Thelonious avoided Mac's glare as he scooped some scrambled eggs on to two separate plates. Mac absolutely hated it when the guys couldn't be patient enough to wait for him to finish fully garnishing them just the way he liked; to absolute perfection. "Sorry," he mumbled under his breath as he grabbed some toast.

"What's the need for two plates?" Mac mumbled, annoyed as he salted the eggs just a little more. "The more you use, the more we have to wash."

His complaints fell on deaf ears.

Thelonious shrugged in response before he leaned back against the counter and nibbled on some toast. His eyes flickered towards the kitchen doors as Romeo walked in, his eyes drifting past his friend and at the part of the lobby that had become visible with the slight opening of the door.

Romeo frowned as he came to a stop in front of Thelonious. "I thought you were in your room." Confusion was evident on his face and Thelonious wasn't in the mood to clear it up for him. It was too early in the morning to put up with the boys' teasing.

He paused as he chewed the bite of toast in his mouth before he answered, not in any rush at all. "No, I'm right here." He replied casually.

The youngest among the three men scratched the back of his neck. "But I heard the shower running when I walked past it."

He cleared his throat and avoided all eye contact, both from Romeo and Mac. "It must be broken I'll take a look at it later." He shrugged, hoping to whisk over the matter. It would be difficult to explain exactly why his shower was running when he was in the kitchen. It would be even harder to explain why a fiery red head was showering in his private bathroom, especially since Thelonious had never brought a girl back to the hotel. And he doubted that explaining the situation would help the situation.

Denial was the way to go.

"But it sounded like it was running. Definitely not just a drip." The young brunette persisted, absolutely puzzled as to why his friend and employer was acting so strange, especially this early in the morning.

Maybe he was finally going crazy.

"Don't worry," he mumbled as he finished his first slice of toast. "I'll take a look at it after breakfast."

"Okay," Romeo dragged out the word, utterly perplexed. His boss was weird, of that he was sure but this morning was just something else. "Do you need some help fixing it later?" He offered before reaching out to grab a piece of toast for himself.

"No." He grabbed another piece of toast and when he looked up, Romeo was staring intensely at him as he chewed. Realising that he had been slightly harsh, he was quick to amend his words. "I need you to help clean the rooms instead. Your friend quit on me last night." He added the last sentence in hopes of changing the direction of the conversation.

Romeo chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "That might have been my fault. Sorry for that." He visibly winced.

"Don't let it happen again." He warned the boy, glad that he was back in control.

If his friends found out that Darcy had spent the night in his room then they would surely do everything they could to embarrass him in front of her. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on between them but he was sure that he liked it and wished to be able to explore whatever there was between them without anyone meddling. Sure, she would most likely meet them during breakfast but he would handle that problem when it arose, if it arose.

For all he knew, she could use his shower, change into some of his clothes and then make a run for it.

Thelonious finished off his second piece of toast before he had even sat down for breakfast. He was a nervous eater.

To keep himself busy, he helped the rest of the kitchen staff with the preparations for the first meal of the day. Nearly all of the guests had already called for room service while the restaurant consisted of a few diners whom had already placed their orders.

They weren't too busy for breakfast but Thelonious wasn't worried since they were usually more popular during lunch and dinner.

"Enjoy the food, guys!" Thelonious attempted a smile as he placed down orders of scrambled eggs, beans, hash browns and toast Infront of two male diners. "Let me know if you need anything."

They muttered their thanks before commencing with their meal. Judging by their attire, they looked to be construction workers. A big, hearty breakfast would do them some good.

Moving away from the table with the intention of heading back to the kitchen, his eyes caught sight of her at the front of the dining area.

Darcy was dressed in one of his jumpers – a dark blue in colour, almost black – which was more of a dress on her and a pair of his fuzzy black socks. Her hair looked slightly damp as she let it hang loose down her back. She looked more beautiful that morning than she did the previous night. Sure, a little bit like a drenched cat with the way she looked so confused and out of place, but he was just glad that she hadn't ran away.

"Darcy," he called out to her as he approached her. "I was starting to think that you got lost on the way here." He teased her, his eyes lingering on her plump lips. He coughed before tearing his eyes away, not wanting to unnerve her. She was a fiery thing as it was, so he had no doubt that she would put him in his spot if she were to catch him staring at her for longer than she cared for.

She rolled her eyes but her lips turned up into a smile, nonetheless. "I had to ask one of the employees for directions. I nearly walked into the kitchen."

His lips twitched into a barely-there smile. "That eager to see me, huh?"

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, enjoying the feel of his soft jumper against her skin. "You wish." She shot back; her response weak.

"I hope you found everything to be okay."

"It was fine, thank you." She nodded. "I used some of your shampoo and soap. I hope you don't mind."

