Michael did a double tap on the desk bell for the second time. Jamie glanced around the small room. The little town’s only hotel turned out to be a bed-and-breakfast two buildings down from the restaurant. The house was charming, but it had that old lived-in smell to it. The one where you figure the carpets have been vacuumed twice a day but not cleaned in several years.
Michael looked ready to jump the counter and check them in himself. Jamie put a hand on his arm. “The woman at the sheriff’s office said to keep hitting the bell because the guy’s a little hard of hearing.”
Michael’s answer was to whack the bell again. Finally, a muffled voice came from upstairs.
“What’d he say?” Michael asked.
Jamie shrugged. “Beats me. But at least he heard us.”
Someone came slowly thumping down the stairwell. The cadence of the steps was odd, unrhythmic. A gray-haired man smiled at them as he rounded the corner. One of his legs was slightly shorter than the other and didn’t bend. Jamie responded to his contagious grin as he limped behind the counter.
“Well, you must be the two Sara called me about. She said you’d be checking in. You from Portland?”
The power of small towns.
“Yes. That’s us,” she replied. “Are you Chuck?”
His brown eyes beamed. And Jamie fell in love. If she could remember her grandfather, this is who she’d want him to be like. Smiley and kind. “I am. And I’ve got your room all ready for you.”
“That’s great,” said Michael, bending to grab his bag. “We’re bushed.”
Jamie froze. “Wait—”
Green eyes and brown eyes looked quizzically at her. The green ones twinkling innocently.
“We need two rooms,” she pleaded.
Chuck’s face fell. “Oh…well. Then we’ve got a problem. I’m full up.”
“Full? The whole place is full? I thought this town rarely got any visitors,” grinned Michael.
“Now, that’s true. But I’ve only got five rooms. And four are full. It’s kind of a busy week for me. The Hensens have relatives in town but no room to put them, so they take up two of my rooms. Jordeen Gold’s mother-in-law is here, but she won’t sleep at Jordeen’s because Jordeen is her son’s second wife, and she’s still rather partial to the first.” Chuck ticked off the rooms on his fingers. “And Bill Norman has been staying for the last two nights since his wife kicked him out. I figure he’ll be here another two nights. That’s usually about her limit.” He looked up with a grin. “That leaves one for you.”
“Perfect,” said Michael. He leaned a little closer to Chuck. “Jamie just didn’t want the town getting the wrong idea…seeing as we’re not married and all. But you seem like an understanding kind of guy.”
Jamie wanted to elbow him. “We don’t want to put you out. Is there somewhere else where one of us can stay?”
“You ain’t putting me out.” Chuck patted her arm. “That’s my job. And I’m the only place to stay for thirty miles. Unless you feel like camping.”
Jamie’s stress level was floating somewhere close to the ceiling. A night alone in a room with Michael Brody. Hormones had been bouncing between them since they met, and now they were going to be trapped in a small space with a bed?
Wait a minute. What the hell was she worrying about? She took a few deep breaths. She was a grown woman, not a teenager. This man had been flipping all her switches into the on position for the last two days, and now she had a chance to be alone with him. This was an opportunity, not a situation to run from. She needed to look at this differently.
Peeking from the corner of her eye, she saw Michael was pleased with the arrangement. Why didn’t this sort of situation stress men?
She needed to start thinking like a man.
If she wanted something from a man, she needed to show him. Or ask him.
What’s he gonna do? Say no?
She doubted it.
“Well,” said Chuck slowly. “I do have the attic room. I don’t rent it out during the summer because the air-conditioning doesn’t—”
“That’ll work. We’ll take it, too.” Jamie exhaled as her argument with her inner vixen suddenly became meaningless. She had her own room. Disappointment surged, surprising her. An opportunity had slipped through her fingers. But more so, she was missing out on taking a chance. She rarely risked anything. But she’d nearly talked herself into risking…risking what? A moment of embarrassment when he refused? Losing out on one of the hottest nights she’d ever experience? How often did men like Michael Brody come along?
This was the first time in her life.
Would there be a second chance?
God, she was confused.
Beside her, Michael’s shoulders shook in a silent chuckle, as if he knew what was going through her mind. She glared at him. “Michael will take the attic.”