by Elyse Riggs
I watch him with a smile. He’s a handful. And a tourist. And a pain in the ass with a sweet tooth, but in a way he was alright. I frown as I realize he’s starting to grow on me. That’s not good. The more I give in and like him, the more It will hurt when he flies away in a couple of days.
He turns back to smile at me while he stands awkwardly at the counter, shifting from one foot to another while he waits for them to give him the tray.
A few minutes later, he returns with our food. He sets the tray down triumphantly and then slides back into the booth.
From the looks of it, I’m not the only one who’s starving. I watch him unwrap the burger and stare at it for a second.
“Looks good, right?” I ask, already chewing. I pop a fry in my mouth as well. The curly fries here are the best, with just the right amount of crispness and seasoning.
He picks up the burger, bananas and all. I don’t have to wait long to see if he’ll actually try it. “It smells fantastic.” He digs in. I’m impressed. He wolfs it down. I’m worried, but luckily he doesn’t start moaning again. This guy and food. I can only shake my head.
I turn my attention back to my own burger. Now that I’m eating I start to feel better about everything. My job is safe for now, hopefully. Fi has her chocolates for the auction, and my fake fiancé isn’t just hot, he’s actually kind of sweet.
He finishes his burger and grins as he swallows the last fry. “Beat you,” he taunts.
Damn it. I was in fact trying to beat him. How did he know it was a competition?
He stares at me for a long moment, long enough for me to get lost again in those beautiful eyes. I wonder what he’s thinking. Then he takes out his phone. “What’s your email address?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why?”
“Humor me,” he says. “Who’s to say? Maybe I’m sharing a funny meme with you.”
“People do that with text messages,” I reply after taking a sip of my soda.
He raises an eyebrow at me. He leans forward and his voice gets husky. It has a definite effect on my body. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
“Fine, it’s [email protected].”
He laughs out loud. “You’re email address is klurpy?”
I run a hand through my hair. “Look, it was an inside joke between me and my college friends. And your reaction is exactly why I’m hesitant to give my email out to random strangers.” I know I should be an adult and create another email address, but honestly who has the time?
My phone chimes. I check the message to see what he sent me. Luckily, I have just finished eating or I would have choked. What he emailed me isn’t a funny internet meme or a flirty message like I thought it would be. It’s a notification. From Paybot. It informs me that there is now three hundred forty-five thousand dollars waiting to be deposited into my account.
My eyes shoot up to meet his. He’s smiling, but it’s not the usual cocky smirk. He looks as happy as I am surprised.
“A deal’s a deal,” he says. “And after what you’ve been through, I wanted you to know that I am a man of my word.”
“Thank you,” I say. I should probably say more, but my mind is now a total blank. Shock does that to people. “And thanks for dinner, it was delicious.”
“It really was.” He sounds surprised.
I laugh. Then something shiny catches my eye. The engagement ring. Oh yeah. “What about the ring?” I ask. Then I get an idea. “I know, when I break up with you publicly on Sunday, I’ll dramatically throw it back at you. That’ll look convincing.”
It’s his turn to laugh. “You could. That sounds exciting, and I guess we never did talk through our endgame. But I want you to keep it. Please. It’s a gift. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.” He checks his watch. “How about we go back to the hotel and strategize for tomorrow?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chase
The driver drops us off back at the resort a few minutes later. The time has passed so quickly.
Kaylee gets out of the car and straightens her hair before proceeding. She has that determined look on her face. She has been through so much and she’s still strong, confident, and kicking ass.
She can handle anything. I was telling the truth back at Banana Burger when I said that I haven’t had this much fun in years.
I speed up and hold out my hand out to her and then we whoosh through the resort entrance doors together. I have to admit, life with Kaylee feels comfortable and real. Even though it’s fake.
We walk hand in hand to the lobby and almost make it to the elevators before Kaylee stops walking and sucks in a breath.
“What?” I ask, stopping with her even though I don’t know why.
“Vivian,” she hisses, “what the hell is she doing here this late?”
Kaylee abruptly shoves me toward an empty hallway, and I see her cross the room to confront the woman in front of us. What the hell is going on now?
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kaylee
As Chase and I go strolling in through the front door of the lobby, I spot Vivian. She’s coming straight at us. Without even thinking, I give Chase a hard shove into a nearby hallway and hope that it’s not too late. I also hope that he’ll play it cool and not do anything stupid.
Okay, Kaylee, don’t freak out. It’s perfectly normal for you to be strolling through the lobby of the place you work after dinner when you called in sick the rest of the weekend and told the nosiest coworker here that you may or may not need surgery.
I’m not imagining it either. Vivian sees me right away and makes a beeline to me.
“Who was that?” she asks, looking around me like I have him hidden in a back pocket.
“Who?” I decide to play dumb.
“That guy.”
“What guy?”
I watch as Vivian’s expression goes from suspicious to confused to concerned. “The guy you just shoved into the hallway. That guy.”
