by Beverly Long
“We just need one,” Megan said. “Can we cancel the other?”
“Of course, Ms. North,” the clerk said, and in minutes, they had a room key and directions to the elevator. They were the only ones going up. Once the doors had slid shut, she turned to him. “I didn’t see any need to keep up the pretense.”
“Agree,” he said, grateful that his voice didn’t squeak. For most of the drive, in his head, he’d been kicking his own ass for stepping over the light and easy line that morning. Had wondered what he might do to convince her to let him back into her bed, because staying out of it simply wasn’t an option.
“We should probably eat an early dinner,” she said.
“Whatever you want,” he said.
She smiled like a cat. “Really?” She leaned forward, put her mouth close to his ear. Whispered exactly what she wanted.
He could feel the burn start in his toes and spread upward.
“I’m thinking that you might want a steak,” she said.
And maybe an ambulance, just in case. But hell, what a way to go.
Chapter 17
The Colorado Springs cocktail party was black tie. She’d enjoyed watching Seth get ready and when he was done, he looked magnificent. “I think you should wear a tux every day,” she said.
“I think that might be more for the likes of the Weston Marberrys of the world.”
She knew why he was bringing it up. Weston had surprised them at the Albuquerque cocktail party.
“If he shows up tonight, I’m not going to be my cordial self,” Seth said, slipping his gun into his waist holster.
“I don’t think he thought you were all that cordial on the other occasions.”
“I’m serious, Megan. Things are...different.”
No doubting that. After arriving at the hotel last night, they had the early dinner they’d discussed and then had fallen into bed together. Because there hadn’t been any morning events, they’d basically slept until noon because quite frankly, there hadn’t been a lot of sleeping until well into the night. Then they’d had the rah-rah meeting with the Colorado Springs staff and a walk-through of the store, which again, was almost identical to the Sedona and Albuquerque stores. She’d congratulated Jasmine following the meeting. The woman had done an excellent job of delivering upon their brand of upscale yet relaxed shopping for the woman who might want something slightly different.
She’d done another media interview, this time with a local television station, after the meeting and then they’d returned to the hotel to change for the cocktail party.
And at every moment of the day, she’d been intensely aware of Seth. Had practically memorized the shape of his head and the deceptively relaxed-looking way he stood. He was right. She wasn’t exactly sure what it was between the two of them but it certainly was different. “I’m not expecting him,” she said.
“I think that’s what you said in Albuquerque.”
It had been. But she’d exchanged a couple business emails with Weston earlier and while she wasn’t comfortable asking him outright if he was going to surprise her, she was fairly confident that he was still in his Sedona office midafternoon, which would make an appearance in Colorado Springs that evening difficult.
Thus far the drives between the cities had been four to five hours. But it was a twelve-hour drive from Colorado Springs back to Las Vegas. They would have to cross the mountains in Colorado, then go down through Utah and finally Nevada. Seth had yet to mention the upcoming trip but she knew he was very aware of the mileage and the time. There was no way she could do the entire drive by herself in one day. She’d fall asleep behind the wheel.
They’d have to stop halfway. He’d taken care of cancelling their existing hotel reservations in their destination cities and making more. She needed to make sure that he’d done the same for their layover night as well.
“If he shows, I will tell Jasmine that her only task for the evening is keeping him occupied,” she said. “They’re old friends. It won’t be a hardship for her. And it will likely keep him alive.”
“I didn’t say I was going to shoot him. Just that I wasn’t going to be cordial.”
“Right. We should go.”
The Colorado Springs cocktail party was in a hotel that offered stunning views of Pikes Peak. As she mingled with her guests, she kept an eye on the door. Didn’t really relax until the night was winding down. Weston was a no-show.
Once they were back at the hotel, she noticed that Seth was more quiet than usual. “I thought you’d be happy. No Weston.”
“That’s all good. I guess I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nothing has happened here in Colorado Springs. No weird phone calls, no fire drills, no tainted candy.”
“No shots fired,” she said.
“Exactly.”
“Maybe it’s over. Maybe the person got tired of tormenting me.”
“Maybe,” he said.
He wasn’t convinced. But she couldn’t worry about that now. Tomorrow they would have the grand opening in Colorado Springs and then they would travel to Vegas, where she’d have decisions to make. Decisions that she wasn’t ready to weigh in on yet. She crawled into the bed. “Come here,” she said.
“Got another list?” he asked, referring to what she’d whispered in his ear the night before.
“That first night at the shower for Trey and Kellie and Rico and Laura, you said that you speak poker at Wingman Security. Let’s just say that tonight, it’s dealer’s choice.”
“Who’s dealing?”
“We’ll take turns. You go first.”
Several hours later, when it was again his turn, he had her flat on her back, naked, when his cell phone rang. It was across the room, charging. She glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning. She immediately reached for her own phone on the nightstand, to make sure that Abigail or Evan had not been trying to reach her. But there were no calls.
