Mistaking Ken’s intentions made Eve feel ornery. “It really isn’t necessary. I’ll just call Liz if I have more trouble, not that I’m going to.”
“It can’t hurt to be safe,” Ken insisted. He took out his phone and pulled up a menu. “Just give me your number. Then I’ll call you and you’ll have me in your caller ID if there’s any problem.”
“It makes sense to take precautions,” Travis encouraged her.
Eve conceded. “I think we’re making a big to do about nothing, but if it makes the two of you more comfortable, here it is.” She rattled off her phone number and noticed that Ken was putting it into his directory, not simply dialing her cell.
A moment later he called.
Her phone went off in her car and she had to reach inside to get it. She accepted the call without speaking and disconnected again. “Thanks, Ken.”
He lowered his own phone. “No problem. Now I suggest you try and follow us in to the hotel.” He looked around at the swirling snow. “I really don’t like this weather. Visibility sucks. Let’s just be cautious.”
“All right, I’ll follow you in,” Eve told him. She thought he was making a bigger deal out of the snow than it merited, but they were both going to the same place anyway so she didn’t see any point to protesting.
Chapter Two
Ken slipped into the cab of his Ford Ranger and closed the door. “Whew! That is one seriously hot woman. What’s the story with her?”
He was aware of Travis turning to stare at him—a knowing smile on his face. He didn’t know Travis all that well. They’d only met one time before tonight but Travis seemed all right. “Don’t know much about her. I think she went to college with Kara. Lives a couple of hours outside of Detroit.”
Ken turned his Ranger’s engine on while watching Eve’s car in the rearview mirror. “She had gloves on so I couldn’t see if she was wearing a ring. Do you know if she’s married?”
“Don’t know,” Travis told him.
Eve’s headlights turned on, highlighting the thick snowfall between their vehicles.
“Can you find out?” Ken asked him.
Travis took out his phone. “Sure. Just let me call Liz.”
While Travis made the call, Ken watched the traffic, looking for an opportunity to get back on the highway. He let the first two chances go because he wasn’t sure there was enough room for Eve to get out too. Then he flashed his lights once and pulled out onto the road, pushing his speed up fast to stay ahead of the oncoming traffic. Behind him, Eve shot forward on the shoulder but didn’t merge onto the highway. Ken immediately slowed down again and made room for her to get on the road ahead of him. With the storm, he couldn’t see if she acknowledged the courtesy but she got on the road safely.
“Hey, honey, it’s me,” Travis said.
Ken could hear Liz’s voice respond but not well enough to make out the words.
“Eve’s fine. We’re back on the road.”
Ken moved one lane to the left so he could get back in front of Eve and lead her to the hotel while Liz said something else.
“Yeah, she’s going to follow us in. Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her.”
Ken switched back in front of Eve wondering why it was taking Travis so long to ask his question.
“Speaking of taking care of her,” Travis started. He was almost laughing as he said it. “Eve appears to have made a big impression on Ken. You wouldn’t happen to know if she’s married, would you?”
Ken’s chest constricted as he waited for the reply.
“No? That’s good news.” Relief mixed with excitement flooded through Ken’s body while Liz continued talking.
“What? Oh, that’s not so good.”
Ken’s happy feeling evaporated just as quickly as it had come. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Travis looked over at him. “She’s been living with some guy for several years. Sorry man.”
An unreasonably strong wave of disappointment rushed through Ken, but he put on a brave face. “I’m not surprised. A beautiful woman like that’s bound to have lots of men interested in her.”
“Bad luck, man,” Travis said even as Liz started talking again. He listened intently for a few moments before saying, “I’m not certain that’s a good idea.”
“What?” Ken asked, but Travis ignored him.
Liz kept talking.
Finally Travis answered his girlfriend. “I’ve told you what I think, but if I’ve learned anything about you in the couple of years we’ve been dating, it’s that you’re going to do what you want anyway, so I’m not going to get in a fight with you about it.”