Don’t say anything dumb. “Just a guest.” Shit, that is a way wrong response since I’m currently a hotel employee. I knew it right away when I said it. I’m not off to a good start here.
Vivian’s eyes get wide. “Okay, well, you’re sick, so maybe you shouldn’t be here, um, interacting with the guests.”
Vivian has a very good point. I cough. Because I’m supposed to be sick. “You’re right, Vivian. I’m totally going to listen to you. It’s just that I care so much about all of the guests here, I can’t help it.” Way to make it weird, Kaylee.
Vivian puts a hand on my shoulder and steers me toward the lobby exit. “Listen, you really should be resting up for your operation.”
Oh shit. I forgot what I said earlier. Because that was when I was stressed. And hungry. And cornered. Like right now. I already know I’m an awful liar. Now I’m an awful liar with a bad memory.
Maybe if I don’t remember, she won’t either. “Hey, about earlier. I just wanted to make it clear that they haven’t exactly decided if I even need the surgery yet.”
Vivian gasps. “They might not even be able to operate?”
It takes me a moment to try to figure out what she means. Oh my gosh. Did she literally just jump to the conclusion that I won’t make it? Who does that? I’m just trying to clear up the fact that I might not need surgery in order to keep a plausible deniability about the whole thing while still getting the weekend off.
Which is a preposterously bad idea to begin with. I should have known. “Look, it’s a good thing, Vivian. I mean, I might not need an operation. Because I might be perfectly fine. In fact, that’s probably what’s going to happen. I should be just fine.”
Whew, good recovery. Not. OMG, just stop talking. I realize I’m rambling like a nutcase on a bender while she gently turns me around, walks me out of the building, and steers me into the parking lot. How did this even happen?
“Which car’s yours?” Vivian asks.
I point to my Civic.
The concerned
look on her face is back. “Should I drive you home?”
“Oh no, I’ll be fine. Thanks for all your help.” I stand there. She stands there. It’s awkward and I swear I can literally hear the seconds ticking off on my watch. It feels like hours.
I wonder what Chase is doing and try to casually glance around, but I don’t see him.
And Vivian won’t leave, she just stands there with a hand on her hip and a raised eyebrow. So, I do the only thing that I can think to do.
I open the handle and get in the car. Knowing Chase is inside waiting. Knowing that the gas meter is on empty. Knowing that I don’t need an operation. Why am I so bad at this?
I wave. She waves. She stands there. With a resigned sigh I start the car.
“Oh wait,” Vivian shouts and runs over to the driver’s side window. “I want you to know that I organized a fundraiser. For your operation. Don’t you worry, everybody here is going to pitch in and make sure you’re okay.”
I roll down the window as fast as I can. “Wait, no, Vivian. That’s what I’m trying to tell you, I’m not going to need an operation. No operation. So please cancel the fundraiser thing and don’t go to any trouble. I promise if anything changes, I’ll let you know.”
“Oh, sweetie, you have to stay positive. Besides, it’s no trouble at all. I needed a cause to lean into. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s gotten very dull around here.”
Why is Vivian not listening to me? Squirming in my seat, I try to process which is worse. Vivian ignoring what I say about the surgery or her needing me to be at death’s door to not be bored. Or that Chase is off somewhere wondering what the fuck is going on.
Just when I start narrowing down the list of what I am more worried about while the car idles spewing out hot air since the air conditioning is turned off because I have almost no gas in my tank, the situation gets even worse. Which I honestly did not think was possible until I see Chase run out of the lobby and look in my direction.
“Kaylee, where are you going?” Chase yells across the parking lot.
Oh no.
Vivian turns to look at Chase, who, realizes his mistake. His face turns white for a moment. Then he turns and runs back into the building.
Great. That’s just perfect. “I gotta go,” I say to Vivian. Then, under her concerned and withering gaze, I put the car in gear, pull out of the lobby parking lot, and drive down the side street for almost a block. Where I get lucky because there’s an open parking space that I can pull into before I run out of gas.
I risk a quick glance around and see that the coast is clear. At least Vivian has gone back to wherever she came from.
Well, that could have gone better.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chase
Kaylee is driving me crazy. This is becoming so much more complicated than it needs to be. Now she’s pushing me down hallways and pretending she doesn’t know me?
It’s insulting. What the fuck? I’m a Covington. Nobody treats me this way. And then she walks straight out of the building without a word and drives off? What am I supposed to do, lurk around the hallway in the resort forever?
Following her out into the resort parking lot didn’t end well for either of us. A few minutes pass. Doubt washes over me. She is coming back, right? What if she doesn’t?
Now I’m kicking myself. I must be the dumbest guy alive. I already gave her the money. Of course she’s going to take it and run. She’s probably been waiting for the right moment.
I’ve made a huge mistake, and I’ll probably never see her again. The thought hits me harder than I expected.
I stand in the hallway feeling stupid. What am I still doing here? I decide to head back to my room.
That’s a better plan than hanging around here. My mind made up, I walk back out into the lobby. And straight into Kaylee, who yips in surprise. I nearly knock her over.
