The healing wasn’t happening…not in the least little bit.
Upon arriving inside their bungalow, Audra had zombie-walked straight into one of the bedrooms that were separated by a pretty living area. She’d crawled onto the bed and curled into a ball, still in her wedding gown and hoodie. Lilly had removed her friend’s shoes and covered her with a woolen throw…and then wrung her hands waiting for some further sign of distress…or life.
But Audra’s eyes remained firmly closed and after a while Lilly had changed into dressy jeans, a silky collared shirt, and loafers, then decided an exploration of their environs was in order. Now she felt almost guilty for enjoying the mingled scents of fragrant blossoms and salty ocean. A light melody filtered through the limbs of spreading ficus trees and graceful palms as the afternoon slid toward evening. Another guest walked by, wrapped in a terry robe with an embroidered logo—Dragonfly Spa—on the front, giving Lilly a new idea.
She’d gather up the information on the spa services, the meditation and exercise class schedules, she decided. Maybe the prospect of partaking of those would entice Audra to sit up, get out of that dress, and begin the process of moving on with her life.
In the lobby, an employee walked up and presented to her a tray of glasses filled with sparkling water and lemon slices. Lilly took one in hand with a murmured thanks, pausing to sip at the refreshing beverage.
A female voice came from her elbow. “How are you settling in?”
Lilly turned, her gaze landing on a woman in the hotel’s understated uniform of dark slacks and white blouse. She had a scarf artfully tied at her throat and her nametag read “Jessie.” One of the clerks she’d seen at the receptionist desk earlier, Lilly noted.
“Fine, thank you,” she answered.
“And your friend?”
Lilly hesitated. “It’s been a bad day,” she admitted.
“I figured as much.” The woman gave a small smile. “We hoteliers are very observant.”
“I suppose the wedding gown and bridesmaid’s dress were a giveaway. We wanted to escape the scene of the…crime as soon as possible and didn’t stop to change.”
Gleeful cries drew their attention to another part of the lobby. A small group of women were hugging, clearly thrilled to see one another.
“A reunion of old friends,” Jessie said, “a celebration for one of them who has been cancer-free for several years.”
“That’s nice.” Lilly felt her own mood lift a little.
“I’m Jessie Hathaway by the way.” The other woman held out her hand.
“Lilly Durand,” she answered, with a brief shake. “Hathaway, as in…”
“That’s right. My great-great-grandfather started the hotel. There’s more than one now, but all of us entering the family business usually begin by working here, at the original location. My brother Kane and my sister Amber are also on staff.”
“Not bad as a first rung on the corporate ladder,” Lilly said, her tone dry.
Jessie grinned. “Don’t I know it. But we do take our reputation very seriously. We strive for every guest to have the experience of a lifetime.”
“About that…” Lilly began. She cleared her throat. “I realize this is known as the place for people to commemorate happy times, but…”
“You’re asking about the Heartbreak Hotel thing,” Jessie said, nodding.
“I don’t know where I saw it referred to as that,” Lilly said, her face heating. “But the idea of staying here just popped into my mind this morning when Audra found out there would be no wedding today.”
“A while back, someone wrote a lifestyle piece in the Los Angeles Times about her beneficial experience staying here after her boyfriend dumped her. It went viral on the Internet and was followed by some TV pieces as well. Other people going through rough times reserved rooms and talked about their positive visits on social media.” Jessie shrugged. “Along the way, that nickname was coined.”
Heartbreak Hotel. Guests suffering from romantic disappointment supposedly found renewed joy in life during their time at the resort. Though feeling silly, Lilly found she still had to ask. “Is it the meditation sessions? A particular massage?”
“I wish I could point to one certain thing,” Jessie said. “But if I had to guess, I think—” Pausing, she held her hand to her ear, where Lilly could see a tiny earpiece was nestled.
“I’m sorry,” Jessie said after a moment. “I have to go. All hands on deck. There’s a missing boa constrictor.”
