Just Pretend (Cupid's Kiss Book 6)

by Kathryn Kelly

  “All right. I’m here if you change your mind.”

  The server brought their pasta dishes and he watched as she took a bite and tasted.

  “This is really good.” She said. “Have you been here before?”

  “Never.” She was right. The pasta was good.

  “How did you know it would be?”

  “Just a lucky guess. I’ve eaten at a lot of different places.”

  “I bet.” She was looking at him now with a curious expression.

  “Are you from Dallas?” He asked.

  She shook her head. “I’ve only lived in Dallas for a few months.”

  He decided not to ask too many questions. It wasn’t a date, he reminded himself.

  “I’m from a small town outside of Dallas.” She continued.

  “What brought you to the city?”

  “There aren’t exactly that many jobs in a small town.”

  “No. I guess not. I’ve always lived there, so it’s hard for me to imagine any other way of life.”

  “Trust me. It’s a lot different.” She took another sip of her champagne. Made another face. “I guess people have to get used to the taste.”

  “Unfortunately they do.”

  “Yeah.”

  The server offered them desert which they both declined and then he handed Ryan the check.

  “I can get mine.” Charlotte said, opening her handbag.

  “Not a chance.” He laid cash on the table and put his hands on his hips. “Ready?”

  “Yep.” She stood up and glanced outside. “It’s getting cloudy. Everything looks different.”

  “Yeah. It’s like that in the mountains. The weather can change suddenly.”

  “It’s kind of fascinating.” They walked together toward the lobby.

  “I need to stop by the desk.” He said. “Hi Nate. Can I get an extra pillow and a blanket?”

  “Sure thing.” Nate went through a door behind the counter.

  While Nate was gone, Charlotte came up behind him. “You need more bedding?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Here you go.” Nate said, handing over a blanket and pillow.

  “Is it okay if I sleep down here on one of the couches?”

  Nate didn’t get the chance to answer before Charlotte did. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She smiled at Nate. “There’s no need for that.” She took his arm and nudged him toward the stairs.

  “Hey.” Ryan whispered. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

  “I’d feel more uncomfortable knowing you were down here asleep on a public couch.”

  “Okay.” He laughed. “We’ll figure something out.”

  There was always the floor.

  Chapter 16

  Ryan was being a gentleman. He put his blanket and pillow on the floor in a corner.

  “Why do people sleep in the bathtub on TV?” She asked. “It’s so cold and hard.”

  “I have no idea. I think the floor is a much better option.”

  “Yeah. If you have to pick one.”

  He took his iPad from his bag. “I’ll be downstairs while you get ready for bed. I’ll come up later.”

  “Okay.”

  After he left, she sat on the edge of the bed. This had probably been one of the strangest days of her life. Not the most stressful, though, by a long shot. When her sister first got sick and was diagnosed with kidney disease – that was one of the most stressful. And it was still stressful. But as long as she was doing something to help, she could keep most of the anxiety down. The more she worked, the more money she could save up to help pay for the kidney transplant.

  Her father had died three years ago – her other stressful thing, leaving them very little in the form of resources. Then last year, her mother was let go from her job because she was taking too many days off to take care of Abby.

  And now with the cost of healthcare, they needed to find the money to pay the doctors.

  She sighed.

  This was something she would never tell anyone in Dallas. It was bad enough that everyone in her home town knew. She was so tired of the pitying looks and questions about her sister’s health. Her sister was always on her mind, but sometimes it was nice to have a conversation about something resembling normal life.

  She got ready for bed, putting on her tee-shirt and shorts. Unfortunately, she hadn’t known she was going to be spending the night with anyone, much less Ryan, when she packed last night.

  She took her Kindle and curled up on the bed. It felt so wonderful to lie down after such a long day.

  Just as she was falling asleep, someone knocked lightly on the door. Who would be at her door this time of night? She glanced at the clock. All of nine o’clock.

  She got and padded barefooted to the door and peeked through the peephole. “Ryan?”

  “Yes. Can I come in?”

  She opened the door. “Did you forget your key?”

  “No. I just didn’t want to startle you if you were awake.”

  “Oh. Okay.” The floor was cold beneath her feet. She turned and ran back to climb back under the covers. Shivering, she pulled the quilt under her chin.

  A few minutes later, Ryan came out of the bathroom, also in shorts and a tee-shirt. She smiled to herself at their similar taste in sleepwear.

  He went to the spot where he’d left his blankets and pillow on the floor and settled in. It was such a huge bed, she felt guilty at letting him sleep on the floor. On the other hand, if she invited him to the bed, would he get the wrong idea?

  She sighed. And decided to leave it alone. The guilt was better than having him think she was inviting him for something more.

  “Good night.” He said.

  “Good night.” Smiling to herself, she snuggled under the blankets and wondered if she’d be able to fall asleep with Ryan in the same room.

  Chapter 17

  Ryan put his hands behind his head and stared into the darkness. The floor wasn’t so bad, though he couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t slept in a bed.

