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He was right, theywerelike family. But that hadn’t stopped years of veryun-platonic urges on her part, even after he’d moved on and married someone else.
“Thank God,” Keaton muttered as he flicked the indicator to turn off the highway. “I thought we were going to cross the border into Canada at any moment.”
“Don’t you trust your GPS?” she said.
“I don’t trust anything.”
The car navigated through increasingly smaller roads, until they found a few poorly lit signs indicating that they were heading to a place called Wild Woods Retreat.
The competition was being held at what was essentially a summer camp for adults and their furry BFFs, channeling nostalgic childhood vibes but with the adult luxuries of proper beds, rather than bunks, and private bathrooms and showers. And the animal patrons were in for a great time, including grooming and specialty home-cooked meals. All the staff were trained in animal handling and they had a vet on-site, too. There were fishing spots, hiking trails, campfires and a big hall where all the major activities and meals would take place.
It looked adorably rustic chic, in August’s opinion. She wasn’t exactly sure how Keaton—who thought five-star was the only rating that existed—was going to like it, however.
They pulled into the campground and found the only building with the lights on. That would likely be the reception area. A sign saying “humans and animals welcome” hung on the side of the building, where a mural of cats and dogs was painted. Leaving Molly to snooze in the car while they checked in, August followed Keaton inside.
“Hi there, welcome to Wild Woods Retreat.” A woman stood behind the counter, wearing a polo shirt with the logo embroidered at her chest. She wore thick glasses and had a bright smile, despite the late hour. “You must be Keaton Sax.”
Keaton blinked. “Uh, yes. That’s right.”
“No psychic powers, don’t worry.” She laughed. “You’re just the last to check in. Now, I had a Leah Sax down originally for the booking, but I believe you’re taking her place.”
“That’s right. I’m Leah’s brother. My apologies for the late arrival.” Like that, Keaton’s smooth mode was turned on and the woman behind the counter had her eyes locked onto him.
August had seen it before. When he wanted to turn on the charm, people were magnetized to him and he eclipsed everyone else in the room. Oh to have that kind of social presence! She could only dream about it. Although, if she was being totally honest, she preferred Keaton when he was snarky and unpolished, because he had a wicked sense of humor...even if he did like to turn it on her frequently.
“That’s no problem at all!” the woman simpered, flushing. “We’re happy you made it here safe and sound.”
“We’ll need two rooms. One for myself and one for my associate, Ms. Merriweather.”
Ms. Merriweather?
She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“Uh, that’s um...” The woman behind the desk shook her head. “I’m afraid we’re fully booked. There are no spare rooms.”
August pressed her lips together to smother the words that nearly jumped out before she could stop them.
Oh shit.
7
“Excuse me?” August came around to stand next to Keaton. He could tell she was almost vibrating with stress. “I was under the impression that when Leah called to let you know about the change, she asked for two rooms.”
At least, that’s what had been agreed on. Leah said she would call ahead to let them know about the switch and ask for the extra room. It was certainly possible shehaddone all that and simply forgotten to tell him they were booked out.
It was also possible she’d chosen to keep that information to herself.
The woman flipped through a book at the front desk, looking flustered. “I don’t have any record of that and we just gave our last room away two hours ago. I’m so sorry.”
Right, so Leah hadn’t asked about the extra room. It was official. The second they got back to New York, Keaton was going to murder his little sister.
“Goddammit, Leah,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.
Why on earth did August think she needed a matchmaker when his sister was subtle as a hammer? This was getting ridiculous.
“There arenorooms at all?” August’s eyes pleaded with the woman behind the counter. “What about close by?”
“We’re the only business around here for a few miles. The nearest town is forty to fifty minutes away, but...” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Nothing will be open at this hour.”
