Jack gripped the steering wheel so tight, his fingers went white. Was he so miserable to her that finding a hotel to stay the night in brought out a spark in her?
Stirring in her seat, she murmured, “You got something?”
He nodded. “The Hamlet Inn. I’m gonna go see if they have any rooms available.”
Tess let out a soft sigh of relief. “Good.”
Jack wanted to assure her that everything would be fine. He couldn’t find the right words, though. Lately, no matter what he said, it always managed to be twisted into an argument.
He shook his head, then turned his attention back on the road. He followed the curve of the driveway, only coming to a complete stop when he pulled up in front of two massive french doors. After telling her to stay put, he slipped out into the rain and jogged up the front steps.
She watched him knock, wait a beat, then let himself inside.
Tess lingered a few minutes, her forehead pressed against the window pane in order to see if he would return right away. When it seemed as if he might be a while, she drew back, reached over and turned off the car. Without the engine’s hum, the pitter patter of steady rain was calming. Soothing.
Leaning forward, she grabbed her purse and pulled out her phone.
Still no signal.
No internet then, and no cell service.
Not that she needed to make any phone calls—or, really, had anyone left to call. Her family was all dead and gone and, since the wedding last year, she lost touch with any friends she once had. Still, it made her uneasy to realize that she couldn’t call out, even if she wanted to. The two of them were lost in some strange small town she had never heard of and there was no way anyone would know where they’d gone if something bad were to happen.
On the heels of that sobering thought, a sharp tap rapped against her window, breaking up her introspection. She screamed, a short, terrified shriek that burned her throat and caused her to fall back into her seat. Her purse spilled out on the floor of the car.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark shadow. Her imagination went into overdrive. She screamed again, her heart racing as frantic fingers fumbled with her seatbelt clasp.
Her only instinct was to get away.
The car door flew open. Jack’s bulky body filled the doorway before one hand landed securely on her far shoulder. Caging her in, he dipped his head to meet her gaze as he tried to calm her down.
“Whoa, Tessie, baby, it’s okay. It’s me.”
She ripped her seatbelt up over her free shoulder, clutching her chest with her other hand. Her heart felt like it was about to beat its way right through. Now that she was safe, anger rushed in. It didn’t matter that her reaction was over the top. She hated being spooked and Jack knew that.
“What’s wrong with you?” she snapped. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry.” Since he tried to stifle his chuckle, she decided he might actually be. At least his mood had perked up some. “I thought you saw me running over. I swear, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
A deep breath to steady her nerves. When she muttered, “Whatever. It’s fine,” she almost believed that she meant it. She shook her head. “What did they say? Can we stay?”
After a quick once-over to make sure she was feeling better, Jack let go of her. He backed away, opening the car door wider. There was something tossed by his foot. Swooping down, he picked it up.
It was a folded umbrella. He must have thrown it when he heard her screaming.
“For you,” he said, gesturing as he popped the umbrella up. With a quick shake, it opened wide. “I spoke to the clerk. There’s plenty of vacancies. When I told her that I needed to head back out to the car, she offered me an umbrella. I brought it for you. The rain’s starting to come down pretty hard again. I don’t want you to get a chill.”
It didn’t matter that it was a short dash from the car to the front doors. Tess felt something inside of her tighten. “Oh, Jack. That’s so… thoughtful of you.”
“So, I’m forgiven?”
She let slip a tiny grin. “What kind of wife would I be if I held a grudge?”
Holding the umbrella down at his side, Jack leaned in and kissed the top of her head before giving her his hand to help her climb out of the Honda.
He insisted on walking her to the front of the inn. The umbrella wasn’t very large. It covered Tess and might have shielded Jack from some of the downpour if he’d let her share it with him.
Which he point blank refused to.
By the time they reached the shield of the awning, he was soaked and her guilt had returned with a vengeance. Why was the pigheaded man so stubborn?
She tried to offer to go back and help him carry in the luggage, not at all surprised when he told her no. When Jack then tried to escort her inside? Tess let some of her own frustrations out as she denied him. If he wanted her out of the rain, she could damn well do it without a chaperone, especially one who thought she couldn’t even manage to carry her own duffel bag.
She knew she was being tough on him. He thought he was acting the part of a gentleman, no matter that his overbearing personality stifled her. Tess might not be the type to hold a grudge, but all the little, niggling things that drove her crazy lately were quickly adding up.
Second honeymoon, she reminded herself. And she smiled.
“If I’m going in, here.” She held the umbrella out to him. “Take this.”
“I’m already wet. I don’t need it.”
He turned to hustle back down the steps, pausing when she latched onto his sleeve. She struggled to keep her smile in place.
“Please. Don’t fight with me over something so stupid, Jack. Okay?”
A strange expression flashed across his handsome face, part leery and part confused. His sharp jaw tightened into a razor-fine edge. Tess was expecting another argument and then he surprised her.
“Yeah. Thanks, babe.” His fingers folded around the handle. “I’ll be back in a sec.”
She made sure he lifted the umbrella over his head before she entered the inn.