He was out of bed, looking at the display. “Royce,” he said to her.
She knew it could not be good.
“Hey, Royce,” he said. Then he listened for a minute or two. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said. Then he hung up. Turned to her.
“My mom has been transported by ambulance to the hospital. Arm and chest pain. She was feeling faint and called the Everpark emergency number. They called 911 and Royce.”
“Heart attack?” she whispered.
“Not yet,” he said. “The paramedics did an EKG and it was normal. But they weren’t taking any chances.”
“Of course not. You have to go.”
He didn’t answer. Was busy typing something into his phone. Finally looked up. “There’s a flight out of Colorado Springs into Vegas at five this morning.”
“You can make that,” she said.
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Yes, you are. Don’t be ridiculous. I’ll do the grand opening here and then leave for Vegas. I’ll be there by late the following day.”
“No. Unacceptable.”
He wasn’t wasting any time. He was pulling on clothes, then his shoes. His suitcase was out of the closet and on the bed. Items going in.
Her head was whirling. She could miss the grand opening. It wasn’t ideal but Jasmine would be there, had already successfully handled the other two. Could she fly?
She hadn’t for more than fifteen years.
He’d told her how safe commercial flying was. She hadn’t needed the lecture. After her parents’ crash, she extensively studied crash records. Almost always, it was small planes.
She wasn’t afraid to fly on a big plane. Had simply chosen not to. There was a difference.
He zipped his suitcase. Looked up. “Please don’t make me choose between you and my mother,” he said.
If he chose his mother, she would understand. But she was awfully a
fraid that he would choose her. And that he would never forgive her for that. And while she didn’t know where this was going, she didn’t want something like that forging a divide between the two of them.
She swung her legs over the bed. “Fine,” she said.
He shook his head. “No. No room for equivocation. ‘Fine’ as in ‘I’ll do this but there’s going to be a big price for you to pay, Seth Pike,’ or ‘Fine, I just need ten minutes.’”
“Neither. I only need five minutes.”
He stared at her, then stalked toward her. Kissed her hard. “Thank you,” he said.
* * *
They dropped off the pretty blue rental car at the airport. They got inside, through security, in record time. Of course, at that time of the morning, it was basically deserted. At the gate, he reached for her hand.
She hadn’t made him choose. And he was grateful. Royce had said that his mom was getting additional tests at the hospital and they’d know more by morning. He wanted to be there when any news was delivered to his mom, wanted to be able to help her with any decisions that needed to be made.
“How are you?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Not angry about not being at the opening?”
“No.”
“Not angry about getting on a plane?”
“No.”
“Not angry because you’ve had less than three hours of sleep?”
“Maybe a little,” she admitted, letting her head drop to his shoulder.
He slouched down in his chair to make it more comfortable for her. “If you’re worried about anything at any time, just tell me.”
“I’m planning to sleep on the plane.”
“There’s this thing called the mile-high club.”
“Shush, Seth,” she said gently, closing her eyes. “You’ve used up your quota of favors.”
* * *
The flight waS uneventful and she did sleep for most of it. When they were on the ground, she sent a quick text to Abigail, letting her know the change of plans. Got an immediate response. Let me know if there’s anything that Evan or I can do.
They took a cab from the airport to the hospital and the front desk directed them to the cardiac floor. The door to his mother’s room was partially open and they entered quietly. She immediately saw the resemblance between Seth and his mom, who was a lovely older woman. She was watching television with the sound very low.
She turned and smiled when she saw Seth. “Royce told me that he called you,” she said. “I’m fine. You didn’t need to run home.”
Seth gathered his mom in his arms. And held her.
Megan stayed back, blinking her eyes fast so that nobody would see that she was this close to bawling. Seth Pike was Super Security Man who unabashedly loved his mom.
Seth pulled back. Patted his mom’s leg. Turned to Megan. “I want to introduce you to Megan North,” he said.
“Good morning,” Megan said, taking a step forward. “It’s a pleasure, although difficult circumstances.”
“A big fuss about nothing,” his mom said. “Dr. Kahla was in very early this morning and she said that she should have the results of the tests I had last night by midmorning. I’m convinced it’s nothing. I probably overreacted when I called the office but all I could think about was how upset Seth would be if I didn’t call.”
“That’s right,” he said.
“Pull up a chair and tell me about your boutiques, Megan. Seth sent me a few pictures and I can’t wait to see your Vegas store.”
The next two hours passed quickly. Seth and his mom both seemed to be relaxed but when the doctor came in, she wasn’t sure which one of them tensed up more.
But the news was good, according to Dr. Kahla, who was tall and slender, midfifties probably, with a lovely face and gorgeous thick silver hair that she pulled back in a turquoise clip. There had been no heart attack and she suspected that it might have been a case of mild acid reflux. “I’ll prescribe something for your mom to help with that and we’ll get her discharge papers ready.”
Seth extended his hand. “Thank you, Dr. Kahla.”
