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Actually, Cruz would say there was no doubt they had caused it, but there was no reason to belabor the point. He looked to Payton, who was already tilting her head to him as if to say Why not?
“Please say you’ll accept,” Bev said, giving them a toothy grin. “We’d love to have you. And you can join us later on when we tour the distillery and have dinner down in their underground taverns. They’re spectacular, so romantic. We’ve had the reservation for months.”
“We’d love to,” Payton said, her eyes shining with excitement now. She turned to him. “Right, honey?”
“Besides, you can look at it as a little pre-marital celebration,” Bev threw in, likely hoping to clinch the deal. “You can be the guests of honor as we all drink to your upcoming wedding.”
Oh yeah. And then there was that.
It was close to an hour and a half before Cruz made it to the hotel, having gone out with the mechanic to get the car and to wait for his diagnosis. He had to give it to their new Texan friends; they had great taste in hotels. The bright and airy hotel felt authentic and unique and was definitely well tended. Even the hotel clerks were bright and friendly, though maybe a tad too excited to see him.
“Gracias,” Cruz told them and palmed the key they placed on the counter.
As if she was close to bursting, the young female clerk added with a sly smile, “We hope you and the lovely senorita enjoy your stay.”
He paused. He knew that Lenny had mentioned one hotel room, but he’d been almost certain that Payton would have found a way of using those feminine charms to secure an extra room. He decided to be certain. “So…is the senorita still in the room?”
“Si, senor. She only returned half an hour ago.”
Returned from where? He supposed he should just feel relieved she was back at the hotel, safe and sound, since who knew what kind of trouble that woman could get into alone.
But he felt anything but.
Probably because he was too stressed wondering how the hell he was going to share a room with Payton Vaughn and not do anything he’d regret.
Thanking the two again, he went down the hall in the direction they’d pointed and climbed the three flights of stairs.
How was he going to explain this one to Dick Eastman?
He slid the key in and turned the knob, deciding he should probably knock and give her a quick head’s up before just stepping in unannounced.
“Cruz? I’ll be out in a minute,” she called from the bathroom.
“All right,” he said and shut the door, taking in the room that was as unique and interesting as the hotel. Dark terra cotta tiles polished to a near shine covered the floor, only broken up by a couple of bright rugs. The bed—a queen—was covered with a dark red and white paisley cover. Paintings in vibrant colors interspersed with masks covered the walls, giving the whole thing an eclectic feeling. And from where he was standing, he could even see beyond the window and the door that led to a small balcony to the town square below them. Nice.
If only he could stop staring at that damn bed.
“I thought for sure that you’d have finagled us into two separate rooms somehow.” He dropped his laptop bag on a chair in the corner and pulled out the cord and computer, searching the room for somewhere to charge it.
“I tried. But after Bev made a big deal with the front desk about our predicament and pending nuptials, it didn’t seem like the right time to say we wanted separate rooms.” She paused and he heard some clatter. “Tell me about the car. Can they fix it?”
“Yeah.” He thought about the extra incentive he offered the guy to guarantee it would be ready to go bright and early. It had better be ready—and possibly have a new paint job and stereo for what it cost him. “We’ll be out of here by seven tomorrow morning, at the latest.”
He found the outlet and plugged in the laptop and then his cell phone. He took a seat, ready to scroll through his incoming email.
“Oh, thank God. I already feel terrible I’m missing tonight. The rehearsal. The party. I’m going to have to throw Kate something post-wedding—I don’t care if she’ll already be married. How did she and Dominic take it?”
“I didn’t give them the details—no sense worrying them. Just let them know we had some car trouble but would be back on the road in the morning and we would see them for sure by afternoon.” He scanned three emails from subcontractors, trying to confirm if the Eastman Motors contract was signed and their services would be needed. “They’re going to hold off lunch until we’re there.”
“Then we’d better not disappoint them,” she said, still preoccupied in the bathroom. “I had an interesting hour out shopping with Bev and Patty and the others. This tour they’re on, did you know what it’s for? What they’re doing tonight for their performance?”
“Hadn’t really thought about it.”
“They’re square dancers. They’re booked here tonight and have six more events in the next two weeks across Mexico. Who’d have thought? Anyhow, they’re going to be meeting down in the lobby in fifteen minutes to make it to the tequila distillery. You know, if we wanted to go with them. I was thinking it might be fun,” she said from the doorway of the bathroom.
He looked up.
Dear God Almighty. The woman really was going to make this evening as hard on him as possible.