As grand and intimidating as the estate was, the front room was exactly what she expected to find in the lobby of a hotel. The floor was covered in industrial carpet, patterned with cream-colored diamonds on a smokey grey spread; a matching set of overstuffed armchairs corned the lobby. A potted plant stood on each of the opposing sides. To her right, a flat countertop ran the length of the room. There was a computer perched on the closer end.
It took her a second to notice that there was someone behind the counter. She was probably a good couple of years older than them, though Tessa put her closer to thirty than forty. Her hair was pulled neatly back in a bun at the nape of her neck. While she had on a crisp white shirt, buttoned all the way up to her chin, she kept her plain face free of any make-up which only made her look younger to Tess.
The woman held a worn paperback with one hand. She had a small squint as she read, as if she normally wore glasses but forgot to put them on. From the bob of her head, Tess could tell when the woman got to the end of the page. She turned to the next one, then stuck her finger to keep her place.
That’s when she finally acknowledged Tess.
“Evening, ma’am. Can I help you?”
Tess shook her head. Because her husband had left her in the car when he first approached the clerk, she had no clue what he told her. Still feeling a little bitter at the way he handled her outside, she decided to just let him finish registering when he was done with the car.
He wanted to handle everything? Fine. She didn’t want to fight him anymore.
While Tess hovered near the threshold, the woman at the desk went back to reading her book. Every time she turned a page, she checked to see if Tess was still there, as if she expected her to vanish. Tess met her peeks with a small tight-lipped smile.
What was taking Jack so long?
Just when she couldn’t take the awkwardness any longer, a tinkling bell rang and both women�
�s heads turned to watch Jack hurry into the front room, a pair of stuffed duffel bags strapped across his body. In his right hand, he held her purse. He must have stopped to fold the umbrella on the porch because he had the handle tucked under his other arm.
Or, she decided with a small frown when she noticed the rain dripping from his sopping wet hair, he never bothered to use it all.
Eyeing him closely, she watched as Jack nodded his thanks at the clerk. He headed toward an intricate stand hidden behind one of the potted plants. After sticking the umbrella inside, he joined Tess and together they approached the counter.
“You’re wet,” she murmured under her breath.
He kept his voice just as low. “It’s still pouring, Tessie.”
“Mmm.”
The clerk set her book aside as they approached. Her eyebrows rose when she recognized Jack, her initial curiosity shoved aside by years of working behind the front desk. Her surprise made Tess wonder if this was really an inn at all. The clerk hadn't seemed to think that Jack was coming back.
“Are you ready to register for the night now, sir?” she asked. “I can sign you in.”
She changed from one second to the next, going from surprised to effusively helpful in a heartbeat. It was fascinating to watch the clerk slip right into her work personality, right down to the way her voice changed. A customer service voice, Tess thought. It sounded higher now.
She had one of those, too. The way she spoke, the smiles she offered, even the manner in which she held herself was different when she was standing in front of a class of her precious five-year-olds than when she had to deal with the parents and the administrative staff at her old school.
Of course, those days were gone. She gave up teaching when she married Jack. It didn’t matter that she loved her work. He always dreamed of having a stay-at-home wife. It wasn’t too long after the wedding when she realized that, in most things, what he wanted always came first.
Trying not to be too bitter, she clasped her hand in his, twining their fingers together as he walked with her to the counter. He glanced down in surprise at Tess, though he didn’t say anything, then squeezed her fingers sweetly with his damp hand. And she wondered if maybe she wasn’t the only one resenting the gap that existed between them.
Jack placed Tess’s purse on the counter. Then, with his free hand, he reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open to show the woman his license in case that made registering any easier. “Yes, thank you. Hi. I’m ready now.”
“What can I do for you, sir?”
“I’d like to get a room for the evening.”
She turned toward her computer, fingers poised over the keys. “One room? For the both of you?”
“That’s right. This is my wife. Tessa.”
The clerk glanced at Tess, a quick flicker as she swept her from head to toe.
Tess was used to other women looking at her the same exact way: simultaneously dismissing her while wondering what it was that Tess had done to land such a strapping specimen as her husband. More than a head taller than her, broad in the shoulders and lean in the hips, Jack had a body most men would kill for. His shaggy, sandy hair was carelessly tousled just so when it wasn’t rained on; even soaked, he exuded a safe masculinity that women always seemed drawn to.
She used to call him her teddy bear. But that was before. Lately, he was just Jack.
Tess couldn’t mask her frown. The clerk cleared her throat, moved her glance to the computer in front of her, tapped a few keys before returning her adoring gaze back over to Jack. Honest to God, Tess swore she saw stars in the woman’s eyes. And, after a second look, a big, honking ring on her finger.
“It looks like we have an empty house tonight so you have the pick of the rooms. Any requests, Mr. Sullivan?”
“Any requests, babe?”
“Something cozy,” she murmured up at him. After all, this was supposed to be their second honeymoon. So they weren’t staying at the resort for their first night. This place looked nice enough. “Something private.”
