Saving Cinderella! (14 page)

“Did you let that slide by without even trying?” she asked.

“I might have.”

“Oh,” she said. “You must be sick of this, humoring me. I forget that not everyone likes pinball, and I’ve probably kept you here too long. How rude of me not to even notice that you weren’t enjoying yourself.”

He caught her hand. “Alex, I’m having the time of my life. I just…I just couldn’t seem to save that ball.” If it took lying to bring her smile back, he was more than willing to lie.

It worked, and then some. She smiled. She reached up and placed her palm on his jaw, sending heat in a rush through his whole body. “It would have been a difficult save for anyone,” she said. “You made a valiant effort.”

Obviously she was willing to lie, too.

But eventually it was time to get back to reality and the hotel. He insisted on walking her to her room again. But when
she opened her door, and he stood waiting for her to enter, he was reminded again of how wrong this room was for her.

“What?” she said when he frowned.

“It doesn’t even
look
like you. Your desk downstairs is…”

“A mess?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yes, but you’ve put lots of…interesting things on it.”

“They’re just silly little Las Vegas things. A replica of the Eiffel Tower, a homemade McKendrick’s snowglobe from a customer, a picture of that first tour group.”

What would she have in her room if she weren’t here temporarily? If she were at home?

“Do you miss San Diego?” he asked suddenly. He couldn’t believe he’d never asked her that.

She thought about it for a second. “I miss my friends, and sure, everyone misses their home when they’re away. With my background I probably have a tendency to cling to an actual physical place more than most people do. But Las Vegas has been exciting, and it’s beautiful and enticing and…”

He thought about the fact that she hadn’t had a real home growing up. And that a hotel was not a home.

And that he couldn’t tell her how he felt when he would send her away, anyway. How could he do that to her when she’d already told him about all those people who had pretended they wanted to stay with her and then sent her on her way?

She looked at him. “This…this whole experience has been very exciting.”

Has been
, she had said. As if she were already thinking ahead to the time when she would be gone. She missed home and all those significant places, and he hadn’t even known that, hadn’t even thought of it.

“Do you have interesting things in
your
room?” she asked suddenly. “Reminders of favorite places or events?”

He gave her a stern look. “I don’t spend much time there.”

She blinked at that. “Not even when you… I mean, when you sleep?”

He knew what she had been going to say. She was wondering where he took the women he dated. “I don’t bring women to my room. It would be noted by someone on the staff. It might be misconstrued.”

“People might start making bets on when you were going to marry. Or break a heart,” she said solemnly.

“I know about those bets. I don’t approve of them.”

“The employees don’t mean any harm. They admire you, and they’re interested in what you do.”

“I know, but someone could get hurt.”

“Me?” she asked suddenly. “You’re talking about me? I don’t let those bets bother me. It’s not as if there’s ever going to be an outcome, anyway. You and I aren’t…doing anything.”

That was it. All this talk of who he slept with and where he slept, when all he could think about was making love to Alex…

Wyatt swept her into his arms. She came willingly, easily, fitting against his body so perfectly.

“Don’t let me do something stupid and harm you in some way,” he said.

“I won’t. I promise. Neither of us wants forever. Now, shut up and kiss me, Wyatt. I want you to kiss me.”

He claimed her lips, tasted her, touched her. He swept his hands up her sides, over the curve of her hips and up beneath the soft cloth of her shirt to the even softer flesh beneath. She was exquisite, warm.

“Don’t stop touching me, Wyatt,” she said. She pressed her palms against his shirt, slipped a button from its mooring and slid one hand inside.

His knees nearly buckled and he turned, leaning against the wall, pulling her against his heart as he kissed her again.

But from this position, he was very aware that they were in a public hallway. Alex must be even more aware. If she opened her eyes, the wall would only be inches from her face. And if a member of his staff came down the hall,
he
wouldn’t suffer. No one would think anything of it, but as for Alex…

“Open your eyes, Alex,” he whispered against her throat as he kissed her there, then kissed her lips, breathing in the sweet jasmine scent of her one last time.

“Wyatt?” she said, opening her eyes. Somewhere in the distance an elevator bell dinged. She groaned. “Did I really ask you to not stop touching me?”

“Don’t even consider looking guilty. It did incredible things for my ego.”