“What?” Ken asked again.
Travis continued to ignore him as he spoke to Liz. “Just think about it, and maybe ask Kara what she thinks.”
Liz said something and he laughed. “No, the word for Kara isn’t unexciting. It’s conventional.”
He laughed again, said “I love you,” and hung up the phone.
“What was that all about?” Ken asked him.
Travis grinned at him. “Liz wants to tell Eve you’re interested in case she wants a fling while she’s away from her boyfriend.”
Ken rolled his eyes. “Oh, that’s just great. Now she’ll stay on the far end of the room from me and worry I’m stalking her every time we bump into each other.”
Travis seemed to think that was very funny. “It might not be that bad. Liz seems to think the bachelorette party will put Eve in the mood for something hot and heavy. But don’t worry. She’s going to talk to Kara about it first.”
That wasn’t good at all. Ken was pretty certain that Kara didn’t like of him. Ron and he spent a lot less time together now that Kara was in his old buddy’s life and he didn’t think it all had to do with him not being part of a steady couple. “And you think Kara will dissuade her from talking to Eve?”
Travis put that hope out of Ken’s mind. “Not a chance. In fact, I’m pretty sure this means you and Eve are going to be the focus of gossip for the whole wedding.”
Ken felt like he was suddenly back in high school. The whole situation infuriated him. “Remind me not to ask you for any more favors.”
Eve pulled into the underground parking lot at the Marriot with a profound feeling of relief. The storm was bad enough that she’d begun to regret not taking Ken up on his offer to drive her into the city and she was grateful to him for having driven slowly and courteously enough that she had no trouble staying behind him. She couldn’t see the signs through the storm and while she had GPS, she didn’t like to depend on it when she couldn’t really see the roads around her. Everyone had heard those stories about people following GPS instructions off a half-finish bridge or into a lake. It was far better to follow someone who knew the local geography.
Ahead of her, Ken found a parking space and Eve pulled in beside him. They popped their doors and got out, stretching a little after the tense ride. “That is some storm out there,” Eve said.
“Too bad it couldn’t hold off for a couple of days,” Ken agreed.
“I guess it’s going to play havoc with the bachelor party you planned,” Travis said.
Ken glared at him—literally glared—as if he were furious the other man brought up the party. But Eve couldn’t hear any anger in his response. “Yeah, the party may have to be cancelled. We’ll see what the other guys think.” He turned to Eve. “We planned to hold it in Nick’s—that’s the best man—in Nick’s bar. We could still get there if the guys think it’s worth the effort but it probably isn’t. Rumor to the contrary, it’s going to be a tame night.”
Eve found she didn’t believe Ken—at least not about the party he had planned being tame. She wondered why he would lie to her about it.
Travis grinned and stepped back into the conversation. “You ladies shouldn’t have as much trouble. The bachelorette party is at Kara’s. The worst that could happen is that you get stuck there over night if the storm doesn’t let up.”
Eve didn�
�t agree that getting stuck at Kara’s would be a small thing—not if all her clothes were left at the hotel—but she didn’t say anything.
Ken seemed to intuitively understand what was worrying her. “You know I can swing by and pick you up afterward in my truck.” He hesitated for a moment. “You probably won’t be the only person looking for a ride back to the Marriot.”
Travis glanced at Ken, still smiling broadly. What was going on here? Eve felt like she was missing something. “That’s nice of you to offer, Ken. I may have to take you up on it. Let’s see how the evening goes, okay?”
“Whatever you want,” Ken told her as he walked to the rear of her vehicle. “Why don’t you pop the trunk and Travis and I can carry your bags for you so you can check in.”
Eve did as he asked and in short order the two men were escorting her into the hotel. It took about ten minutes for her to check in and get her room key, during which time Liz called Travis to check on their progress.
“We’re here at the hotel,” Travis told his phone. “I’ll meet you at the rehearsal dinner as soon as we get Eve up to her room. Just save me my meal.”
