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I nodded. “I’ll just be a minute.”
Kelly lifted a brow. “So what do you say? Am I in?”
I didn’t want to go on a trip with this guy, but I felt badly about the mix-up. Plus, how could I say no when he was willing to get a separate room? I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, but you need to find your own place to stay.”
“Sweet!” An adorable, dimpled smile slid across his face. Kelly grabbed his luggage and motioned to the door with a wide swing of his hand. “Shall we?”
I sighed. “I guess so.”
A few minutes later, we were walking side by side on the tarmac, making our way to the plane. “For a second there, I was thinking this wasn’t going to happen,” he said. “But once I heard your last name, I knew it was fate.”
I scrunched up my nose. “My last name?”
“McGraw.” He winked. “That’s Dr. Phil’s last name.”
***
Wow. He cleaned up really nice.
If Kelly hadn’t waved and stood up from the table where he was already seated when I walked into the restaurant, I might not have recognized him. He’d shaved the beard he’d been sporting this morning and was now dressed in a jacket and tie. The hotel’s restaurants all had a strict dinner dress code. The maître d’ walked me over. Kelly stepped around to the chair across from his and pulled it out.
“Thank you.” I smiled as I sat. “I almost didn’t recognize you without the beard, straw hat, and mismatched Hawaiian clothing. You went from tourist to chic.”
He took the seat across from me. “And I almost didn’t recognize you smiling.”
I bit my lip, embarrassed. “I’m sorry about the way that I acted earlier. I was just caught really off guard.”
Kelly laid the napkin over his lap. “It’s okay. I get it. I hope you don’t mind me saying you look prettier with a smile.”
“Thank you.”
He looked around. “This place is fancy. How’s your room?”
“It’s really nice. How about yours? Were you able to get a room at the place next door the front desk recommended?” Unfortunately, the hotel where I was staying was booked solid.
“No, they were sold out. Most places were. I’m a few blocks over at a motel. They only had a room available for five of the six nights, but I’ll find someplace to stay the last night.”
I’d thought a lot about how I’d made Kelly go somewhere else, as I lay poolside being served piña coladas this afternoon. While I didn’t think I should’ve had to share a room with him, it was wrong of me to not offer to cover the cost. I’d made a boatload off the contest from Jane’s sponsors.
“I’d like to pay the cost of your hotel room. You won a contest fair and square, so you shouldn’t have to pay for any of the trip amenities that were promised to you.”
Kelly waved me off. “It’s okay. It’s not that expensive, which is fair considering the rats.”
My eyes widened.
Kelly grinned. “I’m joking.”
I chuckled. “Thank God. It’s hard to tell when you’re kidding. Like this afternoon, were you serious about inventing…you know, Dr. Phil?”
“I don’t joke about vibrators,” he deadpanned.
“Oh…”
He smirked. “I’m teasing. But to answer your question, yes, I did invent Dr. Phil. I’m a product developer for Lucy Goosey Couples Toys.”
The waiter came over with a basket of tortilla chips and guacamole and asked to take our wine order. I told Kelly I wasn’t picky, and he proceeded to speak to the waiter in fluent Spanish, without even needing to look at the menu.
“Wow, did you just order wine?” I asked when the waiter walked away.
He nodded. “A merlot. I read an article on the plane about a local winemaker, so I asked the waiter if they carried it.” Kelly held the basket out to me to take a chip before taking one for himself. “You know, because my travel buddy wouldn’t speak to me during the entire flight.”
“Sorry about that, too. Luckily, the piña coladas I had after we arrived helped me climb down off my high horse.”
“It’s fine. I’m just messing with you again.” He dipped his chip into the guac. “So tell me, are you really a marriage counselor, or was that just a bit for the show?”
“No, I’m actually a marriage counselor.”
“What’s that like?”
“Well, there’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure. One minute I’ll have a couple in my office crying, and the next minute a couple will be screaming at the top of their lungs.”
“Yeah, my business is the same. Some testers cry, some scream for joy.”
I started to smile, then stopped. “Joking, right?”
“Yes, indeedy.”
“So how did you get into your line of work?”
“Engineering degree from MIT, of course.”
“I can’t tell if you’re kidding or not?”
“I’m serious. I went to school for engineering, then did a stint as a developer for a robotics company. I was bored to death. Saw an ad for a job making women’s products, and I applied, half as a joke. Seven years later, I’m still there.”