At Lilly’s horrified expression, Jessie began to laugh even as she hurried off. “Stuffed toy,” she called over her shoulder. “Beloved of a five-year-old guest.”
Shaking her head, Lilly moved to the concierge desk to collect brochures that listed the amenities of the resort as well as those of some local attractions. There were suggested hikes in the foothills as well as scenic beach walks. Though they were likely duplicates of what could be found in the bungalow she shared with Audra, she gathered them anyway and headed out of the reception area, back onto the paths through the grounds. As she walked, she skimmed the glossy pamphlets.
Dusk fell as she strolled, but low fixtures popped on to uplight the trees and delineate the walkways. Still, despite the illumination, Lilly found herself at a dead end, the way blocked by a discreet locked gate leading to a service area. Turning back, she berated herself for not paying closer attention to her whereabouts.
She had a horrible sense of direction and as she wandered, taking random rights and lefts, nothing looked familiar. There didn’t seem to be any people about either. Probably everyone was inside getting ready for dinner, she thought, reaching for her phone.
Which, apparently, she’d neglected to slip into the pocket of her jeans before leaving their bungalow.
“Gah,” Lilly muttered, casting her glance about for something she recognized.
Then she froze, that shiver she’d felt before once again cascading down her spine. Her hands clutched the stack of brochures and she quickened her pace, trying to outrun the feeling that someone was watching her.
One of the resort’s claims to fame was the quiet and seclusion it offered guests, but right now Lilly wished she’d stumble upon a raucous family group or the boa constrictor search party.
With her heart hammering like crazy, she forced herself to stop a moment and take a deep breath. There was no good reason for panic and it wouldn’t do Audra any good for her best friend to finally arrive back in their rooms in a state of high alarm.
Ignoring the persistent sense of eyes on her back, Lilly took a slow glance around and then headed off in what seemed a promising direction. Sure enough, after a few minutes one of the resort’s larger edifices loomed ahead. While many of the visitors stayed in free-standing villas and bungalows, there were also three two-story buildings housing more traditional guest rooms.
Right now, Lilly just wanted to be around people and she was sure she’d find an employee among them to direct her to her own place.
An ajar door beckoned, and she rushed for it, seeing just beyond it another opening—into an elevator. Such devices led to places where people congregated, she thought, even as she detected the sound of footfalls behind her.
Giving in to her unfounded alarm, she rushed inside the elevator and slapped the nearest button. A muffled voice came from beyond the closing gap. Her heart sprang into her throat as a long arm, a leg, and then a whole, tall, adamantly masculine figure made it into her small space.
The elevator doors slammed shut and then it hummed, lurching upward as she stared, aghast, at her companion.
With his wide shoulders, broad chest, and sinewy forearms, even in a pair of khakis and casual collared shirt, sleeves rolled up, he was Mr. Take-Charge. His assertive gaze and his self-possessed manner proclaimed he was born for the head of a boardroom table and in his pockets he’d carry platinum credit cards, a stainless steel smartphone, and a gold pen engraved with his initials.
No wonder her instincts had been
rioting. “I never expected to see you again,” she said to Alec Thatcher, pleased she’d managed to find her voice though it sounded as breathless as she felt.
He opened his mouth, then shut it as the elevator came to an abrupt stop—between floors! An alarm sounded.
Lilly tore her gaze from the man to look at the control panel and the red light flashing there in time with the irritating, intermittent sounds. “What’s this?”
“I was trying to warn you,” Alec said, as he smacked a button that stopped the infernal beeping. “You didn’t see the ‘Out of Service’ sign on the elevator, I’m guessing.”
“No.” She backed herself into a corner as he played around with the buttons some more, clearly trying to get the car moving again. “Is it stuck?”
“So far, yes.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. Had he been sitting by the pool this afternoon, or maybe walking on the beach? Tennis perhaps, something to contribute to that annoying tanned fitness thing he had going.
