☼ twelve ☼
Within seconds of exiting the car, I was drenched. My once flowy sundress clung to my torso, my legs, wrapping around my curves like tape.
"We're in an easily inundated area," Axel had said, moments before the shuttle pulled into the courtyard. He spoke into his phone, but was also addressing the shuttle driver and me. "Which means everyone needs to get upstairs."
As he got out of the vehicle, Axel didn't fare much better, with his jeans growing uncomfortable—he grunted as he fidgeted in them, while walking through the slippery courtyard. His once silky shirt was slick with water, dripping all over the place.
Wearing sandals—a rookie mistake—I struggled to navigate over the pebbles. Axel noticed this and, teeth gritted, he snatched my hand and helped me into the overcrowded lobby.
Others from the failed vineyard outing, as well as regular hotel guests, had gathered to wait for Axel—the boss, the owner—and his instructions.
As I shook out my dress, searching for somewhere to wring out the moisture, wondering how to proceed, how to speak to the guests and reassure them when I was far from reassured, Axel cleared his throat.
"There's a flood watch in effect," he said, as one of the check-in clerks translated his words to the French-speaking vacationers. I perked up, surprised that he'd taken the floor. I'd been ready to inform the wedding attendees; but Axel opted to speak, instead. It was his hotel, and I understood why he'd want to take the reins in this case; but it should have been me, the wedding planner, who assisted everyone with getting situated. "We're going to transfer all of you upstairs to safety until the warning is called off. If you're staying on the ground floor, I suggest you hurry and grab what you need for the rest of the day and night. I have no clue if and when you'll be able to again."
Before he was even done talking, a blur of people whooshed past me, starting for the sloped hallway towards the ground floor suites. There weren't a ton of rooms on this floor, but some held several beds, meaning several guests. Not all were invited to the wedding, but Axel's instructions were meant for all.
I froze. "Fuck," I said, under my breath, hastening after the crowd. "My room is down here, too."
I found Chi, who remained quite calm considering the situation, and we flurried towards our rooms together. As we were side by side, I realized Chi reeked of weed. When I confronted them on it, they smirked, saying one of the bridesmaids was cooler than the others, and shared her stash during the interrupted trip to the vineyard.
"Hey, in this stressful shit," Chi gestured at the commotion of people scrambling into their rooms and snagging every belonging they thought they needed, "a bit of something-something to soothe me is probably for the best."
In my room, I wasn't sure what to grab—I wasn't sure what wedding events would still take place, what would be canceled, how long it'd be before I'd regain access to my things.
I scrambled between the main room and the bathroom, flailing from one bag to another, tossing items in, removing others. No matter the back-up plans I'd discussed with vendors and hotel employees, I hadn't been ready for this. It was a mess. It was madness. And Axel was the one in charge now, officially.
Remembering him standing there, soaking wet, so composed as he warned everyone of the threat—I hated to admit I'd admired him. So confident, not once showing any worry—I wasn't even positive he was worried—holding in his emotions, a stern, unwavering voice betraying nothing short of power.
That same stoic attitude he held with me when in public.
So maybe he wasn't a jerk, after all. Maybe he was acting nonchalant and curt with me to preserve my reputation, my career, to keep himself unattached. Maybe he did care, if only a smidgen.
In haste, I finally shoved a half-assed outfit into a bag, for the rehearsal dinner that might or might not take place that night, and a suit for tomorrow, if the wedding itself was still scheduled. I tossed in undergarments, a few face products and body lotions and soaps, snagged my strappy heels, and rushed out to the lobby.
Axel was waving people up the stairs, reassigning rooms as they passed him. I saw Chi saunter up, assigned to one of the bridesmaid's suites—surely the one who'd shared a joint with them in the car.
Estelle and Harvey were climbing the steps together, and Reece's parents had already reached the top; but Violet wasn't going anywhere. She loitered near Axel, beside herself, tugging at her hair, mascara running down her cheeks as she glared at her brother, as if he were responsible for the storm.
"This isn't fair," I heard her say through her sobs, looking ready to start kicking and screaming. Reece was by her, rubbing her back, but she fixated on Axel, grasping at her wet sundress, stomping a foot to the ground. "Axel, come on, do something!"
"I am," said Axel, busy organizing the new room assignments, taking control of the situation. "I'm getting our guests taken care of, sweetheart." I shivered at the affectionate term; I'd never heard Axel talk like that before, and less so to his siblings. "Go upstairs."
I watched in awe as he scribbled names on a clipboard, whispered French commands to his staff, took a call from the local police station, and eventually turned to his wailing sister and tugged her into a massive hug.
"Hush," he said, massaging her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I told you to go upstairs, get to your room, okay? It's going to be all right."
"It isn't," Violet wailed, shoving off Reece as he tried to comfort her, too. "The rehearsal is tonight, the wedding is tomorrow, and this place is gonna flood! Where the hell am I getting married? Am I getting married? Axel, help!"
