“Relax, I’m here on vacation. I just, you know, fell in love with the place.”
Heidi narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced. But she couldn’t argue with a reservation, now could she? She tapped the keys of her computer, much louder than necessary.
With her key card in hand, Tina grabbed the handles of her rolling suitcases. “I do have one little question.”
“I knew it,” Heidi muttered.
“Is there any chance I could take a peek at the Honeymoon Suite?”
“Are you getting married?”
“You never know.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Tina caught movement in the bar to her right. A man slid off a bar stool and headed toward the reception desk. A quick glance told her that he looked vaguely familiar, sort of dark and stern and rough around the edges—definitely her cup of tea. He wore jeans, a gray sweater, and work boots, and he wore them well.
For an instant, she regretted her choice of all black, from her t-shirt to her half-boots, but that was what she generally wore in all circumstances, so why should vacation be any different?
“That sounds like a no,” said Heidi. “Anyway, someone’s staying in it. I can’t let you just look at someone’s room without their permission.”
“When are they checking out?”
“That’s confidential. I can’t reveal anyone’s checkout date, sorry.”
“Okay…” Tina wished she could pull out her badge and insist, but she wasn’t here on any kind of official investigation. “Look, I don’t want to bother anyone, but?—”
“Not a bother at all.”
She jumped. The strange man stood next to her, meeting her surprised gaze with calm gray eyes. God, he looked so familiar. But she hadn’t seen him on Sea Smoke Island before. It was from somewhere else… “Sorry?”
“I’m staying in that suite. You can take a look around if you like.”
“Oh. Thanks.” So he was here on his honeymoon. Kinda disappointing, but that wasn’t the point right now. “Appreciate it.”
“Not a problem.” He seemed to be waiting on her.
“You mean now?”
“I’m here, you’re here. Why not?” He pulled a key card from his pocket and flashed it at her. “I was about to head up and grab some suntan lotion.”
Suntan lotion? He wasn’t even wearing beach attire. Maybe it was for his new bride. “How about I meet you up there? I need to drop my bags off first.”
He nodded and ambled in the direction of the elevator.
“The Honeymoon Suite is on the top floor,” Heidi explained. “You’re on the ground floor.” With the plebes, said her expression, if not her words.
Tina almost asked the man’s name, but put her chances of getting an answer from Heidi at about zero. She’d ask him herself.
She let herself into her own room—pink climbing roses outside the window, a view of rolling lawn and a charming gazebo—and dropped her luggage next to the bed. Try as she might, she couldn’t place the strange man, but she was a hundred percent sure that she knew him from somewhere. She had a good eye for faces and could recognize someone she’d interviewed for a case years after the fact.
About ten minutes later, she tapped on the door of the Honeymoon Suite, which wasn’t labelled as such—the Lightkeeper Inn was all about understated, old-money luxury, after all. As the door swung open, her quick impression was…well, heaven. Light flooded in from the tall windows. A fragrance so delicate she couldn’t possibly identify it floated through the air. It must be some custom-mixed room fragrance with ingredients so rare she didn’t recognize them.
She blinked at the man ushering her inside. It might take her eyes a minute to adjust to all this blazing beauty. Give her a dark alley and she’d know how to cope. A rich man’s paradise—different story.
“Thanks so much for letting me look around,” she told him as she stuck out her hand. “I’m Tina Chen.”
He shook it, saying simply, “Jack.”
Well, okay. He had no obligation to fully introduce himself just because she had. “Nice to meet you. Are you and your wife enjoying your stay here?”