  Speaking of beds, the king bed was huge and Charlotte barely took up two feet of it. But he’d committed to sleeping on the floor now.

  It was probably better than sleeping in the lobby. Much safer if not quite as comfortable.

  All in all, this was better than going to the black tie function with Sariah tonight. He only went to those things to make her happy.

  This was a well timed and much needed getaway.

  The Weather Channel predicted snow tonight and tomorrow. Then Monday they would fly home. Two nights seemed like a short honeymoon, but to each his own.

  He drifted into a light sleep. He’d learned to sleep just about anywhere, considering all the nights he spent in hotels, but the whole floor thing was a little different.

  He’d barely drifted to sleep when he heard someone whimpering. His eyes flew open and he stared into the darkness trying to get his bearing.

  He heard what he now recognized as crying. Charlotte?

  He threw his covers off and cautiously approached the bed. Charlotte was there sleeping. He was about to turn away when she shifted and began to cry again.

  He sat on the edge of the bed and ran a hand along her smooth hair. She only cried harder. Not sure what to do, he leaned close and made soothing noises.

  She mumbled something and put her arms around his neck. He pulled her to him and rocked her gently.

  Her words were incoherent except he caught the name Abby.

  “Everything is okay. You’re safe.”

  She began to settle and quieted. He realized she was asleep in his arms.

  He laid her back, her head on the pillow and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

  He sat there on the edge of the bed and watched her. She was more than beautiful. She was pretty – naturally. Her full lips were slightly parted and a lock of hair lay across her cheek.

  He barely knew her, but he sensed that she had a kind heart.

  What troubles you lo
ve?

  What was it that haunted her dreams?

  He sat next to her a few more minutes, watching her steady breathing.

  Chapter 18

  Charlotte woke to a quiet she wasn’t accustomed to. There was no traffic. Nothing. The world was silent.

  She opened her eyes and played the events of yesterday over in her head. Her first plane trip. Her first trip to Colorado. Her first sip of champagne. She smiled at the memory of sitting with Ryan at dinner.

  She stretched in the bed and again felt guilty for having him sleep in the floor. It had seemed necessary though. She didn’t know him and even though it was a huge bed, she hadn’t wanted to give him the wrong idea.

  She sat up and squinted in the pale light of dawn toward his spot on the floor. Instead, she saw that he’d neatly folded his blankets and put all his bedding on the end table.

  Then she heard the shower running. He was up early.

  Sitting up in the bed, she contemplated what she was going to wear. She didn’t want to wear the clothes she had worn yesterday. She would have to wear them on the trip home tomorrow, since she was the flight attendant and that was the only appropriate work outfit she had with her.

  Fortunately, she had a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt she could wear. How did people know what to keep in their overnight bags? Maybe it changed with the season. But still… it seemed necessary to have a variety of clothes on hand to accommodate a trip to Colorado as well as a trip to Florida. Both had completely different requirements.

  She was deep in contemplation regarding her wardrobe when Ryan came out of the shower, wearing jeans and tee-shirt. His hair was still wet from the shower and his face was freshly shaved.

  “Good morning.” He said.

  She pulled the blanket over her shoulders. “Good morning.”

  “I noticed they have a sunrise breakfast in the dining room. After you shower, do you want to check it out?”

  Breakfast with Ryan? Perhaps she was still asleep. “Sure.” She watched him as he put on his watch and put his phone and money clip in his pockets.

  “I’m gonna walk outside for a bit. I’ll come back and get you. In what? About thirty minutes?”

  “Sounds good.” She sat in the bed until the door had closed behind him. Thirty minutes! She jumped out of the bed, dug her clothes from her duffle bag and raced to the shower. It was still warm from his shower and smelled… manly.

  But she only had thirty minutes, so she didn’t have time to think about Ryan.

  Nonetheless, as the warm water ran over her head, she thought about Ryan. And had a vague memory of being wrapped in his arms.

  It hadn’t happened of course. He was a perfect gentleman. And her imagination was much too vivid when it came to him.

  Chapter 19

  Ryan took a walk around the inside of the lodge, then stepped out on the back deck. The air was so very quiet from the snowfall. It was like a blanket had been layered over them. They had all day to do anything they wanted.

  And doing anything he wanted included spending time with Charlotte. He couldn’t just leave her here to fend for herself. After witnessing her nightmare last night, he had a greater sense of her vulnerability. He wanted to protect her.

  It would all be innocent, of course, he reminded himself as an image of Sariah flashed through his mind.

  I’ll think about that later.

  He checked his watch. He’d give her 45 minutes. And that wasn’t much time according to his sister who took two hours to get ready to go anywhere.

  He knocked when he got to the room door. When Charlotte opened the door she was breathing a little heavily. Her cheeks were flushed. And her eyes were bright with a smile.

  He grinned and her eyes widened. “Shall we?”

  “Of course.” She already had her crossbody bag over her shoulder and was ready to go.

  As they walked toward the stairs, Ryan watched her out of the corner of her eyes. “Ready for a mimosa?”