Eve remembered that Liz had told her they were getting ready to leave the church two hours ago. Travis must be famished. “You don’t have to wait with me any longer. You and Ken must be starved and the family is probably already eating.”
“The food is on the table,” Travis admitted.
Ken pulled the keys to his Ranger out of his pocket. “Here, why don’t you drive on over and meet up with Liz. I’ll help Eve get up to her room. She and I can grab a quick bite in the hotel dining room.”
“You don’t have to miss the rehearsal dinner for me,” Eve objected.
Ken was in no hurry to leave. “The rehearsing is all done, and I don’t have anyone waiting for me there anyway. All I’d be doing is racing to the restaurant to gobble down a cold dinner. I’ll stay and eat with you, if you don’t mind.”
Travis did not seem at all troubled by Ken’s decision to bail on the rehearsal dinner. He accepted the keys and bid his farewells. “I’ll see you two later in the evening.”
“Thanks for driving out to help me,” Eve told him.
“Happy to,” Travis said before disappearing across the lobby.
Eve turned back to Ken. “You really could go with him, you know. I’ll be fine.”
Ken picked up her suitcases again. “It’s no trouble at all. Now if what you’re really saying is that you’d rather not eat with me, or that you want to want wash up after your trip and I’m in the way, that’s cool. I can go down to the dining room on my own.”
Eve didn’t want Ken to think she hadn’t appreciated his help. “No, no, I just— I didn’t mean to disrupt everything.”
They started moving together toward the elevators while Ken answered her. “And here I’ve been appreciating the chance to get away from all the boring parts of preparing for the wedding and do something interesting.”
Eve pushed the up button and one of the elevators immediately opened. “And changing a tire is that interesting?”
Ken moved with her into the elevator and set down her luggage while Eve pushed the button for the eighth floor. “Compared to sitting in a pew watching everyone ignore the priest while they tried to sort out tomorrow’s ceremony? Yes. But that wasn’t actually what I was talking about.”
Startled, Eve glanced over at Ken. For just a moment there, it sounded like he was flirting with her. The thought took her by surprise and she immediately squelched it. Guys had stopped flirting with her a long time ago. She had to be misreading things.
The door opened on the eighth floor and she was able to sidestep her sudden feeling of awkwardness by moving into the hallway. Her room was just a few doors to the left and they found it together. Then she slid the key card into the lock and stepped inside. Marriot always had nice rooms and she nodded with approval as she looked around. Then she remembered Ken was holding her luggage in the doorway and she turned back to him. “Thanks for carrying my suitcases up for me. Would you mind putting them on the one of the beds?”
Ken set them down on the floor. “Just a second. I want to check something first,” he told her.
While Eve watched he stepped past her in the room and went to the corner of the first bed. He pulled the ruffle up and then lifted the corner of the mattress about two feet into the air, looking intently at the box spring as he did so.
“What are you doing?” Eve asked.
“Checking for bed bugs,” Ken told her.
“What?” The idea horrified Eve. “But this is the Marriot!”
Ken moved to the other mattress. “Truth to tell, I’d be shocked if they had any, but you’ve still got to check.” He lowered the other mattress back into its normal position. “You’re clean.”
Despite her initial revulsion—or perhaps because of it—Eve stepped up beside him. Her hand insecurely sought the small of his back as she peered past him. “How can you tell?”
Ken picked up the corner of the mattress again to demonstrate his technique. “Bed bugs prefer the dark. If you had any here you’d see them scurrying away from the light when I picked up the corner of the mattress.”
Eve shivered. “So you’re sure the room is clean?”
“You’re good,” Ken assured her.
He lowered the mattress again and turned to face her. “Hey, I didn’t mean to creep you out. It’s just that you have to be careful, even in the best places.”
The thought of bed bugs really bothered Eve but at the same time she felt relieved by Ken’s assurance that there weren’t any here. “No, no, I’d rather know one way or the other,” she assured him.
