“Her older brother.” Daniel shakes Elias’s hand, clenching his fingers in a way that tells me he’s squeezing harder than necessary. Elias doesn’t even flinch.
Daniel takes his role of protective brother seriously. Before Ryan, whenever Daniel didn’t like a guy I was dating, he’d wait on the porch with a Louisville Slugger resting on his shoulder. But then there was Ryan, and everyone loved Ryan. My brother hasn’t had to stand up for me in a while. In a way, I’m touched. I’m also glad he left his baseball gear in Phoenix.
“I’m heading to the pool,” Daniel says to me, turning his back on Elias. “Go grab your bathing suit.”
“The weather’s perfect for a swim,” Elias interjects, seeming amused by my brother’s lack of manners. “It’s sometimes overcast this time of day, but it seems—”
“Now, how do you know my sister?” Daniel interrupts, spinning to him. He’s pretending to be confused, which makes him all the more obnoxious. He shoots me the same look and I scoff. I don’t know Elias half as well as Daniel knows Catherine.
“We met in the elevator,” Elias says. Daniel stares him down, and then, as if just remembering the true source of his irritation, my brother pulls out his phone in search of a signal. While he’s distracted, Elias leans in to me.
“I thought it best to leave out the part where you asked to see me without my suit,” he says casually. I push his shoulder, making him stagger a step, and he laughs quietly.
Daniel turns his attention back at us. “I’m going to check out the pool before I grab my stuff. Meet me there?”
“In a little bit,” I say. “I’m on a tour.” To be honest, I just don’t want to spend the day watching Daniel sunbathe.
“Fine,” my brother says suspiciously. “But you better meet me later or I’m coming to your room.” He starts to pass us, then pauses to look back. “And you’d better be in there alone, Audrey.”
“Gross. Good-bye.” I wave him off, letting him know he’s laying it on a little thick. Elias presses his lips together like he’s trying not to smile at my brother’s threat, and we watch as Daniel walks out toward the garden.
“Is he always so protective?” Elias asks.
“Mostly, but you seem to especially piss him off.”
“I sometimes have that effect. But then again”—he smiles, brushing back a wet strand of my hair that’s fallen from the bun—“you do look . . . disheveled. I can see why he assumed I was a bad influence.”
I swat his hand away playfully, but his touch has already spiked my desire. “Whatever,” I say, pretending he’s not driving me crazy. “I’m still waiting to hear why exactly you’re the Ruby’s most eligible bachelor. Your entire existence is suspicious.”
Elias laughs, offering me his arm in a natural movement. His politeness is striking in my otherwise uncivilized world. “I live here,” he replies. “And before you jump to conclusions, let me finish showing you around. Maybe you’ll understand why.”
“Why you live in a hotel?” I ask. “Doubtful. I’d tell you how bizarre that is, but I’m on my way to live in my grandmother’s attic. So I’m not sure I’m in a position to make that statement.”
Elias looks at me, my admission catching us both off guard. I hate the heaviness that’s seeping in, and I bump my shoulder into his. “Let’s hurry before I change my mind and go to the pool with my brother.”
“We should run, then,” Elias says, pulling me ahead quickly. We laugh and then stop in front of the elevator. He presses the down arrow and glances over, his eyebrows pulled together. I can tell the comment about my grandmother’s attic is weighing on his mind.
“It’s not a big deal,” I say quietly, facing the doors. With so many other things to talk about, my future in Elko, Nevada, is not high on the list of things I feel like discussing. Why did I mention it at all?
“Fair enough,” he says. “But don’t you want to know the next stop on the tour?”
“Is it your hotel room?” I ask, looking sideways. I’m not serious, but I love the blush rising on his cheeks. I kind of love the idea of seeing his room, too.
Elias chuckles. “That’s later. No, I was thinking we should go to the heart of the Ruby herself. And . . .” He pauses. “Well, after your suggestion this is going to sound boring. I was hoping to take you down to housekeeping.”
The Ruby has a basement. It’s not creepy or haunted, although it does feel dull and cramped after the grandeur of the lobby. The walls are pale blue; the floors are gray with black scuff marks. A girl rushes by in uniform, smiling shyly at Elias as she passes. I turn to watch her and then nudge Elias.
“Do they all know you here?”
“Yep. Take a left.” He points down a hallway that’s thick with the smell of laundry detergent and dryer sheets. It’s a comforting scent—one that reminds me of home. Of my mother.