Tugging on Tess’s hand, he pulled her into the crook of his arm. His skin was slick from the rain and he carried a chill. She wrapped her arms around him, sharing her warmth.
He nodded at the receptionist. “You heard my wife. Cozy. Private.” He still had his wallet open. Reaching around Tess, he rifled through it, yanked out a credit card. “I’ll take the best one you’ve got.”
3
Their unspoken truce lasted until Jack had let them into the room with one of the keys the clerk had given him. Tessa innocently asked to hold onto the other one. She didn’t think it was an irrational request.
He flat out denied her.
“Why not?” she demanded.
She stopped right inside the doorway. With both of their duffels thrown over his shoulder, Jack maneuvered past her. He tossed the luggage on the empty seat of the nearest chair.
That done, he whirled on his wife. “Why do you need one?”
“There’s two. Why do you need both?”
“If you think about it, we really don’t need any now that we're inside,” Jack pointed out. “We’re only staying the night. Once we leave in the morning, we’re not coming back.”
Tess wouldn’t mind coming back to this room. As frustrated and annoyed as she was, she had to admit that the room was beautiful. Everything was done in soft, pastel colors: from the pale peach walls to the lemon-colored lampshades, and the pleasant floral quilted bedspread on the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. An oak nightstand stood off to one side of the bed. A matching set of dressers framed with a wide, gilded mirror sat along the far wall. Two overstuffed armchairs—similar to the ones in the front lobby—perched in separate corners. Jack had already claimed one with their luggage.
Across from the entryway, Tess saw a gorgeous bay window that stretched the length of the opposite wall. It was night, the curtains drawn and the blinds closed, but she thought the room would be even lovelier with sunshine streaming in through the window.
“Come on, Jack.” Even Tess heard the whine in her voice. She couldn’t help it. “I’m wide awake now. We’ve checked in two hours earlier than we thought by stopping over here. Why don’t we go out, do some exploring?”
“Because the tire’s shot. That’s why we stopped. Remember?”
“We don’t have to go far.” She marched across the room to the window and pulled back the curtain with an impatient tug. “Look. The rain’s slowed down some. If we baby the tire, we could probably find someplace local to eat. Let’s do something.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You can at least go and have a drink with me.”
“Tess, I'd love to, but I’m tired.” He kicked off his shoes, as if he thought he’d already won the argument. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he patted the spot next to him. “Let’s just go to bed, get some rest. It’s been a long day for both of us. You must be beat.”
That wasn’t exactly true. When she’d been trapped in the car, with the rain pounding the roof and Jack’s imposed silence suffocating her, Tess had felt drained. Now, though, she was anxious. Jittery. She had no desire to climb into that bed and go to sleep.
Jack might be an early riser, always up before the sun while Tess slept in. She was his opposite; she’d always been more of a night owl. Sure, he’d made an attempt to be social while they were dating. Now that they were married, though, he gave up on trying to romance her with nights out on the town.
If he wanted to stay in the hotel and go to sleep at ten o’clock, that was fine. He could do what he wanted. Didn’t mean that she wasn’t still young enough to want to have some fun.
“If you won’t come with me, I’ll go myself.”
Jack glowered over at his wife. She was dancing on her tiptoes, leaning forward, ready to take flight. Two minutes alone with him in the hotel room and she already wanted out.
Not him. He didn’t want to leave the rented room.
He sure as hell didn’t want his Tessie going out without him either. At least it explained why she wanted to have her own key.
And only made him more determined not to give her one.
“No.”
“No?” Tess echoed. She landed flat on her feet, stunned, but quickly shook it off. “Last time I checked, you were my husband, not my father.”
It was a cheap shot. Her father died when she was a child. Jack never knew his. The whole topic made them both touchy.
He rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know I'm not—”
“We're supposed to be partners.”
“We are.”
“Ha! Partners are supposed to make decisions together. You always try to tell me what to do.”
“No, I—”
With her hands on her hips, she snapped out, “I’m not a child!”
Jack opened his mouth to attempt to argue again when he realized something: Tessa was right. He hated to admit it, but his wife was absolutely right. If he treated her like a child—if she even thought he was—then she would only come to resent him even more.
And if he couldn’t trust her to take care of herself, he would drive them both crazy with his stubborn refusal to let her be his equal. This trip was all about salvaging their marriage. He couldn’t expect Tess to make all the sacrifices.
Maybe it was time he gave it a try.
“Okay. Fine. Point made.”
“I— wait, what?” Tess never expected he’d give in. So used to fighting with her husband over even the littlest of things lately, she was already plotting her next argument three steps ahead of where they were. She slammed on the brakes. “So I can go?”
“You’re an adult. You were right. If you want to head out, I can't stop you.”
“And you’ll come with me?”
He wasn’t willing to go that far. “Babe, I’m tired.”
“It's not even nine yet.”
“I know. I’m sorry, but I was driving all night. All I want is to relax, maybe watch a movie. You want to explore, fine. I don’t have to go.”
Don't Trust Me Page 2
