Alessandra
I’ve had a lot of practice sitting in hotel rooms before, I’ve spent an entire month walking around a mall watching a suspected terrorist, but I’ve never been forced to listen to this with a man I find both confoundingly straight-laced and sexy.
I was so sure I’d figured him out. So sure I was the one calling the shots, then he goes and says something like that, letting me know he’s more aware of his impact on me than I first thought.
Even if I could find the time after locating Bryce Wade, it’s not like I can do anything with the hot deputy anyway.
I can barely bend without hurting myself, having sexy times before I leave is completely out of the question.
“What?” he says.
I flinch as I try to cover getting caught looking at him. “You want to play cards? There’s a deck in the drawer behind you.”
The slight curl of his lip tells me he’s not buying it, but he’s hardly going to call me on looking at him when I haven’t called him out on staring at my assets earlier.
“Sure. Guess we don’t have a lot of other options.”
I can think of some other options, but I tidy away the remains of lunch and settle for seeing if I can beat Garrett at poker.
After less than two hands, turns out Garrett is a lousy card player. If we were playing for money, I’d have cleaned him out by now.
“You’re really terrible at this,” I say.
He chuckles and doesn’t seem in the least bit offended. “Zane’s the best poker player we have in the family.”
That tracks with what I know about his steely-eyed brother. “What about Levi? What’s he good at?”
“Surfing. Though he’ll tell you he’s good at other things.”
I don’t doubt that. I’m sure he thinks he’s God's gift in and out of the bedroom.
“Has he never had a serious relationship?”
Garrett folds for the third time running and shakes his head. “Since he figured out girls thought he was good-looking he’s been strutting around like a peacock.”
I snort inelegantly. “What about Jax? Is he single too? He’s a good-looking guy if you’re into that muscled look.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Are you saying you aren’t?”
I’m ready with my answer when I hear a door open and a woman’s voice directly outside our door.
I jump out of my seat and move as quickly as I can to press my ear against the door.
It’s definitely two women in the hallway. And it sounds like they are arguing.
Even with poor insulation, it’s next to impossible to hear anything. If it is Courtney and she’s arguing with her mother, I want to know what about it.
I spin on my heel and grab the remains of the food and have the door open before Garrett can stop me.
“I’m just taking the trash out,” I say.
Garrett’s on his feet in an instant, but he doesn’t have time to stop me before I intercept Courtney and her mom in the doorway to her mother’s room.
“Oh! Whoops, sorry,” I say.
They immediately stop talking and look at me. Courtney looks like a deer caught in headlights, but her mother appears as shrewd and cool as she’d reported being.
“Don’t leave without me,” she says.
Courtney’s lips are plumped to shiny pink perfection, her blonde hair is teased up, and she’s wearing a dress only slightly more over the top than mine.
I steal my opportunity, gesture to her outfit, and giggle. “Wow. I love your dress, we could be sisters,” I say.
For a moment I think I’ve blown it, but she grins back at me. “I came up here to sneak a menthol, but my mom caught me,” she says.
I cross my eyes and groan. “Uh oh. I quit a few months ago but I have zero will power,” I say.
“Cigarettes and men. My two weaknesses,” she says.
I cast a furtive look down the hallway before stage whispering. “There’s a fire exit at the end of the hallway. You can smoke there,” I say.
She’s so pleased she actually claps her hands together. “Perfect. You can keep me company,” she says.
I dump the empty pizza box in the garbage can at the end of the hall, and make my voice come out high and squeaky. “Sure! But do not let me smoke, kay?”
She crosses her heart with long red nails and totters down the hallway toward the fire escape.
Thankfully she goes with my suggestion of just opening the door so the smoke blows away, rather than climbing out on it.
I’m about due my pain meds, and I’m not sure I can get away with climbing in this dress anyway.
After chatting inanely about how many cute stores there are here, and whether the hairdresser could handle frosting her tips, she’s almost halfway through her cigarette and I’m running out of time.
“Can you keep a secret?”
I can see the glee on her face as she inhales another toxic breath. “Totally!”
I chew my lip and look at the door to my room. “I’m staying here because I’m seeing someone important in the Bay. We’d get in a lot of trouble if we got caught.”
Her eyes shift from me to the door. “Is he, like married?”
I shake my head. “I am, and my husband has a mean streak,” I say.
Courtney’s face pales and she looks genuinely concerned for me. “Aren’t you worried he’ll find you?”
I worry my lip some more. “A little. But he thinks I’m with my mom, and she won’t rat me out. She hates him.”
She nods slowly. “My mom doesn’t like my man either. She thinks he’s bad for me. But she doesn’t know him. Not really.”
I keep my expression passive. “Where is he?”
Her expression turns wary. “I’m not sure. But he promised he’d be here soon.”
My heart starts to race at the confirmation I was right, and I’m already planning my next step but I don’t let any of that show, I just sigh.
“I need to go, but maybe we can hang out again sometime before he gets here?”
Courtney’s smile is a little forced, but she nods. “Sure. I’m not doing a whole lot.”
I smile at her and leave her to finish the remaining portion of her cigarette as I walk triumphantly back to my room.
It’s hard not to smile but I lose the desire to when Ida opens the door precisely as Garrett does.
Without a second thought, I jam my lips against his and shove him back inside before she can see his face.
Rather than break the kiss off he returns it, far more greedily than I’d expected.
My own mouth parts in what turns out to be a spectacularly hot impromptu kiss.
So, hot, in fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to forgive him for almost blowing my new cover.
