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“Do you happen to remember where you put my coat when you came in earlier? It’s not here in the closet where all the other guests’ coats were, so…”
She smiled at the attendant before looking at Reid. “I didn’t hang it up in there. I had to run upstairs right away and tossed it in the guestroom. I’m sure you’ll find it there.”
“The guestroom?” He glanced around. “Yeah, I’m not sure where that even is, and I greatly doubt Avery’s parents would appreciate me poking around upstairs. Can you just…can you show me where it is?”
He expected a fight, but she simply shrugged. “Sure. Follow me.”
Like he had a choice.
Keeping a respectable distance as they climbed the stairs, she made small talk with him.
“Did you enjoy the party?”
“I did. Everyone was really nice and there were more than a few familiar faces—well, after Leo pointed out that they were familiar—so it was good.”
“And the food was delicious, wasn’t it?”
“Definitely.”
“My sister—not Chloe, but my older sister Billie—made all the desserts. Did you try the cake?”
“I did and it was seriously one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. Does she own a bakery?”
They were at the top of the stairs and heading down the hallway. “No, but she works at the local coffee shop and does all their baking. It’s called Books & Beans. You should check it out before you leave tomorrow.” She paused outside one of the doors. “This is the guestroom. Your coat’s on the bed.” She paused for a moment; her head tilted as she studied him. “Um…are you allergic to cats?”
“No, why?”
She smiled up at him. “No reason. Have a good night.”
And as weird as that seemed—her just walking away—he didn’t think much of it.
Until he opened the door and found a white Persian cat curled up on his coat.
Son of a…
The cat blinked up at him and took its time getting up and stretching before allowing him to pick the coat up.
His black wool coat was now heavily covered in white fur.
Well played, Ashlynn. Well played.
With a sigh, he walked out of the room with his coat on his arm and closed the bedroom door. Downstairs, he flagged Leo over and asked for a lint brush.
“Who the hell put your coat in there? All the coats were supposed to be hung in the front closet!” He looked around furiously, but Reid knew he had to calm him down.
“It’s not a big deal. Remember when I mentioned lending my coat to Ashlynn?”
“Yeah?”
“Apparently, she wore it upstairs and tossed it in the guestroom. It’s fine. I…I kind of deserved it.”
His friend looked at him oddly. “Why?”
“Let’s just say I might have offended her when I arrived, so…this is a little payback. Again, not a big deal.”
Leo didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure? What if you’d been allergic to cats?”
“She did ask me that before opening the door, so I’m guessing she would have apologized profusely and found me something else to wear home.” He grinned. “Or she’d be using the lint brush herself after finding me some Benadryl.”
