Page 44 of Quarter Miles (Runaway 3)

He was tall with broad shoulders and a trim physique. He spoke over his shoulder and when the woman he’d been addressing emerged from beyond the door, my hand slapped over my heart.

Her hair was a shade darker than I remembered but her smile was exactly the same, mischievous and daring. The man said something that made her laugh and her shining brown eyes drifted through the lobby as she followed him around the counter. Her gaze swept past me, then snapped back, just as Cash appeared at my side.

She blinked, then that infectious smile spread across her face.

“Are you coming?” Cash asked, his gaze following mine. “Wait, is that—”

“Aria.”

Chapter Nine

Cash

“I cannot believe you’re here.” Aria laughed, shaking her head like Kat wasn’t sitting beside her at the table. She’d said the same, done the same, after crushing Kat in a hug in the lobby earlier today. I’ve never seen two women hug so hard. The moment Kat had spotted Aria, the women had rushed toward one another, colliding in a fierce embrace.

They’d hugged again before Aria had returned to work, then again when we’d met this evening at the hotel’s steakhouse.

“I know.” Katherine smiled with her friend. “I was actually worried you wouldn’t recognize me and I was going to have to introduce myself.”

You’re unforgettable. I swallowed the words. Three days ago, I could have said them and made Kat blush. They wouldn’t have been anything but a friendly compliment. She would have teased me for being gooey and I would have slung an arm around her shoulders and flicked the tip of her nose.

But that was three days ago. Now a compliment wasn’t simply a compliment. A compliment like that might make Kat think I was flirting. That it was foreplay. Maybe it was.

Maybe it had always been.

“I’d never forget you.”

Aria put her hand over Kat’s, then let her go to pick up the menu. “I’m starved. I haven’t eaten here in a while but I always leave full.”

“Any recommendations?” I asked.

“The steaks are incredible,” she said.

“Sold.” I closed my menu and set it aside. Steak was a staple in my diet and as a co-owner of a large Montana cattle ranch, I supported the beef industry whenever possible. But I doubted The Gallaway could deliver a filet I could slice with my fork.

This place was too pretentious. Kat was fascinated with the hotel but something about the place made me uneasy. Maybe it was because I’d never seen her so awestruck. Our resort was ten times better, so why was she drooling over everything?

Kat ran her finger down the stem of her water goblet. “I love these.”

Of course she did. Which meant in a month, the resort would have all new water goblets.

The scrape of silverware on plates and dull conversation filled the room. There wasn’t an empty table in sight. Waiters bustled around wearing white-collared shirts and black vests. Our dining room staff was only required to wear slacks and a button-up with the resort logo on the breast pocket. If Kat made them don a vest, we’d have a riot in the staff quarters.

“Sorry I couldn’t meet with you earlier,” Aria said. “We’re right at the beginning of peak season and I’ve been swamped now that the rain has finally stopped and everything is in full bloom.”

“No problem,” Kat said. “I should have called first.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.” Aria folded up her menu and set it on top of mine. “I love surprises.”

Katherine giggled. “You haven’t changed.”

“My sister says that all the time.” Aria leaned her elbows on the table. “What did you do today?”

Kat glanced at me, finally remembering I was sitting at the table too. “Not much. We did some exploring around town.”

After Kat and Aria’s reunion, Aria had returned to work while Katherine and I had dropped off our luggage in our room. One look at the bed and Kat had tossed her suitcase aside and announced she wanted to go shopping.

I hated shopping but it was better than staying in that room alone, dwelling on yesterday.