by Zoe York
She shrugged, but they both knew it was true. Beth had always been destined for a bigger life than Cedar Springs allowed. Even once Jules was born, everyone knew, she wouldn’t settle for ordinary. Not for long.
“So what is it that you want?” She shifted the focus off herself. “As if I didn’t know.”
Rhys grinned so wide he thought his cheeks might crack.
“Go.” She waved him away. “I’ll be fine.”
Rhys stood and took two steps back toward the lobby, and Kari, before he stopped. “Beth?”
She looked at him.
“Don’t give up, okay?”
Her smile was true, with a touch of sadness. “Never.”
The party was still in full swing when Rhys got back to the lobby. He didn’t waste any time homing in on the most beautiful woman in the room.
“This is some party,” he said, stealing up behind her.
She didn’t start, as if she’d expected him all along.
“Do you think anyone would notice if the party planner disappeared?” he whispered in Kari’s ear.
She stiffened for a moment, and then turned to face him. “What about your date?” The word had an edge to it, but it was said without malice.
“Beth’s fine.” He reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re just friends. It’s all we’ve ever been.”
He could see in her eyes that she believed him, but he needed to make sure she understood. “Last night…” He looked straight into her deep blue eyes; he was right—up close, her shirt made them sparkle. “I should have told you why I couldn’t be your date. I’d already promised Beth. But I’d like to make it up to you now. If you’ll let me.”
She took her time to answer him, but after a moment she smiled and it was the sweetest thing Rhys thought he’d ever seen. He decided he didn’t care who saw as he bent down to drop a kiss on her lips. As he waited for her to tell Carmen she was leaving for the night, his cell phone beeped. A message from Rex, likely with the information he’d requested. He switched it off. Whatever Rex had to say, for the moment, he didn’t care. All that mattered was the woman in his arms.
Chapter 8
As soon as Kari went to tell Carmen she was taking off for the night, and her friend gave her a knowing smile, Kari knew Carmen had expected it. She didn’t say much and whatever it was that Rhys planned, he’d obviously sworn Carmen to secrecy, too.
In a past life, Kari might be suspicious about what was happening. But she wasn’t Karina, and Rhys wasn’t Brice. With a deep breath, she reminded herself that she was in Cedar Springs. Things were different. She was different. And she was going to enjoy it. She pushed an underlying twinge of guilt aside. She knew she was getting too close. Too comfortable. Despite the little bump in the road the night before with Rhys, things were on the right track again, and if she planned to get any closer, she knew she’d have to tell him the truth soon.
“Ready to go?” Rhys slid up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.
Yes, she thought, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Whatever she had to tell him could wait.
“Where are we going?” It was a silly question, really, because it was obvious to anyone that they were walking down the main corridor of the Springs to the elevator banks.
“I think it’s time we went on our first date, don’t you?”
Rhys looked so handsome, all cleaned up, in dress pants and a blue buttoned-down shirt, his hair combed—a far cry from the uniform she’d seen him in, or the worn jeans and t-shirt when he was off duty. He looked yummy. She wanted to unbutton every pearly white button on his shirt, one by one, and peel the fabric over his shoulders until his bare chest was exposed to her. But not on the first date. That’s not something Karina would do.
It was something Kari might do.
She didn’t try to hide the grin that slid across her face. First things first.
“No,” she said. He looked at her and was about to protest, when she added, “Dinner last night was our first date. This is a second date.” She sealed her words with a kiss on his cheek. She didn’t trust herself for much more than that.
“I like your reasoning,” he said. “A lot.” He took her hand again and led her to the elevator banks. There was another couple waiting. They smiled and said hi. But Kari was very aware of the fact that she was still dressed as staff, so she dropped Rhys’ hand and they stood patiently and silently. When the elevator came, Rhys waved the other couple ahead and they waited for the next one.
It was a good thing they did, too. Because the moment they were safely on the elevator, with no prying eyes, Rhys wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a long, hungry kiss. Definitely not professional. But oh, so good.
She still had no idea where they were going, but she knew by the floor number they were headed to the guest rooms. “Why are we going up here? It’s a good thing this is a second date, because I’d definitely not be going up to the guest rooms with you on a first date.” She raised an eyebrow and he laughed.
“Well then, I’m definitely glad this is a second date.”
“Don’t get any ideas.” She tried to sound light and teasing, but at the same time, she definitely had ideas of her own.
When the elevator chimed, he took her hand and led her down the hallway. “I hope it’s okay, but I thought it would be fun for us to experience the Springs.”
“Sorry?” She tried to keep up with what he was saying.
“I really hope it’s not too presumptuous, and there are no strings,” he said quickly. “But I thought, given that you’re staying at the Grizzly Paw, but working here, it might be a nice change to stay here so you can try out the facilities.”
“Stay here?”
Rhys slipped a key into the door lock and clicked it open. “Right here.” He pushed the door wide and held it open with his arm, so she could enter first.