His gaze narrowed. “You all right?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” she said, though he was too big and too close and her pulse was careening from point to point like a chicken with its head cut off. “But what are you doing here?”
It sounded peevish. Well, she felt peevish. She slammed her arms over her chest and thought of those weird sensations she’d experienced since arriving at the hotel. “Have you been following me?”
On a sigh, he turned and mimicked her pose, crossing his arms over his chest and propping one shoulder against the side of the stalled elevator. His dark brown eyes met hers. “Not quite, sugar. Though now it looks like we’re going to be together for a bit.”
Sugar. He’d called her that from almost the instant they’d met and it had done something to her insides, making them warm and melty. Sugar. Nobody had ever called Lilly anything close to sweet.
She swallowed, shuttering the thought. “Get out your phone. Call the front desk. They’ll send someone.”
His head shook. “Don’t have my cell on me.”
Though she’d forgotten hers as well, Lilly sent him a suspicious look. “Really?”
He shrugged.
Damn. It’s not as if she could frisk him, Lilly thought, her gaze roaming his body. And then she considered that, running her hands over his wide chest and shoulders, down the long planes of his back, to his fantastic male ass and then around to his—
No.
His expression registered amusement and a tinge of smugness and she realized the cocky bastard had noticed her cataloging his physical attributes. She pressed her lips together and gave him the stink eye. “Why are you here?”
“It’s a well-known hotel.”
She supposed it made sense that Alec Thatcher, accustomed to only the best, would have booked a room at this renowned resort for the night of the wedding. “Still…why are you here here?” Her forefinger spun, indicating the current four walls surrounding them.
“I saw you dash inside and was trying to get to you before the doors closed.”
“So you were following me,” she said.
“Guilty,” he answered, though he looked anything but.
“And you saw me in the lobby earlier too, right?”
He ran a big hand through his brown hair, disordering the precise layers of his businessman’s cut. “Audra too. At that moment I imagined anyone associated with Jacob might not be a welcome sight to either of you. I decided not to approach.”
Her lip curled. “But now—”
“How’s Audra doing?” he asked, his voice soft.
She wouldn’t let his gentle tone get to her. “How do you think she’s doing? She’s devastated. The future she’d been dreaming of has crumbled beneath her feet and she doesn’t know up from down at this point.”
“And you?” Alec asked, his gaze seeming to bore through muscle and bone to her vulnerable soul. “How are you?”
The future I’d been beginning to foolishly dream of crumbled beneath my feet when I was so sharply reminded of the perils of romance.
“I’m not the injured party,” she said instead, stiffening her spine, even as the walls of the elevator seeming to be moving inward and turning from steel to velvet, creating a private world only inhabited by the two of them. It had been like this from the first, their connection intimate, private. Dangerous in its intensity.
Every emotion she experienced when she was around Alec seemed brighter, hotter, deeper. Yes, dangerous.
This is how Durands love.
“I’m not the injured party,” she repeated, to make sure they both got the message.
“Aren’t you?” Alec asked, studying her face in a thoughtful way that made her hackles rise. It made her feel naked. Exposed. “You’ve clearly put your walls up, Lilly.”
“We’re almost strangers,” she muttered. “You don’t know anything about my walls.” Pushing past him, she began to beat on the control panel with her fist.
“That’s not going to do anything—” Alec began, but then the car jerked down, jerked up.
The action unbalanced her and Alec grabbed her arm to steady her. The heat of his hand transferred through the thin material of her shirt and shot like sparklers along the entire side of her body. “Let go,” she said through her teeth, trying to shake free of his hold.
His grip didn’t hurt, but it didn’t loosen either. “I’m not the enemy, sugar.”
Sugar. The word whispered through her like a yearning sigh.
Damn it! The enemy was the traitorous reaction she had to that simple word. The way the man made her soft inside when Lilly Durand needed to be strong. Independent. You could only trust yourself, she knew that, certainly not some man on whom you’d developed an out-of-character, temporary-but-now-smothered crush.
