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He’d tried several other motels first, but she’d shaken her head and been completely obstinate until he’d pulled into the Sea Breeze, which was a few rungs down the ladder on luxury.
He held open the door and she swept under his arm, her back stiff. No one was at the desk and so Ravinia, spying a bell, rang it half a dozen times, slapping her palm on it so rapidly that it jumped and jangled and looked like it had a will of its own.
“Are you going to start tonight?” she asked, not looking at him.
“Looking for your cousin? No. I’m going to go home and have a drink and think for a while.”
“Where’s home?” She turned and looked at him with those blue-green eyes.
“About an hour away in good traffic, so most of the time an hour and a half away, maybe two.”
“But where?”
“Costa Mesa,” he said reluctantly. You should just lie to her.
“You live with anybody?”
“No. And I’m not planning to, either.”
“I wasn’t asking to move in,” she said tightly.
“Good. Because I don’t need a roommate, and if I did, I’d choose someone with better credentials than yours.”
“What do you know about my credentials?”
“Nothing. From what I can tell, you don’t have any.”
“I’m truthful, and I’m not crazy.”
“Good for you.”
“Slow down, slow down, honey!” A middle-aged woman in black sweats and bleached, spiky blond hair appeared. Waving Ravinia away from the bell, she glanced over at Rex and smiled. “You want a room?”
“She does,” he said. “Alone.”
“I have cash,” Ravinia told her in that straightforward way he was growing used to. “No credit card.”
The woman eyed Ravinia sourly. “Well, then you’re gonna have to put down a cash deposit, just in case, you know.”
“No. What do you mean?”
“Now, don’t get all riled up,” the woman advised, holding up her hands, palms out. “Just in case you skip out, that’s all I’m sayin’.”
“I’m not going to skip out,” Ravinia said huffily.
Rex had to fight the urge to put his own credit card down. What the hell was that all about? It wasn’t like him to want to fix a situation, but in Ravinia’s case, it was almost like she’d put him under some kind of spell that made him act out of his usual cynical character. Then again, according to Ravinia herself, a spell wasn’t that far outside of her or her family’s “gifts.” Oh, hell. He was starting to actually listen to her fantasies.
As she and the woman behind the reception counter hashed out the details of the transaction, Rex hung around, not leaving until the business between Ravinia and the Sea Breeze was concluded. After he saw that she was being handed a key, he made his escape by walking across the parking lot to his car. He didn’t get far.
She was right on his heels. “Wait up!” she called.
“What?” he asked, stopping short and turning to face her.
“I need a way to make money, and I could help you.”
“No.” He kept walking, but she stayed in step with him.
“I know what you’re like,” she announced, shifting her backpack from one shoulder to the other. “Tough on the outside, but all gooey and soft on the inside.”