The woman turned to Megan. “I saw some very nice pictures this morning of your boutique. You don’t happen to have a card with you?”
“I do,” Megan said, fishing one out of her purse.
The doctor took it. “Excellent. Hope to see you there.” She left the room.
Seth’s mom was practically beaming. “When I saw her shoes, I knew she’d like what you were selling. I figured if I had to be here, I might as well try to drum up some business for you.”
Seth was shaking his head. “You amaze me.”
“Whatever you want from the boutique,” Megan said. “It’s yours. On the house.”
“No, no, no. That’s not how you make any money. But I will drop by for your grand opening.”
“Would you like to come to the cocktail party that we’re having the night before?” Megan asked.
“Everybody from Wingman Security will be there,” Seth said.
“You know, I think I’d like that.”
* * *
It was hard to believe that she’d left Vegas a week and a half earlier and she and Seth had been virtual strangers. Now they were as intimate as two people could be. But she wasn’t ready for that to be public knowledge.
“I thought we’d agreed that it was a waste to rent two hotel rooms,” Seth said as their cabdriver waited at a red light.
“You let me worry about that,” she said. She let her head fall back. “What a relief about your mom.”
It had taken a while for the discharge paperwork to arrive and then she and Seth had accompanied the woman back to her home. Seth had wanted her to come to the Periwinkle, since that was where he’d be staying, but she only laughed. “I want to sleep in my own bed,” she’d said. “Don’t fuss over me, or the next time I won’t call you.” Seth had evidently figured she was serious because he had stopped badgering her about it.
“I was scared,” he said.
“It was a climactic way to top off some pretty crazy days.”
He shrugged. “Days were okay. I liked the nights better.”
“Shush. It’s those kinds of comments that I don’t want Abigail to hear. She’s got enough to think about with this baby. I don’t want her worrying about me.”
“Maybe she won’t worry. Maybe she’ll think I’m perfect.”
He was. But it had been so fast. What would Abigail think when she found out that Megan had jumped into bed with her security guard? A pilot, no less.
She’d think that she’d lost her mind. Megan wasn’t so sure she’d be wrong.
If Abigail had questions, Megan wasn’t going to be any help. She was still trying to sort it out in her own head.
“I can’t wait to see her,” Megan said. “Evan is traveling, so she’ll be solo. I told her she could spend a couple nights.”
“Great,” he said, his voice flat.
“If it makes you feel any better,” she said, almost wanting to laugh at his disappointed face, “I’m going to miss you in my bed.”
He cocked his head. “Really? What will you miss the most?”
She pretended to consider. “It was all rather lovely. If it had been the Olympics, I’d have given you a 9.8 on technique, a 9.9 on artistic impression, and a 10 on...” She smiled. “Stamina.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with my technique?”
She smiled. “I knew that would drive you crazy.”
“Are you planning to stay in for dinner or go out?”
“There are a couple nice restaurants at the hotel. We can eat at one of those. That makes it easy.” The driver pulled up to the Periwinkle. She took off her sunglasses and carefully put them in their case. “I have to admit, I’m torn. I want to see Abigail but
I don’t want to expose her to...whatever it is that is dogging me. While I’m taking heart that Colorado Springs was without incident, I keep thinking about your comment that you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“You know,” he said, “now that we’re back in Vegas, you have the expertise of the entire Wingman Security organization at your disposal. Nothing is going to happen to you or to Abigail.”
She reached out and placed her palm on the side of his face. His skin was warm from the taxi, which didn’t seem to have working air-conditioning. Or, as he’d said, maybe just because he ran hot. “Or to you,” she said softly. “Don’t be a hero.”
Neither of them said anything for a long moment. They simply stayed connected, her palm on his cheek. Finally, he pulled away. “Absolutely not,” he said. “I have to be around to work on my technique. A 9.8 is simply not acceptable.”
Abigail was already in the hotel lobby when Megan and Seth walked through. Megan carefully wrapped her arms around her little sister. “Oh, my God, I’m so glad to see you.”
“I know,” Abigail said. “I missed you so much.” Abigail turned her head to the side and smiled at Seth. “Afternoon, Seth. Thanks for watching over my sis. And I’m glad the news about your mom was good.”
“It was my pleasure and yeah, a big relief,” he said.
“And the trip was uneventful, nothing out of J.T. Daly’s?” Abigail asked, stepping back from Megan’s embrace.
“Not a peep,” Seth said.
He was telling the truth. Neither one of them thought this had anything to do with J.T. Daly’s. “Let me look at you,” Megan said. “Your tummy is even bigger than when I left.”
“Babies gain weight fast during the last month of pregnancy,” Abigail said. “And supposedly I’ve dropped, although to me, I can’t really tell. All I know is that I’m about as round as I am tall.”
“You are beautiful,” Megan said. And Abigail was. But in truth, she also looked a little tired. “Are you getting enough rest?”
“Plenty of opportunity,” Abigail said. “But sleeping isn’t all that comfortable. But just about three more weeks.”