Kari looked first at him, and then the open doorway before she took a tentative step inside. She’d never been in one of the rooms before. After all, she’d only been working there a short time, and Carmen had her so busy with the front desk stuff. She’d never thought to ask for a tour of the rooms. Besides, she’d stayed in nice hotels before. Not that Rhys knew that. She glanced up at him, a little guilty, but looked away before he could notice. The room was stunning. And far more posh than any of the upscale hotels she’d stayed in with Brice on their business travels.
Every detail was considered. And it was more than a room. They must have been in a suite. With a little sitting area, by a large patio door, and an archway leading into what must have been the bathroom, the space was much bigger than an ordinary room.
She looked at Rhys; her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn’t form the words.
“Don’t say anything,” he said. “And I mean it, there are no strings here. I just wanted to give you something nice and choices are limited in Cedar Springs. But the room isn’t the date.”
“There’s more?”
He grinned. “I told you not to say anything.”
Kari laughed and shut her mouth. It wasn’t too long ago if a man had said that to her—more specifically, Brice—she would have cowered and known he’d meant it. But Rhys was different. This was different, she thought as she slowly turned around the room.
“I hope you didn’t eat too much downstairs,” he said. “Which, by the way, was organized like a pro.”
She smiled with his compliment.
“But this is for you.”
As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Rhys went to open it, and standing beyond the door with a cart full of covered dishes was a bellboy she vaguely recognized. “Good evening.” He smiled at her as he wheeled the cart through the room.
Instead of stopping in the living room area, he walked straight to the patio door and slid it open.
“This will be satisfactory, sir?”
Rhys nodded, and the boy continued out through the door. A moment later, he reappeared
and handed Rhys the check, which he signed and handed back.
“Will there be anything else, sir?”
“No. Thank you.”
When the bellboy left, Rhys turned to Kari and took her hand. He led her to the patio and she stepped outside to see the most romantic setup she could have imagined.
The patio was larger than she would have guessed. A table had been laid out with the dishes, a bottle of wine, and a beautiful orchid in the middle of the white clothed table. The cart had been pushed to the corner and was covered in an assortment of candles that glowed in the night air. One of the Springs’ trademark fountains burbled away quietly in the other corner. But the real beauty was what the patio overlooked. Strategically placed spotlights shone on the mountain, so close Kari felt she could reach out and touch it. The strong rock wall gave both the impression of privacy and spaciousness, as the peak rose up beyond her vision.
It was stunning. Perfect.
“Rhys.” She turned to see him behind her with a satisfied smile on his face.
“You like it?”
She shook her head and his smile faded. “I love it. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Thank you.” She breathed the last words, and turned around again, taking in everything laid out before her.
A moment later, Rhys’ hard chest was pressed up against her back; his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close against him. Kari let her body relax into the comfort he offered. She hadn’t realized how exhausted she was from being on her own, running from herself. It was nice to feel taken care of, even if it was just for the night. She had so much to say to him. So much she should tell him. But for the moment, everything was perfect, and she wasn’t going to ruin it. Tomorrow would come soon enough and there’d be plenty of time for truth telling then.
He hadn’t been sure how Kari would react to him getting a room at the Springs, and he’d meant it when he’d said no strings attached. As much as he’d like to lay his hands on her tight little body and get another glimpse of that skin he’d seen the night before, that wasn’t his motive for getting the room. Although, if that were to happen...
Rhys let his mind drift, but only for a second.
He was brought back to the present by the woman in front of him. “Dinner was delicious,” she said. “Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a problem.”
She fiddled with the corner of her napkin, and Rhys knew something was on her mind. “I know it’s none of my business,” she said. “But, Beth...”
“Like I said, just friends.” He put his wine glass down and looked Kari straight in the eye. “We dated in high school, but we’ve only been friends since.”
She took that information and digested it for a moment. “She knows that?”
Rhys laughed at the way she said it. “She does. We talked. We’re just friends. You’re not stepping on any toes here.”
Kari lifted her glass of wine to her lips and smirked. “Assuming I’m doing anything here.”
She challenged him with her eyes, and Rhys was more than up for it. His gaze didn’t waver because he knew what they both knew, but weren’t saying. They were definitely doing something. He just couldn’t figure out what it was exactly.
“Dinner was fantastic,” Kari said after a moment, the first to look away. “Thank you for the date. It really was a lovely night.”
“You don’t think it’s over, do you?”
“It’s not?”
Rhys laughed and stood. “Dinner was good and all, but you can’t have the Springs experience without actually visiting the hot springs that make them so famous.”
“We’re going in the pools?” She looked at him with a mixture of excitement and incredulousness. “Really?”
Her childlike excitement was both sweet in its innocence, and concerning for Rhys. Had no one ever spoiled her before? Treated her like the amazing woman she was? His thoughts flashed back to the email he’d ignored. Presumably it contained answers to some of the questions he had about Kari. But by opening it and reading it, what would he find out? Rhys cleared his head of the thoughts that continued to invade. No, he wouldn’t go there. She’d tell him when she was ready. There was time.
