do."

"I feel like I should go shopping. I don't want you to be ashamed of me." It sounded like a joke, but after the story that he had told Fiona in the truck, she had her doubts that that is all it was.

"Trust me. You're the best-looking one in the group." Fiona assured him.

"As are you. You reminded me of Audrey Hepburn as you followed the bellhop. I thought all you needed was the oversized sunglasses.

Fiona blushed at the compliment. As far as compliments went, it wasn't a bad one at all. "Thank you."

"On the plus side, you made a little old couple's day, and we got a king-size bed and not a double." Henry patted the bed beside him.

"I'm sorry about that." Fiona bit her lip in embarrassment.

"It's fine. I could think of worse things than sharing a bed with a beautiful woman." Henry grinned as he watched Fiona blush.

"Tell me about this Clayton fellow. If we are really dating, I would know about him." He remained on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"We dated in college. It didn't end well." Fiona couldn't tell him all that had happened. It would upset her too much right before she had to have dinner with him. At least that was what she told herself.

Thankfully, he didn't push her as he sat up again. "I'll let you take the bathroom first. I'll only need a few minutes to get ready."

Fiona nodded as she stood and gathered the things she needed.

She should probably share more with Henry about Clayton. After all, he had shared with her, but she just wasn't ready.