“For anything.” Jenny reached under the counter and returned with a key. “Here you go. Upstairs, turn left.” She jerked her chin at the stairs. “There’s an ice machine and soda machine to the right. Our Wi-Fi is down, sorry.”
Jia fiddled with her scarf, but she stopped when she noticed the other woman eyeing her. She might love the spotlight, but she also had a healthy wariness of negative attention based on how she looked. “There are phones in the rooms, right?”
“Nah. Everyone’s got cells now, so we got rid of them.”
Dev pulled out another twenty. “Do you by chance have a phone we can use? Neither of us has cell service.”
Jenny didn’t look surprised. She pulled out an ancient landline phone and placed it on the bar. “You can give your people this number for any emergencies.”
They thanked her and Dev gestured to Jia. “Please, go ahead.”
“Thanks.” Jia quickly dialed Katrina, who picked up after the third ring. She turned her back on her roommate for the night, though he walked a few steps away to give her some privacy. “Hey, it’s me. I had a little car trouble.”
“Oh dear. Where are you? Is everything okay?”
“Yup.” Jia gave her a quick rundown of what had happened. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“I don’t like the idea of you being all alone in the middle of nowhere,” Katrina fretted. “I can send Jas to get you. He’d be happy to make the drive.”
Katrina’s boyfriend probably would be thrilled to rescue her, even if it meant a seven-hour round trip. The former bodyguard did like to play hero. She didn’t want to put anyone through that, though. “No, that’s okay. I’m not alone, anyway.”
Katrina paused. “Dev?”
“Yup.”
“Hmm.” There was a beat of silence. “Are you . . . happy about that?”
“Yes.”
A hint of humor entered her roommate’s voice. “Interesting.”
Jia pressed the phone tighter to her ear. She glanced over her shoulder, but Dev was all the way across the room, seemingly fascinated with some of the dollar bills on the wall. He wouldn’t be able to hear what Katrina was saying, surely. “Hush.”
“Okay, well. Let me know if you need anything. See you tomorrow.”
“Cool, thanks. Talk soon.” Jia hung up. Dev made a call as well, speaking in such rapid Hindi that Jia wouldn’t have been able to follow even if she did speak the language.
When he hung up, Dev turned to her. “Jia.”
“It’s not a big deal,” she said breezily, having anticipated this conversation. “A suite is basically a luxurious L.A. apartment. We’ll have plenty of space.” Your virtue is safe.
“I merely wanted to ask if you wanted to take any photos here.” Dev cocked his head, as if to encompass the room. “It’s very interesting, in that deserted way.”
It was so strange to have someone so supportive of her career that they actually came up with ideas for her to photograph. Even her friends or Ayesha got tired of taking hundreds of pictures of her.
That he’d bounced back so quickly from a panic attack to pivot to focusing on her made it even more amazing. “Maybe tomorrow. Let’s get settled first.”
They went outside and walked around the back of the building and then trudged upstairs. Jia was painfully aware of Dev behind her on the stairs. When she opened their motel room door, Jia released the breath she was holding. This wasn’t . . . the worst.
Oh, it was no luxury hotel room, but the decor was country chic and the foldout sofa looked clean and comfortable. She peeked into the room. The bed was heaped with pristine white pillows and a purple quilt. It was technically one room, yes, but they’d have privacy. “It’s not so bad,” Jia enthused. She pointed at the red rose printed wallpaper. “Now that would make a good background.”
Dev nodded. “Why don’t you settle in? I need to get something from downstairs. I’ll be back.”
Jia stared at the door for a moment after he left. Was he running away? Was he so freaked out by the thought of sharing a small room with her? She envisioned him sprinting all the way back to the water and yanking his car out of the sand with his own brute strength.
Don’t worry about it.
She fumbled for her phone and scrolled through her voice notes, but sadly, she hadn’t thought to record anything for herself in the event of a sleepover with the man she had a crush on.
Oh no.
Oh no. No. No. No. She did not have a crush on him, she was not developing feelings for him. She’d fallen for Dev Dixit quickly once before; she was not doing it again.
Are you getting confused because you talked to someone with his face for a couple months?
She shoved Rhiannon’s voice out of her head. No. This was different. Wasn’t it?
Jia’s lips firmed. Yes, it was. This was real. Deep down, she’d known her text infatuation wasn’t.
Her prayer alarm went off on her phone, and she gave a sigh of relief. Good, she needed some peace. She rummaged in her camera bag for a scarf.
Praying didn’t take her mind completely off Dev, but it did feel good to do something as opposed to twiddling her thumbs and worrying. He knocked and entered the room just after she finished. His arms were full, which meant his biceps were prominent.
No, girl.
“Sorry, did I disturb you?”
She folded her scarf. “No, not at all.”
He placed a food-laden tray on the coffee table. “I figured you might be hungry. It’s getting late, and we had no lunch.”
Of course he’d gone to get them sustenance. The man was annoyingly perfect, anticipating her needs. “I am hungry.” Until that minute, she hadn’t realized how hungry, actually. She placed her hand on her belly to still the growl.
“I stuck to the vegetarian stuff, because I wasn’t sure what dietary restrictions you might have. Salads, grilled cheese, and I got extra fries. Plus I managed to hit the general store and got sodas and Twinkies. I’ve always wanted to try Twinkies.”
She smiled, distracted by his unexpected interest in packaged desserts. “That sounds like a feast.”
“It’s no five-star meal, and my nutritionist might be crying somewhere, but I tried.” Dev held out a package in a brown paper bag. “Here. There wasn’t much of a selection, sadly.”
Mystified, Jia reached into the bag, then nearly laughed. “Oh my gosh. Thank you.” It was a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a hoodie emblazoned with the words Bombay Beach on them, all about three sizes too large for her.
She clutched the hoodie to her chest, touched. It was so thoughtful. But it also reminded her that nighttime was coming, and they’d have to figure out sleeping arrangements.
She wanted to stay with him. Even if two rooms had been available, she would have wanted to stay with him. Not so she could jump him, but so she could spend more time in his sweet company. Also so he could protect her from ghosts, this place was definitely haunted.
“Do you like games?”
Jia paused in stroking the sweatshirt. “Um, what kind of games?”
Dev pointed to the bookshelf. “Board games?”