  She scrunched her eyebrows. “A tree?”

  He laughed. “It’s a champagne and orange juice drink.”

  “There you go with the champagne again.”

  “It’s a special occasion. I get to have breakfast with a beautiful girl in a lovely lodge with snow blanketing the ground.”

  They reached the bottom step and saw that the restaurant was crowded now. “Guess everyone else is having a special occasion, too.” She pointed out.

  They were seated at a small table next to the window. “Look,” she said, “it’s still snowing.”

  Fat snowflakes were falling like raindrops.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  He watched her face as she watched the snow. “It is beautiful.” But he was referring to her, not the snow.

  “Do you think we can get out in it?”

  “Of course we can. What do you want to do?”

  A server came to their table with a tray of mimosas. At Ryan’s nod, he placed one in front of each of them.

  “I thought you might have an idea.” She said.

  “I have lots of ideas.” He picked up his glass and held it up in a toast. “To the magic of falling snow.”

  Chapter 20

  Charlotte picked up her glass of orange juice and took a sip. It was actually quite good. It tasted like orange juice, only better.

  “You might want to pace yourself on that.” Ryan suggested.

  She sipped again. “I thought the whole point was to enjoy a champagne breakfast.”

  “It is, but… the breakfast part of the equation is important too.”

  She grinned and drank half her drink.

  “Oh boy.” He said.

  “My lips are numb.”

  “That’s not surprising. Considering.”

  She turned her gaze to the window. “Look. Horses.” She pointed to a couple of riders on horseback making their way through the snow.

  “Do you want to go horseback riding?”

  “Sure. I’ve never been on a horse.”

  “I think I can make that happen.”

  She smiled. “You’re rather ingenuous.”

  “Ingenuous, am I?”

  “Yes. I means clever.”

  “I know what it means. But no one has accused me of that before.”

  She smiled. And watched the horses as they disappeared behind the trees. “Horse riding.” She said.

  “What’s that?”

  “You asked what I wanted to do today. Horse riding.”

  A young man came and took their order. Charlotte was having a little trouble concentrating. She set the menu aside.

  She leaned over and whispered. “You order.”

  He glanced at the waiter then leaned his head close to hers. “What do you like?”

  She shrugged. Smiled.

  Chapter 21

  Ryan should never have given champagne for breakfast to someone who had never had a drink.

  After ordering, he slid her glass out of arm’s reach and replaced it with her glass of water. He took another sip of his mimosa. It barely had any alcohol at all. Probably no more than a splash.

  Still, he didn’t want to be the one responsible for getting her started on alcohol. Especially since she didn’t live in that world. That world of evening cocktails. No, he mused, she was more like him. Probably came from a regular middle class family where her mother didn’t drink at all and her father had a beer at the football games.

  She was cute. Refreshing even.

  Trouble.

  She made him so easily want to forget about Sariah. Ryan needed to give that some thought. And the fact that he’d so quickly volunteered for this trip. Tonight had been important to Sariah. He knew she’d put in countless hours getting everything ready.

  An attractive young woman stopped at their table. “Hi. I’m Skylar. Guest Services Manager. I wanted to let you know that we’re in the process of adjusting some of our activities to accommodate the weather. I’ll be leaving some flyers at the front desk with updates.
In the meantime, is there anything I can do for you?”

  “As a matter fact, we were just talking about going horseback riding.”

  Chapter 22

  Charlotte watched as Ryan double-checked the saddle the stable boy had buckled onto the. “It’s a really big horse.”

  Ryan chuckled. “You sure you want to ride her? The stable hand said this horse was a sweetheart, but still…”

  “No. I want to.” The effects of the champagne had been short-lived. But now she was secretly counting the months until she turned twenty one.

  Though they had borrowed coats from the lodge staff, Charlotte hopped from one foot to the other in an attempt to stay warm.

  “Okay.” Ryan held out his hands. “Are you ready?”

  “Let’s do it.” She put her foot in the stirrup and after a quick boost, she gasped as she realized she was sitting on the horses’s back. Ryan handed her the reins. “Just hold these, but wait here.”

  As he left her to mount his own horse, she squelched the flash of guilt she felt at having such a good time when her sister was struggling with her health. I’m here to earn money to help with her transplant. Surely it was normal to have some adventures. She would take pictures with her phone to share with Abby.

  While she waited for Ryan, she looked at the ground and grasped the saddle horn.

  A few seconds later, Ryan was next to her, on his own horse. “You’re gonna wear both yourself and the horse out if you hold on too hard. Just try to relax. It’ll make the horse know you trust her.”

  Charlotte attempted to relax. And felt better already. She also felt better that Ryan was at her side. “Just don’t leave me.”

  “Not a chance.”

  They rode along the trail, the horses surefooted in the snow. Ryan rode alongside her until the path narrowed, then he rode behind her. It didn’t take long to become accustomed to the sway of the horse beneath her. Soon she was confident enough to look up from the ground at the breathtaking scenery all around them.