"You are getting married." He held her at arm's length, inspecting her, and used one thumb to wipe her tears from her face. "We have back-up plans. Storms like this aren't common here, but I...we," he spotted me approaching and dragged me into the conversation, "have prepared for this, okay? Now you go settle in your room, relax, and we'll let you know the details for tonight. Tomorrow—"
"—isn't going to happen!" Violet's sobs grew louder, violent, as she fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands. "This stupid storm is ruining everything!"
I was about to relieve Axel of the burden of his anxious little sister; but to my surprise, he dropped in front of Violet, releasing his clipboard to take her hands in his. His jeans squelched on the dampened floor, but if he was uncomfortable, he didn't show it.
"Hey," he said, squeezing Violet, shaking her. "Do you trust me?"
Violet sniffled, unable to peer into her brother's soft gaze. "With...with my life."
He cupped her chin and made her look at him. "And do you trust Vivienne?" He freed one hand to point at me, as I stood still, stunned by the inclusion. "The woman planning all this for you?"
Violet flinched and nodded as she took note of my presence. "You...you hired her for a reason, so...yeah."
I bit the insides of my cheeks.
"Good." Axel got to his feet, heaving Violet up to hers. "So then trust that Vivienne and I will do everything to make sure this wedding goes on, and is as perfect as you wanted it, despite the extenuating circumstances."
Anyone remaining on the ground floor was transfixed by the scene. The older brother in command of the predicament, suspending all his own stress to reassure his sister, the bride. As if he'd pressed pause on the storm, needing a moment to sort his family out. It almost drew a tear or two from me, but another clap of thunder woke me up, started my engine.
I clapped my hands. "We've gotta move," I said, eyeing Axel, wincing at Violet. "You should get up to your rooms, both of you."
Violet dabbed at her eyes as she accepted Reece's assistance in getting up the stairs. Dumbfounded groomsmen followed, along with a few staff-members that Axel refused help from, wanting them to get to safety.
Axel peered at me standing in the middle of the lobby, unsure where to begin, what exactly to do as the wedding planner of an event that might not take place. He signaled towards the stairs. "You go on up." He'd retrieved his clipboard, and checked his notes. "Go to the third floor, I think I can accommodate you up there."
I squinted at him. "But you—?" I approached, my sandals squishing on the floor. Mud and puddles of water were everywhere, and darkness seeped into the space as more thunder resounded outside.
"I have a few minor details to check on first," he said, turning away from me. "Go, please."
Dejected—but also mildly impressed at his control over his nerves during such a frenzy—I dipped my chin and obliged. I'd had multiple minor panic attacks since the moment I'd first seen the lightning while still in the car. But here was Axel, poised, prepared, overseeing operations as if he'd always known things would happen this way.
I admired his resolve, his dedication; but as I climbed the first few steps, and twisted to tell him as much, he was gone.
On the third floor, chaos erupted. Bridesmaids squirmed about, looking out the windows and screaming whenever lightning struck. Groomsmen got rowdy, throwing what appeared to be a football at one another, while Reece rolled his eyes at them, slumped into a lounge chair near his groom's suite.
Chi was, to their benefit, trying to usher the bridesmaids into their rooms, but unsuccessfully.
I paused at the top of the stairs, took a deep breath, and clapped so loudly my palms stung. "Everyone!" To my astonishment, the noise halted, and all those nearby turned to me expectantly. "Mr. Levine wanted you all in your rooms, for your safety."
"But," Violet appeared from around the corner leading to her suite, "this shit storm is literally raining on my parade! How can he expect me to sit pretty in my room and wait for it to pass?"
Reece lifted from his seat, bracing to go talk his fiancée down, but Harvey shook his head, pushing him back into his chair. "Don't," I heard him mutter, "she needs to let it out."
A somber voice came from behind me. "Violet."
I swung around; Axel was ascending the stairs, clutching his clipboard, grimacing.
I shimmied out of the way to make room for him on the landing, but leaned near him as he passed me. "I was about to—"
"—I'll handle it," he said, squeezing my shoulder, eyes narrowing. "Go find somewhere to stay. The local firefighters insist that we shelter in place, and I want everyone accounted for. I will be checking once everyone is settled."
I nodded, but had no clue where to go. I wasn't as familiar with the third floor, aside from the bride and groom suites, and Axel's Presidential Suite.
"The rehearsal dinner—" Violet screeched, fingers tearing through her once beautiful strawberry blonde curls, "the patio—the wedding, Axel, the wedding!"
"Hey." Axel grabbed her by the arms and spun her towards her room. "We are working on it, okay? We'll use the second floor restaurant tonight, and if tomorrow is still fucked, we have the second floor ballroom, too. I know," he pressed a hand to her mouth before she could complain, "it's not outside on the beach like you wanted, but it's here, in St. Tropez, and it'll still be spectacular."
