Free A Very Important Guest by Mary Whitney Page A

gave him a quick smile. “It’s on the Mezzanine, and it’s pronounced e-o-lawn-e. ‘I’s are long ‘e’s in Hawaiian.”
    He looked up from the papers. “Oh.” He seemed befuddled and stared down again at the page as if to confirm she was right. “Thank you,” he muttered.
    “You’re welcome. Have a nice afternoon, Congressman.” She turned to walk out, and after a few steps, she had an urge to look behind her. Flipping her loose ponytail of black curls over shoulder, she glanced backward. The congressman still stood with his papers in hand, but he was now staring squarely at her with a puzzled brow. Not wanting to engage with the grouchy man, she swung her ponytail around one more time and closed the door.
        
    * * *
     
    Close to the end of her shift that night, Abby once again walked her floors, offering the nightly turndown service. By that late in the evening, the room numbers and their occupants had all blurred together. All she could think of was getting home and ending her long day.
    When she knocked on room 828 and called out, “Housekeeping,” no one answered. An empty room was her favorite kind, so she happily grabbed a few chocolates from her cart, entered, and flipped on the lights. She announced herself one more time and again heard only silence.
    With all the permission she needed, she headed straight for the heavy curtains to draw them for the night. As she strode past the bed, though, a glimpse of a man’s bare leg stopped her cold. Her eyes followed the lean leg up past the khaki shorts and over a bare chest, which while muscular, looked awkwardly pale to her island eyes. Despite his white skin, instinct told her an attractive man lay on the bed. She was eager to see his face, but her mouth gaped when she recognized him. It was Congressman William Lloyd in a deep slumber. One of his hands rested by his head, while the other held what looked to be a memo.
    It wasn’t as if she’d never walked in on a sleeping guest. It happened often. Yet seeing William Lloyd asleep and half naked made her feel like she was doing something wrong. She slowly backed away so as not to wake him, but he stirred. Feeling like she needed a defense for being in his room, she reached in her pocket for one of the hotel’s goodnight notes that were left with the turndown service.
    When his eyes fluttered open, she blurted, “Pardon me. I knocked, but no one answered. I didn’t think anyone was in the room. I’m just here for the turndown service.” She looked to her right and hurriedly placed the note and chocolates on the desk. “I’ll leave these here. Goodnight, Congressman.”
    She turned on her heel, but she looked back when she heard him blearily say, “How do you know I’m a congressman?”
    Flustered by his question, she doubted herself. “I beg your pardon. Perhaps I misspoke.”
    “No, you didn’t, but frankly, even I don’t really know who or where I am right now,” he said with a giant yawn. Blinking at the light, he craned his neck looking on the nightstand for a clock. “What time is it?”
    “It’s a little after eight, and you’re in Honolulu , if that helps.” She tried not to laugh as he scratched his head like a confused little boy.
    “It does,” he said as he eased himself into a sitting position. “I’m late for dinner. I need to get going.”
    As he sat up, Abby glimpsed at his chest again but quickly averted her eyes. She didn’t want him thinking she was checking him out, though from what she’d seen, she thought him worth ogling. She stared straight into his eyes and said, “Jet lag affects everybody. I’m sure you won’t be the only one.”
    “I hope not.” As if he knew where her mind had been, he looked down self-consciously. “I’m sorry. I should put a shirt on.”
    “Oh, don’t worry. It’s Hawaii . There aren’t that many places you need a shirt.” She chuckled, hoping to add some normalcy to the situation. 
    As he reached for his shirt, she