She shook her head and gave him a sad smile. “As if your ego needed stroking. If anyone knew we were here, women would be lined up for the chance to knock me aside and take my place.”

“I could easily say the same thing about you.”

“That men would be lining up to kiss me? Wyatt, don’t be silly. I mean, there might be a few, but…”

“Alex.” He pulled her to him in one swift move, gave her a hard, passion-filled kiss and then forced himself to let her go. “I’m telling you there would be hundreds, and I get the last word here, so don’t argue.”

He looked down and could see that she was fidgeting. “Are you counting?” he asked.

“No, I’m kissing,” she said, rising on her toes to give him an equally passionate kiss. “Then I’m leaving before I do something we’ll both regret, like dragging you into my room.”

And she hastily retreated behind her door. Just before she
shut it completely, she glanced through the small opening at him. “Wyatt?”

He waited.

“I
was
counting. It didn’t work.”

She closed the door and left him standing there, wanting her.

He was never going to be able to sleep tonight. So he wouldn’t. Yet. First he had something very important to do.

W
HEN
Alex got off work the next day, she went to her room to change and found a box on the table. A note from the maid read: “Mr. McKendrick said this arrived today.”

How odd. She’d had her mail forwarded since coming here, but Wyatt had had nothing to do with that.

Opening the box, she peeked inside. Nestled beneath layers of packing plastic and tissue paper was a delicate and exquisite mini pearl ceramic version of the California Tower in Balboa Park. There was also a gorgeous painting of the San Diego-Coronado Bay Bridge, a soft yellow and white pillow with the words
San Diego Your Way
embroidered on it, and a complete set of photos of the day she and Jayne, Molly and Serena had taken a harbor cruise. No serious faces had been allowed in those photos, and they made Alex smile. In addition there was a collection of her favorite CDs and DVDs, a pretty box filled with her favorite mints, and a blue basket with a package of citrus-scented potpourri similar to one she kept at home.

She breathed in the wonderful scent and looked in the box. No note, no anything. But those photos…

Alex frowned and instantly texted her friends.

While she waited, she tried not to think about the most likely source of her plunder. It was too coincidental for Wyatt to have twice berated himself for the standard hotel décor of her room and then have this treasure box appear.

Eight-thirty rolled around and she had all three of her friends’ faces visible on the screen. Molly looked worried. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

Instantly Alex felt contrite. “I guess calling a video conference with less than an hour’s notice
was
a bit extreme. No, sweetie, nothing’s wrong. Well, not flame or hurricane wrong. I just… How did I end up with photos of our harbor cruise outing? They were in a box of things the maid left in my room, and naturally only you three have those pictures, and…”

Jayne sighed. “I knew we should have told you about Wyatt’s phone call, but he asked us not to.”

“You talked to Wyatt?”

“Jayne talked to Wyatt,” Serena said. “He was worried that you didn’t have any personal reminders of home and that you were stuck in Las Vegas without friends.”

“He wanted us to tell him what types of things you liked to have around you,” Molly added.

“So we put our heads together and gave him some suggestions and— Are you all right?” Jayne asked. “Why would Wyatt decide this now, after you’ve already been there several weeks?”

Do not tell them that he was in your room. Just don’t
, Alex ordered herself. Then she sighed. These were her
best
friends.

“He hadn’t seen the inside of my room until a couple of days ago,” she said with a sigh.

“And now he has.” Serena made the obvious conclusion, getting it out in the open. “Alex, what aren’t you telling us?”

That I’m getting in over my head. That I’m in danger of losing the bet.
“He’s a great person, a great boss, and, okay, his kisses exceed even my wildest fantasies. But you’re absolutely
not
to worry. I’ll be home soon, and when I get there I’ll be fine. In fact, I’ll be wonderful. I’ll have enough money to rent a store and begin on the dream I’ve had for years. My real estate agent tells me that she might have a lead.”

“O…kay,” Jayne said. “But somehow most of that doesn’t reassure me.”

Uh-oh. She needed to try again. But Alex took one more look at the contents of the box and her throat began to close up. She knew she couldn’t do a better job of reassuring them when she was, in fact, teetering on the edge of disaster.

“Sorry, but I had to tell you how much I love all the things.”

“We haven’t seen them. Tell us what was in the box,” Serena coaxed.