“Hey. Where did you go?” Kari waved a hand in front of his face. Her sweet smile and excited eyes pulled him back to the present.
“Sorry.” He pushed every thought besides the beautiful woman in front of him out of his head. “Does going to the pools sound okay?”
“Honestly?”
He nodded.
“It sounds amazing.”
Dinner had been amazing. Heck, the whole evening had been amazing. The idea that Kari could have doubted Rhys even for a second when it came to Beth was laughable. Especially after the kiss they’d had the night before, and the kisses they’d been sharing that night, too. Kari didn’t consider herself an expert on kissing by any means, but she knew how Rhys made her feel, and the way her body responded on every single level to the touch of his lips on hers was very real.
She snuck a glance at him as they made their way down the elevator toward the pools. They were each wrapped up in the Springs issued fluffy robes, the way any guest would be. Rhys had to convince her that she didn’t need to be concerned about any of the staff seeing her. She was off duty, and a paying guest for the night. So she needed to act like one.
He smiled at her, and beckoned her with his crooked finger to close the distance between them. She did so because there was no reason not to and she couldn’t think of any place she’d rather be.
“Thank you,” she murmured into his chest.
He stroked her hair and held her close before he dropped a kiss on her head. “For this? It’s nothing. Honestly, I wanted to make this date special, because when we look back, it’ll...”
She stiffened, and Rhys’ words trailed away. Did he realize what he’d just said? No, not hinted—out and out suggested there would be a future between them.
Kari forced herself to take deep breaths. She needed to stay calm, because no matter what, she was not going to ruin the single most romantic date she’d ever had. And that definitely included anything Brice had done for her, even when he tried to win her over. No. Deep breaths, Kari, she told herself.
“Hey.” Rhys gently pulled back so he could look into her eyes. “I wasn’t trying to...”
“I know.” She smiled and forced the worry out of her head. Rhys may be thinking of a future with her now, but would he after he learned about her past, and that she’d been lying to him from the moment they met? What would he think of her then? “Let’s not worry about that tonight.” She spoke to both of them. “Let’s just focus on the right now. We’ll worry about everything else later, okay?”
He looked as if he was going to object, but then his eyes changed, lightening again. “Okay,” he said. “Later.”
She nodded and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the lips.
It wasn’t a lie. She would tell him the truth later, but first she needed to figure out what that was.
Fortunately, there was no more time for thinking about things because they’d arrived at the pool deck. The elevator doors opened up to what could only be described as a lush paradise. The humidity hit them the moment they stepped onto the floor. An attendant checked their room card and assigned them a pool number. Kari knew there were fifteen different pools all kept at ninety-two degrees, which was the exact temperature the water came out of the ground. The bigger pools were meant for a large number of guests, and there was even a cooler pool for swimming, plus a freezing-cold plunge pool for the adventurous. But the pools in the room Rhys had taken her were all private. The sheer number of plants helped with privacy, but there were also screens discreetly placed, and the entire space was designed to give the illusion of private grottos.
Rhys took her hand and together they walked along the stone pathway that led to the various pools. When they finally found theirs, the number eleven made of stone and inlaid in another larger boulder, Rhys slid
his keycard into the slot, opened the wrought-iron gate, and they followed the short path to the bubbling pool.
“This is amazing.”
“It really is,” Rhys said. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I mean, when we were kids, we’d go out at night into the woods and skinny-dip in the natural pools. And don’t get me wrong, they’re nice. But...”
“They’re not like this?”
“No.” Rhys laughed. “They were nothing like this. No wonder the Springs is set to become the spa destination for 2014. I am suitably impressed.”
Kari laughed at Rhys’ look of wonder. Brice had always skimped on the luxury hotels, and for once, she was glad he had. Because there was no one she’d rather be sharing the experience with than Rhys. The pool was perfect. He was perfect.
“This is perfect,” she said after a moment.
Chapter 9
He’d meant it when he said he didn’t want to worry about anything other than the exact moment they were living in. Rhys could have smacked himself for letting the comment slip about a future together. Sure, he’d love to think about tomorrow with Kari, or next week, or even next months, but he wasn’t stupid. There was way too much they didn’t know about each other and even if he was falling in love with the mystery of a woman, he couldn’t ignore the unknown. Not forever.
Determined to focus on the present, Rhys picked up the remote control on the side table. He played with the buttons for a moment, and the lights that were hidden in the bushes dimmed and brightened, until he settled on a setting halfway in between, giving the bushes an ethereal glow.
“That’s nice,” Kari said. She was still dressed in her fluffy robe, although she’d dipped her toes in the water, and Rhys could easily tell she was eager to get in and test the water.
He put the remote back on the table and poured them each a glass of what he called “spa water” that had been placed on the table. According to Carmen, it had been infused with all types of things, most of which he couldn’t remember, that was supposed to help them detoxify while they soaked in the pool.