“Lilly,” Alec hauled her closer, until his nearness dizzied her. She swayed again on her feet and felt the entire world rocking beneath her.
“Lilly,” he repeated, sliding his arm around her waist now. “Are you okay? You told me closed places make you claustrophobic.”
She blinked up at him, owlishly. She’d confessed that? Surely she hadn’t added that it was because she used to hide in the closet when her aunt and uncle fought, hurling insults and household goods at each other for hours at a time.
“This isn’t happening.” Lilly put a hand to her head, trying not to let his nearness scramble her thoughts again.
Then, without warning, the elevator doors shushed open, and cold air slapped her face, driving the dizziness away. She wrenched from Alec and leaped out, onto what appeared to be the building’s second floor. Walking backward, she shot a finger at him.
“I don’t want to see or speak to you again.”
Chapter 2
Alec Thatcher leaned against the back of the concierge desk, elbow-to-elbow with his second cousin Kane Hathaway.
“You look like hell,” the other man said cheerfully. Wearing a gray business suit and matching dress shirt, he appeared not to have a care in the world. “No sleep?”
Alec shot him a disgruntled look. “Shouldn’t that worry you? Shouldn’t you be asking if I need a new pillow or if my mattress isn’t satisfactory?”
“It’s not your accommodations that’s the problem. Guys like you, what keeps you awake at night is a business deal. Or a woman.”
“Neither,” Alec said, then sighed. “I can’t get the botched wedding out of my head. Who does that? What brand of asshole do you have to be to call off an imminent wedding via text?”
“That’s on him,” Kane pointed out. At thirty, he was the same age as Alec. They’d always hung out during family events and were nearly as close as he’d been with his brother Simon. “Right? So shake it off and settle in to enjoy your mom and dad’s anniversary celebration week.”
“Yeah.” His parents had invited family and close friends to the resort to observe thirty-five years of marriage. The gathering had been the brainchild of his mother, and they’d all been delighted at this sign she was rej
oining and re-engaging with the world after five years of implacable withdrawal.
“Good,” Kane said. “Now how about replacing your grim expression with something more upbeat? You know, a frown turned upside-down is a smile.”
His sunny tone was annoying as hell and Alec knew the other man was poking him just because he could—like every sibling or almost-sibling ever—but that didn’t stop him from bristling. “It’s the maid of honor,” he heard himself say. “It continues to bug the hell out of me that she looked at me like I’m shit on her shoe.”
Kane’s brows flew up. “Huh? When? I thought the ceremony was called off before the participants made it to the beach.”
Shit. The decision he’d come to after his sleepless night was that he was going to put Lilly Durand out of his mind. For good. Now he’d have to tell Kane about her.
“She’s here, staying at the resort with the jilted bride. I ran into her yesterday and she didn’t seem pleased to see me.”
“Ah.” Kane rubbed his chin. “Let me guess. Guilt by association?”
“I’m supposing so. Because during the few days of pre-wedding events, we got along just fine.”
“Hmm.” Kane’s mouth quirked. “By that you mean you got her into your bed?”
A group of young women stepped into the lobby then, wreathed in smiles, their legs long and their pretty dresses short. Chattering like brilliantly feathered birds, they had glossy hair and pink lips and their gazes flicked past Alec and Kane, then backtracked for a longer perusal.
His second cousin gave them an easy, appreciative smile. “There’s a sight to improve a man’s outlook,” he murmured. “Nothing better in the world than women in a jolly mood. They require so little work to keep that way.”
Kane had a rule against involving himself with high-maintenance females. Which, if you listened to him, were just about all of them, especially right around the time their sisters got engaged, or when they had an upcoming birthday, or when a special holiday was on the calendar. Kane hadn’t found anyone he considered worth the effort to hold onto long-term. It was all light and breezy for him.
Our Last First Kiss KOBO Page 2