Alex explained. “You sent the photos, though, didn’t you?”

“Jayne had them. We should have been the ones to do what Wyatt did,” Molly said.

“Why? I could have fixed my room anytime.” But she hadn’t. Why? She shook off the question. “Anyway, I’m glad I have the photos. So…how are all of you doing?”

There was a hesitation.

“I’m coping,” Jayne said.

“I’m fine,” Molly added.

“Things are…moving along,” Serena said.

Somehow none of that sounded any more convincing than her own protestations, Alex thought. She wondered how much of her friends’ current uneasy situations could be traced back to that initial weekend here in Las Vegas.

Not that it mattered. Once you’d opened a box you could never go back and pretend you didn’t know what was inside. And you couldn’t undo a Las Vegas weekend.

She looked at the spilled-out contents of the box from Wyatt, and her heart twisted. She realized just why she hadn’t done anything with this room before. If she’d settled in too much, if she’d allowed herself to nest and build a place here, she might have started allowing herself to dream that she belonged to and with Wyatt. She didn’t, and she never would.

And to do her work and do it well, she had to just put that out of her mind. If Wyatt ever thought he’d hurt her, the guilt would haunt him. And he already had too many ghosts to battle.

She had to guard her heart in order to guard his. But in the middle of the night her dreams were haunted by the memory of Wyatt’s strong arms around her. And in the morning she woke up clutching the yellow pillow, damp with her tears.

Angry at herself, she went straight to her desk, pulled out her calendar and marked off more days. Two extra days, in fact, which made no sense, but the mere act of crossing things out made her feel stronger.

How was she ever going to survive these next few weeks?
I’ll find a way
, she promised herself.
I’ll be strong. I won’t love Wyatt…unless I already do.

Wyatt was making plans. He’d just received word that the last round of reviewers, the most exacting reviewers, would be descending on the hotels in question this week. They would be examining everything with white gloves and magnifying glasses, including the proprietors. In this final round he had a crucial part to play, but he was ready. He welcomed the challenge.

Thanks to his staff and Alex, McKendrick’s was ready, too. The ballroom, rechristened several times but currently
known as La Dance had been finished, and Alex’s weekly dances were being held there. There were also self-defense classes, of course, and she’d set up a movable feast wherein guests traveled from one restaurant to the next for different courses. Her latest was a Saturday midnight aquatic performance that was drawing guests almost as much as the dances and restaurants. But of course the owner of Champagne also had his hotel in top form. And things could always go wrong…

He would make sure they went right for McKendrick’s. The culminating event of his career was at hand, and he intended to win, to crush the past with success.

But he had barely had that thought when he received another phone call. “Wyatt?”

It was Alex. Calling him. And she sounded…not like Alex.

“On my way,” he told her, hanging up the phone and rushing out to her desk. When he got there, she was standing, shaking her head.

“I didn’t mean for you to come. I just…” She looked down at her telephone. One of the lights was flashing. “I got a call from my real estate agent in San Diego. I didn’t know what to tell her.”

Something inside him started to crumble. “Bad news?” She wasn’t smiling.

She shook her head, her pretty hair sliding across her cheek. “No. Good. She’s found a place for me.”

Crumbling
was too tame a word for what was taking place inside him. She was going, and he wasn’t ready.

“But I have to go look at it right away. Now. The price is low enough that she thinks someone else will snatch it up if I don’t get there today.”

“Then you’ll go.”

“I don’t like to desert my post.”

And he didn’t want to lose even an hour with her, but…

“Alex, I know real estate like I know this hotel. I’ve played this game before and mostly won, but I’ve lost once or twice, too. When it means this much, you
have
to go and check things out, make sure they’re right, examine every detail of the property, the neighborhood, the lease. You have to jump if the real estate agent is right and jumping is what’s required.”

Those big blue eyes widened. She took a deep, visible breath. “Okay. I will. This is…I didn’t expect this so soon. I confess that I’m a little unsettled. I wonder…would you mind…that is, I’ve done my homework, and I’m pretty sure I know how to cover the bases and ask the right questions about the shop, but just in case I forget something, could you write down the most important things I need to find out? You know how I rely on notes.”

Wyatt wanted to take her right into his arms. All she’d ever wanted was a home. Someday she would have a real one. Just because she’d met some losers, some takers, it didn’t mean every man would be like that. Sooner or later the right man would arrive on a white horse, loving every lovable thing about her. That guy would stay and give her a real home.