She was suddenly aware that she was still touching him, her hand on his side now that he’d turned to face her. Embarrassed, she pulled away but not before she noticed how hard and firm the flesh beneath her fingertips felt. Ken was in excellent shape.
“Let me get those bags out of the doorway,” Ken said.
As he moved to act on his suggestion, Eve took a deep breath and reminded herself she was an attached woman and that Ken was too young and handsome to be interested in her.
Then she caught herself. She wasn’t attached, was she? Charlie had cheated on her and she’d thrown him out and…
Ken set her suitcases down on the first bed. “So what do you say? Are you hungry? Would you like to go down to the dining room and get something to eat? Or would you rather have some time to rest before Kara’s bachelorette party gets started?”
Before Eve realized what she was doing, she asked, “Would you mind if I did both? I’m wearing traveling clothes and I’d planned to put a dress on for the party tonight. If you’re in a hurry, I could just order room service and—”
“No, no, no,” Ken assured her. “I’ll wait down in the lobby while you get changed.”
Eve liked the idea of going to dinner with him, but felt a little guilty about making him wait. “It could be twenty or thirty minutes. Are you sure you don’t mind? If you’re hungry, you could—”
“I don’t mind waiting at all,” Ken told her. He flashed a brilliant smile and moved to the door. “I’ll just head downstairs so you can change.”
Without another word, he closed the door behind him, leaving Eve alone in her room with her lungs breathing surprisingly deeply.
Chapter Three
“Get a hold of yourself,” Eve whispered. “He’s not interested. You’ve just realized for the first time since you kicked Charlie out that you’re actually free to notice a handsome man.” And Ken certainly was handsome with those beautiful blue eyes and that blonde hair.
She checked to make certain the door had fully closed, then went into the bathroom still thinking about Ken. She had never fooled around with a significantly younger man and the idea appealed to her in the fanciful manner of day dreams. Ken was fit, tall, broad in the shoulders…all the sorts of things that a woman liked to imagine in her lover.
He had a good mouth and sh
e idly wondered what it would be like to kiss it. Not that she was going to find out. This trip was about Kara—a little support for an old friend on her big day. It was not an occasion for a quick liaison with a younger man.
It suddenly occurred to Eve that Ken was the same age as Kara’s husband-to-be—younger, but certainly not too young or Kara wouldn’t be marrying Ron.
Eve shook her head and tried to push such thoughts out of her mind. She’d been in the car for twice as long as she’d intended driving out here, and she needed to clean herself up before meeting Ken for dinner and then heading out to the bachelorette party. She reached into the shower and turned on the water, letting it grow hot while she shucked off her clothing. Then she stuck her hand back in, adjusted the water to make it just a little cooler and stepped inside the shower curtain.
It was still too hot and she jumped back until she could adjust the temperature again. Then she eased herself back beneath the spray, being careful to keep her short black hair from getting wet. For the first time in quite a while, she began to relax a little. The shower could do that for her. Even in the height of her troubles with Charlie, she could usually count on the shower to give her a little distraction. She adjusted the spray to turn on one of the massage settings and then positioned herself so the water could drum on the tense muscles of her upper back.
This was nice—one of the simple pleasures in life that anyone could have. Eve closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation as the steam rose in the bathroom to envelope her. Ken was waiting. She knew she should be hurrying so she could get downstairs and meet him, but with the water beating down on her this way, she couldn’t bring herself to do so. She could feel the rivulets bouncing off her shoulders so that tiny streams slipped down her front to run past her breasts on the way to the floor.
Charlie used to love to explore her body, kissing and licking her all over. He hadn’t been so inventive lately—hadn’t given her much time or attention at all. She was willing to bet Ken didn’t take his women for granted the way Charlie had. He wouldn’t just thrust his fingers between her thighs to see if she was wet enough for him to slide inside her. No, Ken would take his time. Explore her body. Tease her with his fingers and tongue. Listen to the sounds of her breathing to learn what worked and what passed her by.
Snowbound Bachelorette Party Page 2