I wandered around the third floor, scowling at doors without knowing where they led to, if they belonged to unoccupied rooms or to spaces already cramped with dislocated guests.
I'd barely gotten a hold of myself and my own panic—inside, I felt like Violet looked on the outside—when booms of thunder caught me off guard, almost causing me to trip over my own feet.
"Come on," said Axel, arriving by some miracle behind me, taking me by the waist to stabilize me.
"Huh?" I allowed him to touch me, but gazed over my shoulder, fretting over being seen.
"My room," he mumbled, tugging me along, his clipboard tucked under his armpit. "Since you can't seem to find anywhere else to go."
"I—" I slowed my pace, regretting not having followed Chi to bunk with the bridesmaids. "I can't. We can't."
"We have no choice." Axel extracted a room card from his pocket and swept it over the lock. A green light and a beep pushed the door open, and he shoved me inside.
I opened my mouth to protest, but Axel's gingery eyebrows raised, and his stony gaze froze me in place.
"Stop arguing." He gently sealed the door behind him and dropped the clipboard on the side mantel, alongside his phone and room key. "No one saw us, anyway. They're too busy having meltdowns."
"I'm having a meltdown!" I slapped a hand to my chest, over my drumming heart. "Everything I worked for, everything I put together—ruined!"
"You sound like Violet," said Axel, smirking as he removed his drenched loafers and threw them off to the side. "And it's—"
A loud click followed by sudden obscurity and silence cut him off.
The power had gone out.
The only light came from the lightning crashing outside; the sky was so dark, so blackened, it felt like night had fallen.
"Shit." Axel gravitated towards the mantle, plucking his phone from it. "Shit."
My throat constricted. "What happened?"
"The power," Axel said between tap-tapping of his fingers over his screen. "When the power goes out, the doors lock automatically."
"The doors." I shuddered. "All the doors? And we can't...we can't unlock them?"
"It's a security protocol." Axel blew out a breath as he set his phone down, gripping the mantle with his back turned to me. He was hunched, taking deep inhales, releasing heavy exhales. "A stupid security protocol I've been working on fixing for ages, and yet..."
I hesitated to approach him. Even in the dark, I sensed his stress, his earlier composure blown to smithereens. Still, his voice didn't crackle, and aside from the large intakes of breath, he didn't display a single hint of whatever emotions he held within.
"So we're locked in here? For...for how long?"
Axel sighed as he rotated, leaning against the mantle, arms crossed. "I have no idea, because we can't investigate the issue with the active flood warning. The police and firefighters want us all on the upper floors. That," he pointed at his phone, "was a text I sent to them, asking if they have an ETA on the power coming back. So until it returns...yes, we're locked in here. You're stuck with me. Again."
A chill slithered up my spine. A chill of fear or lust, I couldn't quite tell; because being in forced proximity with Axel caused both those feelings inside me.
We were wet to the bone, teeth clattering from cold, clothes see-through, adrenaline pumping, our flight-or-fight responses firing up. How the hell was I supposed to resist him now?
I released my bag to the floor; the one I'd been holding on to for dear life without even realizing it. All I had inside were fancy changes of clothes, the bare minimum of the products I'd need for a lockdown. This...I hadn't been remotely ready for.
"Fuck." I crumbled beside my bag, not unlike how Violet had moments before. "Fuck, this is...the worst...that could have happened." I gasped. "And my documents, my contracts, all the paperwork—I forgot it all in my room, and if it floods I'll lose everything, and then I'll get fired for sure."
Like he'd done earlier with Violet, Axel lowered to his knees before me. Using the same voice he'd used for his sister, the soothing timbre that was so borderline sexy it sent butterflies flinging into my gut. He caressed my face, his warm breath heating me up. "Hey. You're all right. You're safe, you're with me, and that's what matters."
"The problem is that I'm with you!" I wanted to push him away, but his spicy scent unfurled into my nostrils, somehow diminishing my oncoming migraine. His warmth infused me, melting the tension in my muscles, turning my limbs to mush. I fell backwards, onto my ass, and my knees pressed to my front. "You, the person I can't be stuck with again. Because—"
He lurched forward and secured his lips to mine, interrupting the rant I'd been about to engage in. He didn't slide his tongue in, didn't even move; only kept his lips firmly planted there, keeping me grounded, in the moment. Stopping me from succumbing to more panic when I needed to compose myself, to wait for the storm to pass.
"Of all people to be stuck with," he said, pulling away, leaving me breathless, yearning for more of him. "You should be grateful it's with me. Because you should have no doubt that I'll take care of you. No one knows you're with me, Vivienne. No one knows...and so you shouldn't worry."
I kissed him back.
☼☼☼
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen247.Pro