But until that white knight came along, this shop would be her home, her haven, the thing she threw her heart and soul into. It had to be right. He wanted it to be perfect for her. And because of that…

Wyatt knew what he knew. Real estate agents were useful and necessary, but negotiating a winning business site could be a shark fest. Location and setup would determine whether Alex’s business would succeed or become a statistic, one of the huge number of small businesses that failed every year. Failing would crush her spirit.

Wyatt’s gut wrenched, but he forced himself to smile. Alex was still waiting for his response, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

“Real estate negotiations are my specialty. I want to accompany you,” he said.

And if the reviewers came while he was away? He’d been planning for them, working toward this award and this validation forever. Being named “the best”…how much did he crave that? This was the culmination of everything he’d been heading for since the day he’d run from the people who had nearly buried him with abuse. He wanted it like parched earth wanted water, but…

Alex.
She’d spent a lifetime having the chair kicked out from under her. Love stolen. Pride mangled. Her heart battered. She’d fought to reclaim herself, and this business was to be her prize, her salvation.

“
Let
me accompany you,” he clarified.

If the reviewers came… Well, this was Vegas. Sometimes a man had to gamble. The odds were pretty good that they wouldn’t come today. That was a good thing, because telling Randy or any of the others about the final review wasn’t an option. Someone would leak the news to Alex. She might insist on negotiating her deal alone. No backup. No support. Gambling for her happiness without all the tools in the real estate toolbox.

“Alex?” he said.

The hotel would wait. He was not going to sacrifice Alex’s chance of success to McKendrick’s. Because no matter how much the hotel and the award meant to him, she came first. And he wasn’t even going to allow himself to
think
about what that meant or how stupid he was for feeling that way. In the end, even if McKendrick’s won, he was going to lose.

He’d be damned if she lost, too.

“Are you sure?” The hopeful look in her eyes sealed the deal.

“Absolutely positive.”

“I would so love to have you with me,” she said, sending heat and ridiculous hope rocketing through him.

Alex was worth more than McKendrick’s
, he thought again. It was practically blasphemy. But it was the truth.

“Then let’s make this happen.” He took her hand…maybe for one of the last times ever.

Alex looked at Wyatt. They were in a nice but not terribly exclusive part of San Diego. “What do you think?” she asked, but what she really wanted to ask was
What are you feeling? What will life be like when I’m here all the time and you’re not with me?

This shop was what she’d been wanting for so long that she should have been exultant. Instead, all she could think about was Wyatt.

“I’d like a report on all the properties in this area and what they’ve gone for during the past two years,” he was telling her real estate agents. “Also some community information. Incidents of petty theft and any other criminal activity in the area.”

Alex blinked. “Criminal activity?”

He smiled. “Every area has some. It’s good to be informed both from a practical and an insurance perspective. Plus…I want you safe.”

“I should have thought to ask that.”

“You would have. You know what you’re doing. But when a transaction is personal and emotions are involved, it doesn’t hurt to have a…a friend along.”

Alex’s head was spinning. She
did
know most of the questions to ask, but they seemed strangely unimportant right now.
They were being overshadowed by her feelings for Wyatt, the knowledge that her time with him really was ending. And he had called her a friend. Her heart plummeted. She’d done it again, hadn’t she? Fallen in love with a man she’d tried to help. Done something stupid. Because, even though for the first time ever a man was helping
her
, the end result would be the same as before.

No, not the same. Far worse. What she was feeling for Wyatt was so much more intense and— No, she couldn’t let herself become emotional. Wyatt would key in on that and be worried. So Alex took a deep breath. She looked down at her list of questions.

“About the security deposit…” she began, just as the real estate agent’s telephone rang. The woman picked it up.

“It’s for you,” she told Wyatt, and Alex remembered Wyatt turning off his phone when they entered the office. He frowned, but he took the phone.

“McKendrick,” he said.

The voice on the other end of the line was loud enough that Alex could tell it was Randy. He was clearly upset.

Wyatt frowned some more. He took a visible breath and ran his hand through his hair. “It won’t be quick. We have a few things to finish up here. I’ve got the Cessna but…she’s busy. Hold the fort.”