hurt. She forced a smile. “Okay. I’ll check my conference schedule and get back to you.”
Ten minutes later, the cab pulled into the driveway of her hotel. Matt hopped out and paid the driver before she could object. He opened her door and helped her out. “Today’s my only day off, believe it or not. It’d be better to get our coffee on my calendar now. I’ll walk you up to your room, and while I grab you some ice for that ankle, you can check.” He caught her annoyed expression. “And then I’ll be out of your hair.”
She composed her features. “That’s sweet. Thank you.” Somehow he knew. He knew that the moment he dropped her off, she’d make sure she was too busy for coffee. Spending time with him after all these years would be more awkward than she had social skills to handle. But if they had something on the calendar, she’d feel bound to follow through.
They walked through the automatic sliding doors. The conference had proved engaging so far, but as an introvert, she craved some recharging time. Especially today. She’d never experienced fear as intensely as she had while running from those men. Would she no longer feel safe to go to the grocery store late at night? Or take a walk with her dog after sunset? From now on, would she imagine strangers following her?
Would she even be able to fall asleep tonight? She couldn’t take any sleep aids like many business travelers did. She had a history of sleepwalking, and any treatments for insomnia would increase the chances. That was the last thing she needed in a big city.
“Izzy?”
She caught his concerned gaze. “Sorry. Lost in thought. Did you say something?”
“I was wondering if you knew off the top of your head if you were free tonight. Would you want to have dinner instead? I could wait in the lobby while you freshen up.”
Did that mean she looked like she needed freshening up? She pursed her lips. If he thought she was primping for him, he had another think coming. But it didn’t matter. “I’m afraid I can’t. My research center is counting on me to network with potential investors.” Responsibilities weighed her shoulders down. “I’m supposed to be at a dinner with other conference attendees in—” she glanced at her phone and groaned “—an hour.” So much for time to decompress.
Her shoe caught on a snag in the carpet, and her ankle protested again. Matt put his arm around the back of her waist. “You really need to rest it.”
The functional embrace was almost enough to make her forget everything he’d said all those years ago. A shock of heat slid up her spine. She remembered a time when Matt was nothing but sweet and caring. They had never run out of things to talk about. How many times had she gone home wishing he’d have shown a romantic interest in her?
“By the way, no one calls me Izzy anymore,” she said.
“Oh? I seem to remember it was Belle in elementary, Ibby in junior high and Izzy in high school.” He smirked. “What’s left?”
Her cheeks heated at her younger self’s insistence at changing nicknames all the time. “Just plain Isabelle, thanks.”
“I thought you didn’t like that.”
“Yeah, well, that was for superficial reasons I’ve outgrown.”
“Such as?”
Did he really have to push it? She sighed. “I feel safe, as an adult, from the joke.”
“Joke?”
She felt her eyebrow rise. “Are you seriously trying to tell me you don’t remember it?”
“Knock knock.” His lips were fighting a laugh.
She simultaneously wanted to smack him in the shoulder and laugh along with him. “I knew you knew it.” The rest of the joke played through her head automatically: Who’s there? Isabelle. Is a bell out of order? I had to knock.
Oh, how she hated that joke and all the varieties that went with it. They had reached the back of the lobby.
Matt slowed. “Where to?”
She pointed to the left. Even though she’d requested a top floor, they’d put her on the bottom floor, where she could hear every footstep and door closing all night long. The smell of wet carpet hit her sinuses. The moisture was either from the heavy humidity or the remnants of a flooding.
Judging by Matt’s tight lips, his hotel didn’t suffer the same problem. She pointed at the door to the left. “This is me.”
“Okay. I’ll head for the ice machine while you get settled.” The moment her hand touched the door, Matt’s support left her. He strode down the hallway.
She pushed the plastic key into the slot, but instead of the little light turning green, the door opened, almost as if on its own. Strange. Had she not closed it all the way?
Utter darkness greeted her. Her breath hitched. She’d purposefully left the lamp on. Had housekeeping turned it off? She glanced at the door handle. The Do Not Disturb sign was still hanging where she’d placed it. Her back went rigid. Logically, it was possible the lightbulb had burned out.
She groped for the light switch but couldn’t remember where it was. Her heart slammed into her chest as she searched for it with no result. What if someone was in the room, waiting for her? She jumped backward into the hallway, letting the door close in front of her. “Matt?” She hated the way her voice shook.
“Everything okay?”
“I think someone’s been in my room.” Her voice shook. He was going to think she’d turned into a basket case.
His long stride reached her in a heartbeat. “Are you sure?”
She shook her head. “No, but—” She waved at the door. “It’s different.”
His brow furrowed as he studied her. “May I?” He took the plastic key from her hand. The door opened easily as he stepped into the blackness. “Probably just housekeep—” Light flooded the room and into the hallway.
Her shoulders dropped. He’d found the light switch, which meant she had overreacted.
He spun around. Lines creased his forehead. “Izzy, call the police.”
* * *
Matt couldn’t believe his eyes. Every inch of her hotel room had been ransacked. The drawers weren’t just open but pulled out of the dresser. The couch cushions and king-size mattress had been flipped.
The police directed him to wait in the hotel lobby as they interviewed Isabelle and the hotel staff. Isabelle iced her ankle in the chair perpendicular to him while they asked her questions. He pulled off his suit jacket. He could usually stand the heat and humidity in decent air-conditioning, but this hotel seemed to lack it.
Isabelle clutched her sparkly heart necklace. She shook her head to whatever question the officer had asked her. The jewelry looked bulky, almost gaudy compared to the elegance of her outfit. Frankly, it didn’t suit her tastes. Or rather, the tastes she used to have. He didn’t presume to know how much Isabelle had changed over the years.
Her manicured fingertips ran over the diamond-encrusted