“Kaylee,” I say. I have half a mind to let her have it over the shoving and the leaving and the expecting me to lurk in hallways. “What the fuck?” I want to be even angrier, but despite it all, I’m so damned relieved that I was wrong. She came back.
Instead of apologizing, she shoves me back down the hallway. Then she turns her back to me while peeking around the corner at the rest of the lobby. I try to stay mad, but that ass poking out at me makes me hot all over again.
I remember last night. And this morning. And now she’s waggling it at me while studying the lobby, which when I checked a minute ago, was empty anyway.
I approach and tap her on the shoulder.
“What?” She doesn’t even glance back at me. But I need answers. Whatever this thing is that we’re doing, I guess I’m just not ready for it to end.
“What do you mean, what? What was all of that? Where did you go, anyway? I saw you drive off.”
“I told you, I was out of gas. I only made it around the corner. It’s a good thing I had that much gas in any case, or I’d never have gotten rid of Vivian.”
“How far would you have gone if you did have gas?” I ask. I’m confused about the situation now and feel like that probably wasn’t the most important question, but it’s the one that popped into my head. Turns out, the question I asked is not only not important, it pisses her off.
She turns around. Only she isn’t smiling or concerned about me being upset. There are exactly two Kaylee expressions I have gotten familiar with the last couple of days. Flirty, happy, and mad. Okay, make that three. Now her eyes flash at me and her cheeks are flush with anger. Her angry face makes her look adorable, but I’m not going to tell her that.
She takes a step forward and jabs a finger into my chest. “Listen you, this is all your fault.”
“My fault?”
“Yes. You’re the worst lookout in the entire world. If it weren’t for you, Vivian would have never caught me sneaking out with the chocolates. You had one job. One. And you screwed it up, and now I’m in big trouble. I’m trying to help you. I thought you were going to help me.”
She takes a deep breath. Her anger dissolves away and the worry in her face returns. I get a sudden overwhelming urge to move the stray hair from her eye with my hand. I swallow and fight it.
I do kind of feel bad about this morning, and I want to make it up to her. But first I need to know what exactly is wrong. One, so I can help. And two, so I can finally know what the fuck is going on.
I decide on the direct approach. “What’s going on, Kaylee?”
She closes her eyes and breathes out like she’s about to tell me the most intimate secret in the history of the world. “There’s something you need to know about me. I’m an awful liar. Really bad. Seriously. We’re going to have to have our story straight going forward with your stuff, because trust me, you don’t want me going off script.”
Bad liar, check. In my book that’s a plus, not a minus. And being honest about it only makes it sweeter. But the fact is, I know even less now that when I asked her the first time why it is that she’s upset. “Please, Kaylee. Just tell me what happened.”
“I’m afraid we have a Ferris Buehler situation.”
I blink at her. Then I start laughing. “You mean like the movie?” If anything, I’m more confused, again. Which I didn’t think was possible. “Is this about you skipping work?”
“I wish. Vivian thinks I need an operation. And she’s organizing a fundraiser. For me.”
The full weight of it hits me. “Why does she think that? Did you tell her that? Why would you do that?”
“I didn’t,” she hisses back. “Well, I sort of did, then I kind of walked it back before. Then I told her tonight, just now, that I don’t even need an operation. But I think it’s too late. She’s bored and not listening to me anymore.”
“What exactly did she say?” I ask.
Kaylee slumps down against the wall. “She said I have to stay positive.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Exactly.”
I do my best to suppress a laugh and try to thin
k of something to say that will help. “Well, how much organization and fundraising can she do in a single weekend?”
Her face brightens. “Maybe you’re right.” Then her expression falls again. “Either way I can’t walk through that lobby again, Chase. Not now, not ever.”
I start to feel like I’m finally getting a better handle on the situation. “Okay, listen, if you don’t want to walk through the lobby, we won’t walk through the lobby, okay?”
I smile and she smiles back and I have to admit it feels amazing. Who am I? I don’t fall for women. Usually I don’t spend enough time with them to feel anything, much less let them shove me unexpectedly into hallways. Or dunk me in the ocean.
Something about her makes me happy for the first time in a while. Then I get an idea. “Is there a back way to the suites? Or a back entrance to the building?”
Kaylee’s face lights up. “Yes,” she says, grabbing my hand. She leads me back out of the air-conditioned lobby and into the warm summer air. Luckily, it’s early evening and there is a breeze. It doesn’t feel nearly as hot and stifling as earlier in the day. I grin as she leads me around the resort, hand in hand.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kaylee
The back entrance. I feel so stupid when he mentions it. I should have thought of it before, but I was busy dealing with Vivian before. And that was his fault.
As soon as we step out of the lobby, I feel myself relax. It’s warm outside, but the early evening breeze is starting to pick up.
I lead Chase down gorgeous, manicured trails that weave their way around the resort. Even I am taken aback by how beautiful this area is. Since my initial golf cart tour upon being hired, I haven’t really explored much out here.
