Chapter 23: A new bucket list

I found Elise in the hallway after I got off the elevator.

“Where were you?” She asked unexpectedly, making me fumble for a reasonable excuse.

“I … I'm, I was...”

“Why would you give your purse to the waiter to bring to me? I couldn't even call you because your phone was in the purse.” Elise said, interrupting me. That bastard! Did he have to give my purse to a waiter? He knew I was in his suite under his instructions; shouldn't he have given it to me personally?

“Oh, I didn't want to lose it, so I gave it to a waiter to bring to you. I saw someone familiar, so I followed them up to check. You know how curious I can be. Turned out to be a stranger,” I said, laughing awkwardly to cover my unease.

“Really?” Elise asked skeptically.

“Yeah, why would I lie?” I asked, my voice sounding an octave higher than I intended. “Are you sure? You look uneasy. Did something happen?” Elise probed again.

“It's late; let's go home. We’ve had too much fun already,” I said, changing the subject, p