"Don't worry about it," he assured her before reaching out to grab her hand. He didn't admit that he was secretly very pleased that she now smelt like him. "Let's get some food in you." He tugged at her hand, leading her towards a private booth located near a set of double doors that led to the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a minute," he promised her as she sat down. He didn't wait for a response before he rushed into the kitchen to grab the two plates that he had filled a little earlier. He was just glad that one of the others hadn't snatched anything off the plates while he wasn't there to guard them.

There was absolutely no telling with his friends.

Thelonious avoided all eye contact as he retreated his steps and returned to Darcy.

She looked up at him with a smile on her face as he placed a plate in front of her before taking a seat across from her. "This all looks delicious." She muttered quietly, almost as if speaking to herself as her gaze remained glued on the food. "Thank you."

"I kind of just grabbed everything." He slid her utensils across the table, the knife and fork wrapped in a napkin. She accepted them graciously. "I hope that's okay."

"It's perfect." She responded with yet another wide smile before she stuck into her food. "I love hash browns!"

Thelonious loved nothing more than food but, in that moment, his eggs remained untouched as he watched the woman sat across from him. Pushing her hair behind her ears, she chewed for a few moments before biting into a piece of toast. Her eyes trailed up before pausing on him. Quirking a questioning eyebrow, she went in for a second bite. "What?" she asked, using a hand to cover her mouth.

He shrugged before tucking into his own food. "Nothing." Occasionally, his eyes drifted back to her, almost on their own accord. He was sure to look away before she caught him though.

Small talk passed between them, just happy to enjoy each other's company as they indulged in a hearty breakfast. Sadly, the peace didn't last long as Thelonious looked up mid-conversation only to be met with a smirking Romeo whom held two glasses of orange juice in his hand.

"What are you doing here? He glared at Romeo, though reached out for the glasses nonetheless. He must have forgotten them in the kitchen in all the rush.

Damnit, he cursed himself.

"I thought I'd bring out some orange juice for you and your lady friend. You left the glasses in the kitchen." He shrugged, his lips stretching further into a wider smirk.

Thelonious clenched his jaw as Romeo sat down next to Darcy, a grin on his face. He watched as she scooted up in the booth to make room for him. "How thoughtful of you." He rolled his eyes before resuming eating. Darcy did the same before thanking him, sneaking glances at both men, wondering what was going on.

"Room for one more?"

Glancing up, Mac was already sitting down next to him, placing a plate of food in front of both himself and Romeo, absolutely defeating the point of the question.

This was the kind of situation that Thelonious had been trying to avoid. He didn't need the boys making fun of him in front of Darcy.

"Baloney, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Thelonious visible tensed and his grip tightened on the fork he was holding, hoping that she hadn't heard what Romeo had just called him. He actually despised being called Baloney.

Darcy watched Thelonious for a few moments, but when he made no move to do as such, she took matters into her own hands. "I'm Darcy," she introduced herself, extending a hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Romeo smirked, his hand lingering on hers for longer than necessary. It was only when he felt the intensity of Thelonious' glare on the side of his face did he pull away, though the annoying smirk remained. That just irked Thelonious more.

"I'm Mac," he pointed to himself. "And that's Romeo."

"I'm Romeo Bourne," he smiled, nudging her with his shoulder playfully. "You could be my Juliette if you wanted."

Darcy snorted and sipped some juice. "I think I'll pass." She brushed off his offer though couldn't hold back the smile. "You look a little young for me, anyway."

"If you change your mind?" His voice trailed off suggestively.

"I know where to find you."

Thelonious glared at them both but said nothing.

"This has been great," Darcy started. "But I should probably head home." She announced before downing the rest of her juice, seemingly finished with breakfast even though there was still some egg and half a piece of toast left on her plate.

Romeo stood up to allow her to make her way out of the booth. "You want me to drop you home?"

Thelonious beat her to it. "That won't be necessary." He turned towards her, his eyes lingering menacingly on Romeo before he turned to her. "I'll drop you." He offered, already making his way out of the booth. Mac had no time to make room for him as he leaned back in the booth, his mouth stuffed with food and his eyes wide in surprise as his friend all but leaped over him. They were lucky that nothing was knocked over in the process.

She blinked once and then twice. Surprised. "I actually need to head to the train station. I don't want to inconvenience you."

"That's fine. I can drop you off there." He shrugged and wiped his mouth on a napkin before throwing it at Romeo. That should teach the boy how to behave. "I'm heading that way anyway."

All four of them knew that he was lying, but none of them voiced it.

Darcy thanked him before heading upstairs to get dressed and grab the rest of her stuff. When she had disappeared from their view, he turned to meet two grinning faces. "Don't say a word!" He warned both of them before following closely behind her. 

-

All my stories can be found on Inkitt for FREE: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapters of Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1] will be uploaded on Inkitt a week earlier than on Wattpad as well as exclusive bonus chapters at the end of the story. So, be sure to check out Beating Hearts on Inkitt here: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapter 09 is available on Inkitt NOW!

The next chapter will be uploaded on 21/12/2019

Layla Knight

23.06.19