I’ve had a lot of practice sitting in hotel rooms before, I’ve spent an entire month walking around a mall watching a suspected terrorist, but I’ve never been forced to listen to this with a man I find both confoundingly straight-laced and sexy.
I was so sure I’d figured him out. So sure I was the one calling the shots, then he goes and says something like that, letting me know he’s more aware of his impact on me than I first thought.
Even if I could find the time after locating Bryce Wade, it’s not like I can do anything with the hot deputy anyway.
I can barely bend without hurting myself, having sexy times before I leave is completely out of the question.
“What?” he says.
I flinch as I try to cover getting caught looking at him. “You want to play cards? There’s a deck in the drawer behind you.”
The slight curl of his lip tells me he’s not buying it, but he’s hardly going to call me on looking at him when I haven’t called him out on staring at my assets earlier.
“Sure. Guess we don’t have a lot of other options.”
I can think of some other options, but I tidy away the remains of lunch and settle for seeing if I can beat Garrett at poker.
After less than two hands, turns out Garrett is a lousy card player. If we were playing for money, I’d have cleaned him out by now.
“You’re really terrible at this,” I say.
He chuckles and doesn’t seem in the least bit offended. “Zane’s the best poker player we have in the family.”
That tracks with what I know about his steely-eyed brother. “What about Levi? What’s he good at?”
“Surfing. Though he’ll tell you he’s good at other things.”
I don’t doubt that. I’m sure he thinks he’s God's gift in and out of the bedroom.
“Has he never had a serious relationship?”
Garrett folds for the third time running and shakes his head. “Since he figured out girls thought he was good-looking he’s been strutting around like a peacock.”
I snort inelegantly. “What about Jax? Is he single too? He’s a good-looking guy if you’re into that muscled look.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Are you saying you aren’t?”
I’m ready with my answer when I hear a door open and a woman’s voice directly outside our door.
I jump out of my seat and move as quickly as I can to press my ear against the door.
It’s definitely two women in the hallway. And it sounds like they are arguing.
Even with poor insulation, it’s next to impossible to hear anything. If it is Courtney and she’s arguing with her mother, I want to know what about it.
I spin on my heel and grab the remains of the food and have the door open before Garrett can stop me.
“I’m just taking the trash out,” I say.
Garrett’s on his feet in an instant, but he doesn’t have time to stop me before I intercept Courtney and her mom in the doorway to her mother’s room.
“Oh! Whoops, sorry,” I say.
They immediately stop talking and look at me. Courtney looks like a deer caught in headlights, but her mother appears as shrewd and cool as she’d reported being.
“Don’t leave without me,” she says.
Courtney’s lips are plumped to shiny pink perfection, her blonde hair is teased up, and she’s wearing a dress only slightly more over the top than mine.
I steal my opportunity, gesture to her outfit, and giggle. “Wow. I love your dress, we could be sisters,” I say.
For a moment I think I’ve blown it, but she grins back at me. “I came up here to sneak a menthol, but my mom caught me,” she says.
I cross my eyes and groan. “Uh oh. I quit a few months ago but I have zero will power,” I say.
“Cigarettes and men. My two weaknesses,” she says.
I cast a furtive look down the hallway before stage whispering. “There’s a fire exit at the end of the hallway. You can smoke there,” I say.
She’s so pleased she actually claps her hands together. “Perfect. You can keep me company,” she says.
I dump the empty pizza box in the garbage can at the end of the hall, and make my voice come out high and squeaky. “Sure! But do not let me smoke, kay?”
She crosses her heart with long red nails and totters down the hallway toward the fire escape.
Thankfully she goes with my suggestion of just opening the door so the smoke blows away, rather than climbing out on it.
I’m about due my pain meds, and I’m not sure I can get away with climbing in this dress anyway.
After chatting inanely about how many cute stores there are here, and whether the hairdresser could handle frosting her tips, she’s almost halfway through her cigarette and I’m running out of time.
“Can you keep a secret?”
I can see the glee on her face as she inhales another toxic breath. “Totally!”
I chew my lip and look at the door to my room. “I’m staying here because I’m seeing someone important in the Bay. We’d get in a lot of trouble if we got caught.”
Her eyes shift from me to the door. “Is he, like married?”
I shake my head. “I am, and my husband has a mean streak,” I say.
Courtney’s face pales and she looks genuinely concerned for me. “Aren’t you worried he’ll find you?”
I worry my lip some more. “A little. But he thinks I’m with my mom, and she won’t rat me out. She hates him.”
She nods slowly. “My mom doesn’t like my man either. She thinks he’s bad for me. But she doesn’t know him. Not really.”
I keep my expression passive. “Where is he?”
Her expression turns wary. “I’m not sure. But he promised he’d be here soon.”
My heart starts to race at the confirmation I was right, and I’m already planning my next step but I don’t let any of that show, I just sigh.
“I need to go, but maybe we can hang out again sometime before he gets here?”
Courtney’s smile is a little forced, but she nods. “Sure. I’m not doing a whole lot.”
I smile at her and leave her to finish the remaining portion of her cigarette as I walk triumphantly back to my room.
It’s hard not to smile but I lose the desire to when Ida opens the door precisely as Garrett does.
Without a second thought, I jam my lips against his and shove him back inside before she can see his face.
Rather than break the kiss off he returns it, far more greedily than I’d expected.
My own mouth parts in what turns out to be a spectacularly hot impromptu kiss.
So, hot, in fact, I’m pretty sure I’m going to forgive him for almost blowing my new cover.
